Waterways Cruises Welcomes Adrienne Baerny as Senior Account Manager for Private and Group Events; Promotes Colleen Guay to Operations Manager

          

         Colleen Guay                                     Adrienne Baerny

SEATTLE, Wash.—(August 25, 2011)— Waterways Cruises is pleased to announce the hiring of Adrienne Baerny as Senior Account Manager for Private and Group Events and the promotion of Colleen Guay to Operations Manager.

Guay started her career with Waterways Cruises in September 2007 while a student at the University of Washington, where she worked as a steward for private events and public cruises. Guay was later promoted to Cruise Director, managing Waterways’ events. As Operations Manager, Guay will oversee crew scheduling and management, event coordination and internal operations.

“An increase in business has given us the opportunity to build our team from within, while also allowing us to bring in new talent to help us meet demand,” says Hilton Smith, CEO and Founder of Waterways Cruises and Events.

Baerny comes to Waterways Cruises with 16 years of experience working in sales and marketing, with her focus being in tourism and event management. Prior to Waterways Cruises, she held a Group Sales Manager position at Clipper Vacations, managing events for customers and creating familiarization trips for travel agents and tour operators. She also co-owns a tour operator company, organizing and promoting land tours in the United States and Canada.

As Senior Account Manager for Private and Group Events, Baerny’s primary focus will be on private charter sales to Waterways Cruises’ corporate, tour and travel, and wedding markets.

Waterways Cruises was founded in 1994 by Hilton Smith and grew from a small family operation into Seattle’s most upscale cruise and event company.  Originally starting with a single yacht for private charters, Waterways successfully expanded its operations to three luxury vessels (Emerald Star, Olympic Star, and Destiny), accommodating upwards of 40,000 guests per year for weddings, corporate events, special celebrations, and dining cruises.

In 2010 Waterways Cruises launched Lake Washington Dining Cruises, departing from the Southport Pier & Promenade in Renton and from the Waterways’ HomePort in Seattle.  Featuring seasonal menus, scenic cruise routes and exciting entertainment options, Lake Washington Dining Cruises brings fine dining experience and sightseeing opportunities to Seattle’s lakes.

Follow Waterways Cruises and Events Online
Website: http://www.waterwayscruises.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/waterwayscruise
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/waterwayscruises

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Waterways Cruises Welcomes Paula Webb as Director of Business Development and Operations

Seattle-Native Webb Brings 27 Years’ Experience in Food Service and Hospitality Industries

Waterways Cruises Welcomes Paula Webb as Director of Business Development and Operations

Seattle-Native Webb Brings 27 Years’ Experience in Food Service and Hospitality Industries

SEATTLE, Wash.—(February 16, 2011)— Waterways Cruises and Events is pleased to announce the hiring of Paula Webb as Director of Business Development and Operations.

Webb joins the team to help meet growing customer demand for the company’s dining cruises and private charters. She will act as a liaison within Waterways Cruises’ operational components by developing partnerships, systems and procedures, and furthering growth opportunities for the company’s private charter business.

“We are excited to welcome Paula to the Waterways Cruises leadership team. Paula brings proven food service leadership, extensive experience in catering, and a strong reputation for client service within our industry,” says Hilton Smith, CEO and Founder of Waterways Cruises and Events.

A Seattle-area native, Webb comes to Waterways Cruises after 27 years in the food service and hospitality industries.  Most recently she held the position of General Manager with Restaurants Unlimited, Inc. Her previous professional credits include General Manager and West Coast Regional Sales and Marketing positions with Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant Group. Webb has also served on the Corporate Training teams for Planet Hollywood and Red Robin.

Continues Smith, “Paula’s appointment strengthens our execution capabilities for Waterways Cruises’ ambitious growth initiatives and underscores our commitment to operational excellence.”

