Delaware North Companies announced today they have named Roland G. Henin, certified master chef, corporate executive chef and chief culinary ambassador for their global hospitality operations. Delaware North Companies is a global company in hospitality and food service with locations ranging from global sports stadia and airports to national parks, destination resorts and entertainment venues.
Henin most recently served as corporate chef for the company's Parks & Resorts division, overseeing the company's culinary programs at locations ranging from Niagara Falls State Park in New York to Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks in California, and New Hampshire's The BALSAMS Grand Resort Hotel.
In his new role, Henin will be responsible for stewardship of the company's culinary reputation. Henin, an award-winning, internationally recognized culinary expert, is one of approximately 60 certified master chefs in the United States. Prior to joining the company in 1998, Henin was the director of the Culinary Arts Department at the Art Institute of Seattle. Before that, he held various teaching positions at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., and Johnson & Wales College in Providence, R.I.
"Chef Henin is truly one of the top chefs in the world," said Dennis Szefel, group president for Delaware North's hospitality operations. "He is well respected by so many in the culinary field. Working in conjunction with the company's Culinary Council, Henin will continue to champion the company's culinary direction, working closely with the executive chefs of each of the company's divisions."
Henin will continue to have responsibility for the company's culinary direction, working closely with the executive chefs of each of the company's divisions. He is well-known for his approach to sustainable and organic cuisine, a philosophy he shares with well-known former understudy, celebrity chef and friend Thomas Keller.
Several years ago, Henin created and implemented a widely acclaimed chefs summit pairing Delaware North culinarians with the Culinary Institute of America. Now entering its sixth year, the week-long summit is held biannually, bringing together company chefs who immerse themselves in the tasks of honing their craft, exchanging ideas and developing priorities for the upcoming year.
Henin has also worked extensively with the culinary apprenticeship at The BALSAMS, and has helped graduate a number of new chefs from the 40-year-old program. It was there that Henin tested the more than 40 recipes contained in the company's new award-winning cookbook, Pathways to Plate.
In addition to his educational and culinary roles, Henin joins visiting professional chefs each winter at Yosemite National Park for The Ahwahnee's Chefs' Holidays. He has served as executive chef at Oregon-based OSF International and Truitt Bros., as well as chef de cuisine at the five-star Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, Fla. In 1992, he served as the coach of the gold medal U.S. Olympic Culinary Team, helping the American chefs bring home the World Cup from Luxembourg. The following year, he received the first National Chef Professionalism Award ever granted by the American Culinary Federation.
He was educated at the College Moderne in Nancy, France. Henin was designated a certified executive chef in 1979 and a certified culinary educator in 1982 by the American Culinary Federation. He earned the coveted honor of certified master chef in 1983.
