Peninsula Beverly Hills Appoints James Overbaugh Executive Chef

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. October 14, 2008

MAY 15, 2008. Offer Nissenbaum, Managing Director of the Peninsula Beverly Hills, has announced the appointment of James Overbaugh as Executive Chef. Overbaugh, 39, joins the hotel after 11 years as Executive Chef at Ch^ateau du Sureau, a Relais & Ch^ateaux, Mobile Five-star hotel in Oakhurst, Calif., near Yosemite National Park. Under Overbaugh's direction, the food at the hotel's Erna's Elderberry House restaurant earned a near-perfect score of "28" in Zagat's America's Top Restaurants guide and a perfect score of "100" in a CondeNast Traveler's 2001 Readers' Poll.

"In our search for a new Executive Chef, we sought an exceptional culinary professional who would could mentor our terrific culinary staff and raise the dining experience to the next level throughout the hotel," said Nissenbaum. "After interviewing 100 candidates and conducting tastings with the top five prospects, our executive team agreed that James demonstrated extraordinary talent and creativity."

At the Peninsula Beverly Hills, Overbaugh will oversee all aspects of hotel dining, including room service, catering, special events, the new Roof Garden outdoor restaurant and The Belvedere Restaurant, voted "Best Hotel Restaurant in the Continental U.S. and Canada" in a recent Travel + Leisure Readers' Poll. The Belvedere is also the only AAA Five-Diamond restaurant in Southern California.

After May 20, guests can expect to see dishes added to the hotel's menus that reflect Overbaugh's personal style, which emphasizes fresh seasonal ingredients, creativity and flavors from around the world. Among them may be cold poached oysters with borage and parsnip-horseradish pur'ee; bouillabaisse with ahi tuna and basil; and galantine of squab with King oyster mushrooms, marjoram and sweet potatoes, the dishes that won over Nissenbaum and his executive team in Overbaugh's interview tasting. "We're excited to wow our guests with Overbaugh's culinary wizardry," said Nissenbaum. "But of course they can always order their old-favorite dishes - prepared with James' special touch."

Overbaugh's 11-year tenure at Ch^ateau du Sureau was interrupted for two years when he moved to New Orleans to become Executive Chef of the prestigious Windsor Court Hotel. Under Overbaugh, the Windsor Court's Grill Restaurant earned accolades in Where magazine as "New Orleans's Best Fine Dining Restaurant." After his return to Ch^ateau du Sureau in 2002, he expanded its catering business, taught guest cooking classes and hosted a cooking show on CBS47 TV. Before joining Ch^ateau du Sureau, Overbaugh worked at the Stonehedge Inn, 30 miles northwest of Boston, where he rose to the position of Executive Chef at the age of 23. He is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York.

Overbaugh, who hails from Massachusetts and began working in restaurants at age 15, attributes his passion for food to his experience during his childhood summers when he helped in his grandfather's two-acre garden. "My grandfather grew endless types of corn and he taught me to pick it only after the pot of water on the stove came to a boil," said Overbaugh. "His idea of 'fresh' stuck with me."