Waterways Cruises and Events was founded in 1994 and grew from a small, family-owned, single-yacht operation into Seattle’s most upscale dining cruise and private yacht charter company. It operates three dining and entertainment yachts (M/V Emerald Star, M/V Olympic Star, and M/V Destiny), accommodating upwards of 50,000 guests per year aboard its cruises on Lake Union and Lake Washington. Waterways Cruises and Events also offers gourmet in-house catering and a large outdoor space for private events at Southport Meadow in Renton. Learn more at http://www.waterwayscruises.com.

Follow Waterways Cruises and Events Online

Website: http://www.waterwayscruises.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/waterwayscruise

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Waterways-Cruises/82709613073

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KOMO News, Agent@Home and Luxury TA Post About Down Under Answers' Newest Member, Jason Mesnick

Former ABC Bachelor, Jason Mesnick recently joined award-winning travel specialist, Down Under Answers, as the Business Development Manager for Australia, New Zealand and Africa travel. Below is some press coverage detailing his job duties:

KOMO Kirkland Community News-
http://kirkland.komonews.com/content/tv-bachelor-jason-mesnick-joins-travel-agency-down-under-answers

Agent@Home-
http://www.agentathome.com/Editorial.aspx?n=74767

Luxury Travel Advisor-
http://www.luxuryta.com/australia-new-zealand/bachelor-jason-mesnick-becomes-aussie-and-africa-specialist-3806


Jason will be online for an hour most weekdays at noon discussing travel-related topics on a new blog called jasonsjobblog.com. He will blog his must-visit locales, controversial travel issues, vacation video tips and details about his upcoming destinations.

Sip. at the wine bar & restaurant Introduces Executive Chef Chris Brown

Sip. at the wine bar & restaurant
Introduces Executive Chef Chris Brown

Issaquah Outpost Promotes Longtime Team Member to Top Position

ISSAQUAH, Wash.—(January 11, 2010)—Sip. Issaquah is happy to announce the promotion of Chris Brown to Executive Chef.

Brown, who was born in the United Kingdom and spent time in Italy as a child, has lived in the Seattle area for 15 years and has been with Sip. Issaquah since it opened its doors in 2007. He began as sous chef under then Executive Chef Cody Reaves, who now heads up the kitchen at Sip. Seattle. Not only was Brown influenced by Reaves during their tenure together, but, like Reaves, he boasts a well-traveled background that exposed him to a range of cuisines and cultures.

After attending the Culinary Program at the Art Institute of Seattle, Brown saw his career flourish at BADA Lounge even before completing his studies. He spent two years at BADA working under Chef Kelly Gaddis and then moved to Susan’s 5100 before landing in Kirkland at the popular Beach Cafe at Carillon Point. While he was at the Beach Café, he learned of the position at Sip. Issaquah. He jumped at the opportunity to both expand his knowledge of wine and focus on a fresh, seasonally changing menu.

Reflecting the warm, comfortable and earthy ambiance of each Sip. outpost, the seasonally changing menus—like perennial favorites—are based upon natural, sustainable, organic and local ingredients. Rotating dinner selections showcase the latest creations and talents of Brown, Robert Green (Gig Harbor) and Cody Reaves (Seattle): the distinct personality of each chef shines through, but all dishes offer the lively, appealing flavors, textures and presentation that characterize Sip. cuisine.

Notes owner Lane Scelzi, “He has a true culinary passion, understands the balance of flavors and presentations, and consistently delivers dishes to our guests that are above and beyond expectation. We are thrilled to have him at the helm of our Issaquah kitchen.”

The Napa-Valley-inspired Sip. at the wine bar & restaurant offers an approachable, global wine selection featuring nearly 70 by-the-glass choices, wine flights, and more than 250 bottles from the Pacific Northwest, California and around the world. The Northwest driven food menu comforts and inspires, and is sourced locally whenever possible. Locations include 909 5th Ave., Seattle 98101 (206) 682-2779; 1084 NE Park Dr., Issaquah, 98029 (425) 369-1181; and 4793 Point Fosdick Dr. NW, Suite 400, Gig Harbor, 98335 (253) 853-3020. For further information, visit http://www.siprestaurant.com/.

