Chef Samuel Faggetti Named Executive Chef For Mizner Country Club

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. - Aug. 22, 2022 - PRLog -- As one of the nation's most well-respected private club chefs, Samuel Faggetti has taken the reigns as Executive Chef at one of Delray's most popular country club communities, Mizner Country Club.

In making the announcement Mackenzie Lalov, Mizner's Director of Membership and Marketing, said, "We are excited to have Chef Samuel join us as our new Executive Chef. His appointment comes after an extensive search for the right person that would be the right fit for our Club community. When we had the opportunity to meet with him and discuss his background and vision, we knew we had found that person. His hard work, leadership, and exemplary knowledge of kitchen operations, coupled with his superb culinary talents, made him the obvious choice. We are so pleased to have him lead our culinary team and look forward to the exciting concepts he has planned for our membership."

Chef Samuel has a degree from the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in New York.

Commenting on his appointment, Chef Samuel said, "I am extremely excited to join Mizner Country Club.  Over the past few years, the Club has worked hard to achieve Platinum status by the Platinum Club of America and to be recognized as a Distinguished Club of the World.  My aim is to help maintain that growth by elevating the cuisine."

"His strengths and passion lie in staff development, strong leadership, supportive guidance, and a big emphasis on achieving the highest level of quality and service," notes Lalov.

Chef Samuel admits that traveling throughout his career substantially influenced his culinary skills, allowing him to create flavor combinations that impart original and unique qualities to dishes. But he is quick to point out the major influences of his career – his grandmother and aunt. He remembers, "I spent summers as a child at my grandparent's farm pickling, preserving, and canning.  She was a great rustic cook and a fantastic baker, as was my aunt, who took a more classic approach. They both let me cook with them. When my grandma died, everyone in the family wanted her recipes. She left them to me, and I was on my way.

"In high school, I went to work in this lousy Italian restaurant waiting tables and washing dishes. After a while, I became a line cook and I realized that was really good. It was very rewarding to me. In college, I got a job at another Italian restaurant, that was more structured and more professional.  They were becoming a chain, so they brought some very talented chefs who were very inspiring and talked me into going to culinary school," he said.

From those early beginnings to working at some of the finest high-end restaurants across the country, Chef Samuel has stood alongside some of the most renowned French and Italian chefs. On the hospitality side, he spent four years with the Four Seasons hotel in Hawaii and Nevis where he gained the management skills that enabled him to perfect his culinary craft which now included Asian influences.  More recently he served as Executive Chef for Bellerive Country Club, Missouri, and Discovery Land Club. Coming to Florida he joined the Naples Beach Resort, where he was an outlet chef for four stations.

Chef Samuel is a big believer that success comes with accountability and consistency. "You can be accountable if you don't have the right tools.  I plan on giving everyone those tools -- clear communications, follow-up, and accountability. The team here is fantastic and I look forward to working closely with them.  They will be a great asset to me as I plan to give each food area its own identity," he said.