Chef de Cuisine, Duane Fernandes

The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa is proud to announce Duane Fernandes as the Chef de Cuisine at Horizons, the resort’s flagship restaurant. “Duane's innovative regional dishes at Horizons are a direct reflection of our bountiful local produce,” said Horizons General Manager Todd Phillips. “his respect for his craft and broad range of culinary experience will embellish the Horizons’ fine dining experience.”
Fernandes was raised in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He moved to Charleston, South Carolina in 1993 where he attended Johnson and Wales University followed by The Culinary Institute of Charleston where he graduated with an Associates Degree in Culinary Arts. Fernandes worked at several notable restaurants in Charleston including the highly acclaimed Peninsula Grill. It was not long before he was courted and accepted the Executive Sous Chef position at Lemaire, the fine dining restaurant located in the five-diamond, five-star Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Virginia. Three years later he moved on to New York City to work with the legendary chef Thomas Keller in the Michelin three-star restaurant Per Se (rated the seventh best restaurant in the world).
“My Tar Heel roots called me back to North Carolina,” said Fernandes. “I accepted the position of Executive Chef at Richmond Hill Inn but when the Chef de Cuisine position became available at Horizons it was an easy decision for me to make the transition over to The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa.”
Horizons is no stranger to accolades. The restaurant was just awarded its seventeenth straight Wine Spectator Award of Excellence; has recently been honored with its fifteenth straight DiRoNA (Distinguished Restaurants of North America) Award; received its fifteenth straight AAA Four Diamond Award and Frommer’s hails the restaurant as “the finest in the area.”
Horizons has also received Wine Spectator Best Of Award of Excellence for the eighth consecutive year in a row. The Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence is given to restaurants who have the most outstanding wine lists in the world. It recognizes the wine list's vintage depth, including vertical offerings of several top wines, as well as excellent breadth from several major wine growing regions. Only 802 restaurants worldwide have received the honor this year. Horizons cellar houses over 1,000 wines and three sommeliers to assure the perfect wine to complement your meal.
Horizons features gourmet cuisine and innovative dining with spectacular views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The restaurant is open Monday through Thursday from 6:00-9:00pm and on Friday and Saturday from 6:00-9:30pm. Dinner jacket optional.
To book a reservation, call (800) 438-5800, or for more information, visit:
www.groveparkinn.com.