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Media Contact: Andrea Courtney
Randall PR / (206) 624-5757

El Gaucho Portland Welcomes Pastry Chef Quinne Salameh

El Gaucho Portland Welcomes Pastry Chef Quinne Salameh
Talented Pastry Chef Adds A Distinct New Flavor to El Gaucho’s Legendary Tableside Dessert Program

PORTLAND, Ore.—(November 9, 2009)— El Gaucho is thrilled to introduce Quinne Salameh, an inspired pastry chef who is expanding the restaurant’s dessert program to complement such old-school, nostalgic classics as Bananas Foster and Cherries Jubilee, expertly prepared tableside.

Immersed in food culture since her childhood in Monterey Bay, California, Quinne has spent a total of nearly 12 years working in the culinary industry. Her background is a marriage of the Arabic cooking she learned from her father’s side of the family and the classic American cuisine of her Midwestern mother, both traditions known for delectable, irresistible sweets.

She worked in kitchens throughout college, honing her appreciation for sweets and desserts at Marini’s Candies (Santa Cruz, California). After graduation, she moved to Portland where she enrolled in the Oregon Culinary Institute. A quick learner, she honed her talents at Portland’s Roux before becoming Assistant Pastry Chef and Cook at Veritable Quandary.

As a pastry chef, Quinne focuses on regional, seasonal ingredients, bringing Oregon’s wide variety of fresh ingredients to their full, tantalizing potential on the plate.

Says Quinne, “It’s really exciting to imagine the range of possible desserts that will complement the iconic El Gaucho menu. The favorites will always be here, naturally, but there’s a whole new world of retro desserts I’ll be producing to tempt our guests’ palates.”

El Gaucho is a grown-up refuge, defined by their polished, personalized service, authentic, swanky-supper-club ambiance, and the finest beef available. Quinne’s desserts provide yet another reason to linger over dinner at Portland’s ever popular steak house.

Open since 2000, El Gaucho® is the Northwest's steakhouse legacy focused on elegant, old-school, tableside service for people celebrating their lives. The menu highlights 28-Day Dry-Aged Certified Angus Beef® Prime steaks, cutting edge fresh seafood selections from sustainable sources, and extensive wine and malt scotch lists. El Gaucho’s swanky bar was recently featured in Continental Airlines magazine and given the “Gold Standard” by Portland Monthly magazine. Located at 319 S.W. Broadway, El Gaucho is open Monday through Thursday 5 p.m. to midnight; Friday and Saturday 5 p.m. to 1 a.m.; Sunday from 5 to 11 p.m. Happy hour is available 5 to 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. to close Monday through Friday and all day Sunday. For more information, visit www.elgaucho.com or call (503) 227-8794.

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Media Contact: Andrea Courtney
Randall PR / (206) 624-5757

Sip. at the wine bar & restaurant Welcomes Executive Chef Cody Reaves

Sip. at the wine bar & restaurant Welcomes Executive Chef Cody Reaves
Passionate About Ingredient-Driven Cooking, Reaves Brings 17 Years of Experience to New Downtown Location

SEATTLE, Wash.—(November 13, 2009)—When its doors open at 5th and Madison on November 20th, Sip. Seattle will have a uniquely seasoned professional heading up the kitchen team.

For 17 years, Executive Chef Cody Reaves has plied his trade in Northwest restaurants, notably El Gaucho, Pacific Grill and Sip. Issaquah.

Although his professional career officially began when he became a dishwasher at age 14, Reaves’ appreciation for the finest ingredients took root in his family’s garden, a shared responsibility that yielded fresh produce year-round.

Much of his culinary evolution reads like a National Geographic special. He took a job purse seining for salmon in Alaska to support himself while attending Western Washington University. This experience impressed upon him the importance of sustainably managed resources.

