St. Joe Club and Resorts, northwest Florida’s premier private membership club, announced Todd Rogers as the new corporate executive chef for the club’s nine restaurants, located at The Pearl Hotel and WaterColor Inn and Resort, in addition to affiliated beach clubs, private golf clubs, and event spaces.
Rogers’s first project, creating the new spring menus at Fish Out of Water at WaterColor Inn and Resort showcases his culinary values of local, sustainable, and seasonal ingredients.
“Chef Rogers brings a wealth of culinary experience and intuition to our restaurants,” says Andrew Czarnecki, managing director of resorts operations. “His vision for creating guest experiences that capitalize on the locally sourced products of the Emerald Coast blend perfectly with the Southern hospitality our guests have come to expect."
The new Fish Out of Water menu draws inspiration from the shimmering Gulf over which the second-story restaurant overlooks, highlighted in dishes such as the Gulf Black Grouper, served with leek fondue, cauliflower purée, lobster tempura, and shrimp broth, and the Gulf Red Snapper, served with citrus crust, stir-fried vegetables, and sweet soy reduction.
As summer approaches, Rogers looks to deepen guests’ experiences on the coast and further educate them through activities such as hands-on cooking classes and fishing excursions on the Gulf.
With nearly three decades of kitchen experience, Rogers helmed the culinary program at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort and Spa in Farmington, Pennsylvania, where he managed 13 kitchens, eight restaurants, and an 80-person staff. He reimagined the food and beverage program for the $500 million renovation of The Cloister at Sea Island in Sea Island, Georgia, which included the addition of 17 new kitchens and 13 new food and beverage outlets.
Rogers has catered the G-8 Summit Annual Conference dinners, cooked for the Queen of England, and prepared a dinner at the James Beard House in New York, in addition to being named one of the “World’s Best Chefs” by the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences. He currently serves as president of the Resort Food Executive Committee.
