Five Star Woodlands Inn Appoints New Executive Chef

The 39-year-old arrives in the Charleston area with extensive Five Star and AAA Five Diamond experience, having worked for some of the nation's top resorts and restaurants.

Woodlands, which was recently purchased by the Linton family of Summerville and is managed by Salamander Hospitality, is currently one of only six destinations in North America to hold the Five Star and Five Diamond ratings for lodging and dining, having received AAA's top ratings for 2011 last month. Woodlands features two restaurants: the Dining Room and Pines Café & Bar. The Dining Room is the highest-rated restaurant in North and South Carolina, and was recently ranked among the top 10 hotel restaurants in the country by Fodor's Travel Guide.

Chadwick will oversee both restaurants, plus the Inn's growing on- and off-site catering operations. His appointment makes him the first executive chef to be hired from outside Woodlands' culinary family since Scott Crawford in 2004.

“Hiring someone of the caliber of Andrew Chadwick shows that we are not resting on our laurels,” said Woodlands Inn General Manager Casey Lavin. “Simply put, he is a marvelous talent.”

Chadwick's stellar resume includes opening the Five Star, Five Diamond St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point, CA, as well serving as executive chef at the Meadowood Napa Valley Resort, which has earned three stars from the Michelin Guide. He also served as the executive chef of the Ritz-Carlton in St. Thomas, and previously operated his own acclaimed restaurant, Andrew Chadwick's at Rutledge Hill, in Nashville, TN.

The California native said he is excited about moving to the Charleston area, which he calls “one of the nation's most talked about culinary destinations,” and creating a vibrant dining experience at the Summerville landmark.

“Woodlands is rightly acknowledged as one of the finest places to dine in the country,” said Chadwick. “However, my style of cuisine is also approachable, with minimum interference between flavorful and textural ingredients. This clarity will not only be reflected on the plates of our guests each night, but also in new menu verbiage and descriptions by our service team.”

As a long-time student of John Ash, one of the fathers of America's local cuisine movement, Chadwick aims to embrace the rapidly growing market for South Carolina grown and raised produce.

“In addition to utilizing local farmers, we will be creating our own garden on Woodlands' expansive grounds,” said Chadwick. “But, we will also continue to use some of the best ingredients from around the world to create truly global cuisine.”

Chadwick says he is looking forward to expanding on many of Woodlands' recent initiatives to embrace the local community, including its new Grand Sunday Champagne Brunch. The new chef also takes over a kitchen in which a new state-of-the-art Montague cooking suite has just been installed. In addition to creating new menus, he plans to utilize the new equipment to enhance the current chef's table experience, during which guests dine in the kitchen and are served directly by the culinary team.

For more information about Woodlands Inn call (800) 774-9999 or visit www.woodlandsinn.com.

Hotel Profile: Woodlands Inn