Travels throughout South America instilled a love of Latin culture and food; time spent in Southeast Asia taught him about the incredible diversity that can be found in a very small area, and that no single ingredient has only one use.

To Cody Reaves, the true success of a chef is not measured by acclaim or fame, but the quality of knowledge passed on from and to those they work with.

Says Sip. owner Lane Scelzi, “Cody’s philosophy and passion for natural and sustainable ingredients make him an ideal talent for Sip. Seattle. He’s certainly got the skills and experience, but there’s more to it than that: He possesses an unerring sense of what makes ingredient-driven cuisine lively, well-balanced and expertly presented. Like Cody himself, his food has personality without being pretentious. We’re thrilled he’ll be leading our downtown kitchen.”


The Napa-Valley-inspired Sip. at the wine bar & restaurant offers an approachable, global wine selection featuring nearly 70 by-the-glass choices, wine flights, and more than 250 bottles from the Pacific Northwest, California and around the world. The Northwest driven food menu comforts and inspires, and is sourced locally whenever possible. Locations include 909 5th Ave., Seattle 98101 (206) 682-2779; 1084 NE Park Dr., Issaquah, 98029 (425) 369-1181; and 4793 Point Fosdick Dr. NW, Suite 400, Gig Harbor, 98335 (253) 853-3020. For further information, visit www.siprestaurant.com.

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Media Contact: Andrea Courtney
Randall PR / (206) 624-5757

Sip. at the wine bar & restaurant Welcomes Robert Green as Executive Chef

Sip. at the wine bar & restaurant

Welcomes Robert Green as Executive Chef
Seasoned Gig Harbor Chef Brings More Than 20 Years Experience to South Sound Location

Gig HARBOR, Wash.—(November 3, 2009)—Lane Scelzi, owner and founder of Sip. at the wine bar & restaurant, is happy to announce the promotion of former Chef de Cuisine Robert Green to Executive Chef.

Green, who has been with Sip. Gig Harbor since doors opened in March 2009, brings to the position 23 years of culinary experience in restaurants, hotels and country clubs across the United States.

To say that Chef Green has enjoyed a varied, colorful career is an understatement. He went from the U.S. Marine Corps to French culinary school, and then apprenticed with Jim Hughes, National Chef of the Year (1979). He also trained with renowned master of Cajun food, Chef Paul Prudhomme and Chef Mark Miller, an authority on Southwest cuisine.

A sports fan and avid golfer, Green has been a chef at the Sprint International Golf Tournament (1989-1992), the Super Bowl (1999), the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and was on the U.S. Olympic Ice Carving team the same year. In 2000, he cooked for Vice President Al Gore.

Currently a proud Gig Harbor resident, he settled in the Northwest five years ago and helmed the kitchen at Gig Harbor’s Brix 25 (2004 to 2005) before becoming Sip.’s Chef de Cuisine.

His culinary philosophy can best be summed up in three words: “Simple is better.” Green combines classical technique with fresh, local, seasonal ingredients and lets the essence of the food speak for itself.

Says Scelzi, “In all our locations, we focus on the ingredients: our locally sourced organic produce to our Meyer Natural Angus certified-humane beef. What Robert does melds perfectly with our mission—to provide inspired, well-balanced American Cuisine that spotlights bold flavors, seasonal items, presentation, and pairs beautifully with our wine selection. We want our menu to be as welcoming, sophisticated and lively as the restaurants are themselves.”

The first Sip. at the wine bar & restaurant (www.siprestaurant.com) opened in Issaquah in 2006, followed by the Gig Harbor location in March of 2009; downtown Seattle—located at 5th and Madison—is scheduled to open to the general public on November 20.

