Williamsburg Native Named Executive Chef at Lennar's Colonial Heritage

March 20, 2012 - PRLog -- Matthew Wilson is returning to his native Williamsburg as executive chef for The Gallery Grill and Magnolia Dining Room at Lennar’s Colonial Heritage community, located off Richmond Road across from Williamsburg Pottery.

Wilson brings his love for classically prepared Southern cuisine with a French and Asian flair to Colonial Heritage, a gated community featuring an $18 million amenity package including an Arthur Hills signature golf course.  With an impressive selection of traditionally styled single-family homes, a spacious clubhouse, deluxe athletic club, and both indoor and outdoor pools, Colonial Heritage is one of Virginia's premier communities designed for active adults.  

“We are thrilled to welcome Chef Matthew back to Williamsburg,” said Lennar Division President Andrea Berenfeld.  “Our current residents, their guests and future homebuyers will be dazzled by his creative menus and talent for authentic and elegant cuisine, making him a logical choice to lead Colonial Heritage’s food and beverage program.”

Wilson’s culinary arts passion developed at a young age while attending Lafayette High School in Williamsburg, where he apprenticed at “The Kitchen” in Powhatan Plantation.  This led him to attend the revered Johnson & Wales University in Charleston, S.C., where he graduated magna cum laude.  

His professional experience includes the AAA Five Diamond Princess Golf Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz., the World Golf Village Renaissance Resort in St. Augustine, Fla., and the Embassy Suites Hotel and Golf Resort in Greenville, S.C.   Wilson’s culinary creativity has earned several awards including “Best Taste” and “Best Presentation” at last year’s Signature Chef’s Auction benefiting the March of Dimes in Greenville.  He also orchestrated the largest plated dinner in South Carolina history, feeding over 5,000 members of the Scottish Rite during its 200-year anniversary dinner in Charleston.

“I’m thrilled to come home to continue my passion for creative cuisine in such an attractive setting as Colonial Heritage,” said Wilson.  “This is a wonderful opportunity to be able to share my culinary vision while offering our guests a relaxed and refined dining experience.”

Lennar’s Colonial Heritage was recently named one of America’s top 50 master-planned communities by Where to Retire Magazine.  The lifestyle-oriented development showcases villas and single-family homes ranging from 1,400 to more than 2,500 square feet, with prices from the $200s.  Colonial Heritage also offers Lennar’s signature Everything’s Included® program, where luxury features come standard in the price of all new homes, rather than being offered as costly add-ons.  

Anyone interested in Colonial Heritage can visit the community’s Welcome Home Center, located at 7015 Statesmen in Williamsburg.  The Welcome Home Center is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, or noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday.   For more information on Colonial Heritage in Williamsburg or other Lennar communities in Virginia, please visit www.LennarVirginia.com.

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Lennar Corp., founded in 1954 and headquartered in Miami, Fla., and is one of the nation’s leading builders of quality homes for all generations. Building homes in 18 states, Lennar offers affordable, move-up and retirement homes in communities that cater to a variety of lifestyles. For more information, visit www.Lennar.com.