NEW ORLEANS, La. – Kimpton Hotel Fontenot, the 202-room hotel located in the heart of New Orleans’ Central Business District, has appointed Samuel Peery as executive chef.
In his new role overseeing the hotel’s food and beverage program, Peery will lead the kitchen and develop new menus for Hotel Fontenot’s restaurant and bar concepts, including the cocktail lounge Peacock Room, neighborhood café Gospel Coffee and Boozy Treats, and a new concept coming early next year, along with expanded banquet and event catering services.
“I’m beyond thrilled to start the next phase of my career at Kimpton Hotel Fontenot,” says Peery. “I think New Orleans is really going to love where our culinary program is headed. You are definitely going to want to keep your eyes on the property and what’s to come from our kitchen.”
Peery brings more than15 years of professional kitchen leadership and management to the position, where he’ll work alongside restaurant and bar general manager Jessica Retif. Peery, an east Tennessee native whose cooking experiences have taken him around the country as well as Italy and France, has a deep appreciation for authenticity and terroir which lead him to take great pride in product knowledge and sourcing, a media release states.
Peery will draw inspiration and creativity from his cooking experiences in Modern American, Italian, French, Creole, and Southern cuisines to introduce new permanent and seasonal menu items.
“We’re delighted to have Chef Peery join us. His extensive culinary discipline and leadership are really going to elevate our team across multiple concepts,” says Retif. “I’m eager to work alongside him as he curates new dishes and flavors while the property expands.”
Peery joins Kimpton Hotel Fontenot from New Orleans fine-dining establishment Restaurant R’evolution in the Royal Sonesta Hotel, where he held the position of chef de cuisine and worked alongside Cajun and Creole chef John Folse. In addition to being responsible for the restaurant’s reopening after an eight-month closure, Peery oversaw all menu execution and kitchen operations as well as private tasting menus and wine dinners. Prior to Restaurant R’evolution, he worked as executive sous chef at Martis Camp, a private resort community in Truckee, Calif., where he oversaw culinary operations for six restaurant outlets as well as banquet operations. He also used his expertise as a certified sommelier in partnerships with wineries, breweries, and distilleries.
Peery holds a culinary arts degree from Cook Street School of Fine Cooking in Denver, Colo., as well as an advanced culinary arts degree from the Accademia Italiana Della Cucina in Piedmont, Italy. Peery also earned a bachelor of science in marketing and communications from East Tennessee State University.
In addition to a new fall menu, Peacock Room will be expanding its hours of operations, opening for breakfast Monday to Friday, in addition to the already-established brunch on Saturday and Sunday. Peacock Room’s dinner menu will continue to consist largely of small plates with a culinary focus on refined shareable interpretations of regional and international favorites, in addition to the contemporary selection of unique spirits and craft cocktails. Menu enhancements will also be coming to the hotel’s neighborhood coffee hot spot, Gospel Coffee and Boozy Treats, where boozy shakes and coffee-infused cocktails are paired with food focused on breakfast and light eating-on-the-go.
