Three local chefs turn up the heat at Silicon Valley hotels

With the holiday rush behind them, three chefs who work at restaurants in local hotels provided the benefit of their experience prepping for the huge corporate holiday parties and family gatherings that make up much of their business in December.

Executive Chef Joshua Macaluso came to San Jose’s Hayes Mansion Hilton Curio 18 months ago after working at top hotels in San Francisco, among them Mark Hopkins, Fairmont, Hyatt Regency, Ritz Carlton and Westin.

“Hayes Mansion is more local,” says Macaluso. “This is the first hotel I have worked for that is not in a downtown area, which makes us unique. We’re like a little oasis in the middle of suburban San Jose.”

What makes cheffing at hotel restaurants unique, he says, is the fact that you’re often serving a first-time customer. “There seems to always be a traveler that has not eaten at your restaurant before,” says Macaluso, who credits his job for giving him the opportunity to travel.

“Being able to do what I do anywhere is a benefit,” he says. “This career has blessed me with being able to travel. So, I have cooked with a lot of really cool chefs in a lot of different cities.”

Joseph Humphrey, executive chef at Oak & Violet in the Park James Hotel in Menlo Park, is no stranger to hotel restaurants, having worked at The Bellagio and the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Auberge du Soleil and Meadowood in Napa Valley, Cavallo Point in Sausalito and The Claremont in Berkeley.

“For a long time, hotel restaurants got kind of a bad rap because they were looked at as being just amenities for the hotel, and never very interesting,” says Humphrey. “That’s changed with the surge of restaurants in hotels over the last 10 years or so that have refocused the idea of what a hotel restaurant can be: that it can have its own identity and be a big part of the experience of that hotel.”

Hospitality folks tend to work on all of the holidays, which is one of the most difficult aspects of the job. But Humphrey says the upside is “being able to be a part of so many special occasions for people, making life a bit better for people and being able to bring a little happiness and joy along the way.”

Besides, he says, “I cannot imagine myself doing anything else. Work at a desk for eight or nine hours a day? No way could I do that!”

Humphrey met his wife, who has an MBA from Stanford and now works in high tech, while they were both at Meadowood in Napa. Reopening a restaurant that had been shuttered for two years led to him earning the restaurant the first of its two Michelin stars in its first year.  He subsequently went to Cavallo Point, where he earned them a Michelin star as well.

“If it weren’t for the joy of working with incredible people, and the satisfaction that comes with true hospitality and the taking care of others, this would be an extremely challenging career,” says Humphrey.

Executive chef Joe Derla agrees that there are downsides. Derla has been at the Signia Hilton in downtown San Jose for nearly three years after 12 years at Hilton Waikoloa Village on the Big Island of Hawaii, and thereafter at Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort.

“The sacrifices are very real: long hours, holidays spent in the kitchen instead of at home and the physical demands that come with the craft,” says Derla. “The kitchen becomes a second family, and the joy of creating something meaningful for our guests makes every sacrifice worth it.”

Derla enjoys the chance to provide elevated breakfast and brunch at Fountain Restaurant as well as the bold Nikkei flavors at AJI Bar & Robata, with its Japanese-Peruvian influences.

He notes that San Jose guests are incredibly global in their tastes and very open to culinary exploration. “Being in the heart of Silicon Valley means our audience is well-traveled, curious and enthusiastic about innovative cuisine,” which gives him permission to experiment.

“There’s nothing quite like seeing a guest’s expression when a dish evokes a memory, or when a flavor combination opens their eyes to something new,” says Derla. “Those moments remind me why I chose this profession.”

Among his most memorable experiences is seeing travelers who are far from home find comfort in a holiday meal.

“My favorite holiday moments happen when the restaurant is full, the team is in perfect sync, and you can feel the warmth and joy radiating through the dining room,” says Derla. “There’s a special rhythm to those nights when you see guests toasting, families sharing dishes, couples celebrating a quiet moment together.”