St. Kitts Marriott Resort & The Royal Beach Casino is pleased to announce the appointment of the newest addition to its culinary team. Executive Chef Wayne Michaelson comes to St. Kitts from the Macon Marriott City Center to assist in overseeing daily operations of the resort’s eight onsite restaurants as well as catering for special events.
Coming to St. Kitts Marriott with more than 30 years of experience in the kitchen as an executive chef, Chef Michaelson brings award-winning expertise to the table. Before his previous job in Macon, where he supervised seven kitchens, a catering facility for 2,500 people, a convention center seating 5,000 people and a sports arena accommodating 13,000 guests, Chef Michaelson owned and operated his own restaurant for a decade.
“We’re so glad to have Chef Michaelson join our team and we’re looking forward to the new inspiration he will bring to our food and beverage program,” said Jacques Hamou, General Manager of St. Kitts Marriott.
After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, Chef Michaelson began his career in hospitality at Omni Hotels & Resorts in 1984 in Alabama as an Executive Chef. He then moved to Puerto Rico in 1986 where he worked for prominent hotels such as the Caribe Hilton Hotel & Casino, the Hyatt Regency Cerromar Resort, the Hyatt Dorado Beach Resort & Golf Club, and the El San Juan Hotel & Casino, a Waldorf Astoria Collection hotel.
Chef Michaelson mentions that his rural upbringing has inspired his overall culinary approach. “I spent a lot of time on my grandfather’s dairy farm growing up, so the farm-to-table concept isn’t new to me. I’m really looking forward to working with the local culinary team to bring out the best that the island has to offer and to incorporate those aspects into our menus.”
Chef Michaelson is a six-time winner of the American Culinary Federation and a recipient of the Judges Special Award and Most Outstanding Piece in the Show in American Culinary Federation (ACF) culinary competitions. He was also voted Best Restaurateur by the Puerto Rico Hotel & Tourism Association.
