The Ritz-Carlton, Riyadh, a leading five-star hotel in the Saudi Arabian capital, has appointed Esat Akyildiz as the property’s executive chef.

In his new role, chef Akyildiz will be in charge of the culinary and stewarding teams overseeing kitchens and operations in all food and beverage outlets, including restaurants, lounges, in-room dining and banquet areas.

Chef Akyildiz started his culinary career at age of 15 as a cook in a seafood restaurant in Turkey. After he graduated from a local culinary school, Chef Akyildiz attended the Culinary Institute in Bolu, Turkey. He then joined “Ciragan Palace Kempinski Hotel” in Istanbul.

He worked in the Middle East and Central Asia with Hyatt and Intercontinental Hotels Group. He also led the culinary team for the Gala Dinner in the OSCE Summit which hosted more than 50 presidents and head of states in Astana in 2010. Chef Akyildiz then went back to Almaty to lead The Ritz Carlton, Almaty’s innovative culinary team before joining The Ritz-Carlton, Riyadh.

In addition to cooking, Chef Akyildiz is passionate about developing younger chefs to help them discover their own talents through firsthand experience by the world's finest chefs such as Norbert Niederkofler and Laurent Tourondel. - TradeArabia News Service