The Napa-Valley-inspired Sip. at the wine bar & restaurant offers an approachable, global wine selection featuring nearly 70 by-the-glass choices, wine flights, and more than 250 bottles from the Pacific Northwest, California and around the world. The Northwest driven food menu comforts and inspires, and is sourced locally whenever possible. Locations include 909 5th Ave., Seattle 98101 (206) 682-2779; 1084 NE Park Dr., Issaquah, 98029 (425) 369-1181; and 4793 Point Fosdick Dr. NW, Suite 400, Gig Harbor, 98335 (253) 853-3020. For further information, visit www.siprestaurant.com.

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Media Contact: Andrea Courtney
Randall PR / (206) 624-5757

Solstice Restaurant Group Welcomes New General Managers

Solstice Restaurant Group Welcomes New General Managers

Shawn Lee to Oversee Both 0/8 Seafood Grill & Twisted Cork Wine Bar; Ellie Chin to Helm STIR / Martini + Raw Bar

BELLEVUE, Wash.—(October 6, 2009)—Solstice Restaurant Group announces that Shawn Lee and Ellie Chin have been hired as general managers at 0/8 Seafood Grill & Twisted Cork Wine Bar and STIR / Martini + Raw Bar, respectively. Each offering remarkable industry expertise, Lee and Chin will be responsible for staff training, human resources, and overseeing daily operations at the Bellevue Place properties.

Shawn Lee brings more than 20 years of experience to 0/8 & Twisted Cork. A Bachelor’s Degree in Hospitality and Restaurant Management led to positions as a banquet manager, a multi-unit restaurant manager, and General Manager and Director of Operations for a local restaurant group. While a food and beverage director for Sheraton and Hilton Hotels, he was named Manager of the Year multiple times. Lee has also owned a sushi distribution company and a full-service catering company.

Despite his breadth of experience, Lee’s philosophy remains simple and eloquent: “Food is a universal language, and it’s what bonds people together.”

The vivacious Ellie Chin is a household name on the local restaurant scene. Best known as a restaurateur, having launched Ovio Bistro and O2 in West Seattle and Market Street Bistro in Ballard, Chin began her gastronomic career at Canlis and also worked in some of Seattle’s most respected restaurants, including El Gaucho and Wild Ginger. Interest in catering and banquet services led her to management positions at Woodland Park Zoo, the Westin Hotel, and the Washington State Convention Center, presiding over events with staffs of 200 and guest lists numbering in the thousands.

“We are thrilled to have found two people with the depth of restaurant expertise and breadth of management experience that both Shawn and Ellie have. We are proud to welcome such qualified General Managers into our Solstice Restaurant Group family,” owner Matt Bomberger said.

0/8 Seafood Grill—and its spirited lounge, Twisted Cork Wine Bar—is located in Bellevue Place just off of N.E. Eighth and Bellevue Way. Open for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner, 0/8’s menu features local, Northwest products and flavors in unique, Asian-accented, seafood-focused dishes. The extensive wine program received the “Award of Excellence” from Wine Spectator (2007, 2008, 2009) and the “Award of Ultimate Distinction” from Wine Enthusiast (2008). The nearly 400-label wine list offers 87 wines by-the-taste or glass, including 22 champagne and sparkling selections.

0/8 Seafood Grill and Twisted Cork Wine Bar are open Sunday through Tuesday 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Wednesday through Saturday 6:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. More information and menus at www.08seafoodgrill.com. For reservations, call (425) 637-0808.

Opened August 2009, STIR Martini + Raw Bar focuses on precise mixology paired with simple and contemporary raw preparations of poke, sushi, ceviche, tartare and oysters and an all-day menu of NW and Asian influenced seafood. The restaurant offers an intimate, indoor urban lodge-feel with modern elements. Open daily from 11a.m. to 1 a.m., STIR is located at 10500 NE 8th Street, Suite 125 Bellevue, Wash. in the Bellevue Place Wintergarden, just off the grand staircase of the Bellevue Hyatt. More information and menus at www.stirmartinibar.com. For reservations, call (425) 646-7847. Follow us on Twitter @StirBellevue.

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Media Contact: Andrea Courtney
Randall PR / (206) 624-5757