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Michael Symon Selects Jeff Rose as Executive Chef for New ROAST Restaurant

Restaurant to Open in October Inside The Westin Book Cadillac Detroit

Last update: 11:30 p.m. EDT July 23, 2008









DETROIT, July 23, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Celebrity Chef Michael Symon will open his new ROAST restaurant on October 17, 2008. The restaurant is located on the street level of the historic Westin Book Cadillac Detroit hotel that will open on October 1, 2008, following a $200 million restoration. Today Symon announced that Jeff Rose has been hired as the ROAST executive chef. Symon made his announcement while on a secret location with the Food Network's Dinner: Impossible; Symon is the new host for the popular series.
Jeff Rose, who cooked his way through Michigan State University by preparing meals for the university president, recently served as executive chef for Big Rock Chophouse in Birmingham, Mich. since 2004. His culinary resume includes sous chef positions at two Michigan restaurants: Sweet Lorraine's Cafe and Bar, Southfield, and the award winning Tribute in Farmington Hills. Also to his credit is his position of chef de cuisine at Detroit's Motor City Casino Iridescence restaurant prior to joining Big Rock. This native of New Jersey earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Michigan State University (Lansing) in hotel, restaurant and institutional management. Rose is an active member of the James Beard Association. He has served as an honorary professor for Michigan State University since 1995 and continues to teach basic food preparation classes to students through lecture and lab assignments. Rose resides in Royal Oak, Mich.
"I was overwhelmed by the amount of calls and resumes we received when we made the ROAST announcement in April," said Symon. "There is a great deal of culinary talent in the metro Detroit area. When I met Jeff and discussed our plans for ROAST, it just clicked. He has the credentials, talent and passion I was looking for." Symon and Rose first met at a James Beard Foundation dinner at Tribute four years ago. The restaurant will focus on the art of sourcing and the preparing of artisanal and heritage meats. Whether cured, smoked, braised, spit roasted or wood grilled, Symon will search for the highest quality producers and breeds of pork, bison, wild boar and prime dry aged beef. Food will be prepared and presented in a very rustic way to keep the focus on the food and its flavors. Entrees, sides and starters will be served in generous portions to be shared or enjoyed individually.
Symon added that Rose will be very much involved in a major gala event on October 25 when the hotel celebrates the completion of the 26-month restoration project. Book Cadillac: Next Chapter, a black tie evening, will welcome top tier ticket holders to a gourmet dinner at ROAST followed by entertainment, food tastings, cocktails and dancing at The Westin.
ROAST guests will be welcomed in a comfortable, hip and inviting setting according to the design team of Liz Symon and Richard Lalli who collaborated on the interior of Symon's award-winning Cleveland restaurant, Lola. The restaurant will have three areas: bar/lounge; main dining room; and a semi-private area which will have the capacity to open for over flow seating and blend seamlessly with the main dining area.
"The Westin is thrilled to offer Michael Symon's unique culinary point of view for both our hotel guests and residential owners and a dining experience that will truly be one of a kind for our region," said Westin Book Cadillac Detroit Sales and Marketing Director Scott Stinebaugh. "The restaurant will have two entrances: an exterior entrance on Washington Boulevard, and an interior hotel entrance." Stinebaugh and his sales team have been booking business for the 455-room hotel for several months. The top six floors of the hotel is dedicated to more than 60 private luxury residences of which most have been sold for nearly a year. The Westin is Detroit's only mixed use hotel and residential project and is owned by the Cleveland, Ohio based development company, The Ferchill Group.
About Michael Symon
Michael Symon is renowned in the culinary world and adored in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. Chef and owner of the critically acclaimed Lola and Lolita restaurants in Cleveland, Symon's pedigree started upon graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in New York in 1990. He quickly began revitalizing the Cleveland palate, while practicing in some of the city's up-and-coming restaurants such as Player's, Piccolo Mondo, Giovanni's and the Caxton Cafe. In these venues, he found success as well as a loyal following and fan base.
He was named National Rising Star by Restaurant Hospitality magazine (May 1997) and one of the Ten Best New Chefs by Food and Wine magazine (July 199. One of his eateries was listed among America's Best Restaurants in Gourmet magazine (October 2000). He was featured in Michael Ruhlman's book The Soul of a Chef (2000), and nominated for Best Chef-Great Lakes region by the James Beard Foundation (2006). Symon also has made appearances on WKYC's "Mondays with Michael" and NBC's "iVillage Live." He has hosted more than 100 episodes of "The Melting Pot" on the Food Network, in addition to appearing on "Sara's Secrets" with Sara Moulton, "Ready! Set! Cook!," "FoodNation with Bobby Flay" and an "Iron Chef" competition versus Morimoto (2005).
Last year Symon won the Food Network's Next Iron Chef of America competition and he was recently nominated by the James Beard Foundation for 2007 Best Chef-Great Lakes region that includes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. Symon can be seen on Iron Chef America, which airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Food Network. He is currently taping Food Network's Dinner: Impossible as its new host.
For more information about the October 25 gala, please log on at www.BookCadillacNextChapter.com .
For information on The Westin Book Cadillac Detroit call 313-442-1600, or click on www.bookcadillacwestin.com . Guestroom reservations can be made beginning August 5, 2008.