Miami Beach, Florida – Fontainebleau Miami Beach’s renowned food and beverage program makes advancements to its exemplary team of professionals. President and COO Philip Goldfarb has announced the appointment of Joshua Summers to Vice President of Operations, Food and Beverage and the promotion of two Fontainebleau alumnus – Executive Chef Thomas Connell to the position of Vice President of Operations, Culinary and Chef Ryan Wilson to the position of Executive Chef. The three are longtime industry veterans with robust experience well-suited for the multi-million dollar operation and will work in concert to oversee various aspects of the hotel’s 1200+ food and beverage employees; 12 outlets including, fine dining, casual restaurants, bars and lounges; in room-dining and more than 200,000 square feet of meeting and convention space.
Joshua Summers joined Fontainebleau Miami Beach in early 2015 and has quickly been promoted to Vice President of Operations, Food and Beverage. Previously, Summers directed the Southeast Region for Stephen Starr Restaurants including all outlets of the W Hotel Fort Lauderdale as well as Makoto in Bal Harbour Shops and Verde at the PAMM in Miami. Before joining Starr, Summers held leadership roles with MGM Mirage in Las Vegas and served as Director of Beverage for the Mandalay Bay Resort. He spent several years with Starwood Hotels and Resorts, opening the W Hotel Westwood, rebranding the Westin Century Plaza and St. Regis in Los Angeles, opening the Westin Diplomat and the Wild Horse Pass Resort in Phoenix.
The culmination of Summers’ well-versed hospitality experience has groomed him for his role at Fontainebleau Miami Beach where he will oversee a portfolio of restaurants including Zagat-rated and AAA 4 Diamond award-winning Italian restaurant Scarpetta; the first American outpost of London’s Michelin-starred Hakkasan, also Zagat rated and a AAA 4 Diamond award winner; James Beard award-winning Chef Michael Mina’s two restaurants – the recently opened, contemporary steakhouse StripSteak by Michael Mina and award-winning Michael Mina 74; as well as LIV, South Florida’s quintessential nightclub which has been rated among top nightclubs in the world.
Complementing Summers’ oversight and set to run the operational aspects of the culinary team is Chef Thomas Connell, who has been promoted to Vice President of Operations, Culinary. Chef Connell has been with Fontainebleau Miami Beach for nearly five years, joining as Executive Chef in September of 2010. Chef Connell began his career in Los Angeles and worked for several independent restaurants as well as The Grand Hyatt L.A. and the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills. He is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in New York as well as the Institute of Culinary Arts in Palm Springs. Prior to joining Fontainebleau, he worked for The Ritz Carlton Hotel Company for nearly 20 years and served as Executive Chef for the South Beach Ritz Carlton as well as the Hotel Arts in Barcelona, Spain. Chef Connell’s long-standing relationship with Fontainebleau and repertoire of experience position him as the ideal candidate to smoothly and efficiently run the massive culinary team’s operations.
Chef Ryan Wilson has been promoted to Executive Chef of the 1500+ room hotel. Chef Wilson has been with Fontainebleau for the past six years, originally joining as Chef de Cuisine of La Côte in 2009. Recognized for his leadership and culinary skills, he was quickly promoted to Executive Sous Chef of the hotel in 2010 and has held that position since. Prior to his time at Fontainebleau, Chef Wilson honed his skills working in the food and beverage departments at two of Las Vegas’ most esteemed hotels – The Wynn and The Bellagio. Chef Wilson is also a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in New York. In the recent re-structure of the Food and Beverage division, Chef Wilson’s loyalty, passion and hard work positioned him as the natural fit for Executive Chef.
Fontainebleau Miami Beach is located at 4411 Collins Avenue on Miami Beach. For more information on any of Fontainebleau’s dining outlets, please call 305-538-2000 or visit www.fontainebleau.com.
