Press Room

Marco Bustamante Joins Capella Pedregal as Executive Chef

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO (July 8, 2008) – Marco Bustamante has been named Executive Chef at Capella Pedregal, Cabo's most highly anticipated new resort and residential community. Bustamante will create and execute the menu concepts for the luxe Capella Hotels and Resorts property, which opens in November 2008.

Local, Bajan purveyors will grow and supply produce exclusively for Capella Pedregal. Pairing fresh and seasonal ingredients with classic training, Bustamante is creating a menu replete with traditional Mexican dishes with a refined, modern flair. Bustamante's talents will be showcased in the cuisine at Capella Pedregal's fine dining room, located in the heart of the resort; the Mountain Top Club; a dramatic cliffside grill suspended over the ocean and relaxed poolside dining at the Beach Club.

"We are pleased to welcome Chef Bustamante to Capella Pedregal and the Capella Hotels and Resorts team," said Peter Schoch, vice president of food and beverage, Capella Hotels and Resorts. "Chef's appointment eleven months prior to the resort opening showcases Capella's commitment to providing extraordinary dining experiences for our guests."

Bustamante brings Michelin and Five Diamond experience to Capella Pedregal. He began his culinary career in 1999 as chef de partie at the then newly re-opened Russian Tea Room in New York where he assisted Chef Frabrice Canelle in menu development and training of new staff. From 2000-2003, he served as sous chef at Victor's, the Five Diamond dining establishment of the Ritz Carlton New Orleans. Bustamante then moved on to spend a year as chef de partie at Thomas Keller's Per Se restaurant in New York, one of the country's most esteemed restaurants and a recipient of three stars by Michelin Guide in 2005, 2007 and 2008. In 2004, he began his tenure with the West Paces Hotel Group, parent company of Capella Hotels and Resorts, first as executive chef at L'Auberge de Sedona in Sedona, AZ, and then as executive chef at Hotel 71/Solis Chicago Hotel and Spa in Chicago, IL. Immediately prior to his post at Capella Pedregal, Bustamante assisted in the openings of Schloss Velden and Capella Castlemartyr, the first two hotels to debut in the Capella Hotels and Resorts brand.

Bustamante is a graduate of the acclaimed French Culinary Institute in New York. He resides in Cabo San Lucas with his wife Heather.