New York’s Leading Catering and Events Company Expands its Expert Culinary Team
Great Performances, the premier catering and events company responsible for orchestrating many of Manhattan’s most high profile celebrations and occasions, is pleased to announce Robert Valencia as Executive Pastry Chef.
An accomplished culinary artist with over 15 years of experience, Chef Valencia’s impressive resume includes positions at notable restaurants spanning both the East and West coasts, from Boulevard Restaurant and mc2 Restaurant in San Francisco to Blue Fin at the W Hotel in Times Square and “Green” Michelin star-winning Rouge Tomate in New York City. Most recently, Valencia worked with Liberty Tavern Restaurant Group in Arlington, Virginia where he served as the Executive Pastry Chef for the group’s three restaurants: Lyon Hall, Northside Social and The Liberty Tavern.
“It is with great excitement that we welcome Chef Robert Valencia to our culinary team,” said Liz Neumark, CEO and founder of Great Performances. “I fell in love with his creativity and passion. He combines tradition and whimsy; understands the range of preferences (from gluten free to sinful); and is constantly creating new items.”
True to Great Performances’ mission to support community, environment and sustainability is Valencia’s dedication to using local ingredients, an approach he has taken to dessert since he first started his career in San Francisco after graduating from the California Culinary Academy in 1999.
“The use of local ingredients is something that is very important to me not only as a Pastry Chef but a devoted member of my community, and I am extremely excited to be working with a company like Great Performances that shares this same value,” said Valencia.
Chef Valencia will lend his expertise to all of the private events that Great Performances oversees, as well as to the esteemed culinary programs for events at many of the city’s most high-profile cultural institutions which are among the company’s clients, including Sotheby’s, The Plaza Hotel, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
ABOUT GREAT PERFORMANCES
Great Performances is a premier New York City caterer known for its dedication to seasonal ingredients, innovative culinary presentations, and exceptional service. Counting many of the city’s most high-profile cultural institutions as clients, such as Sotheby’s, El Museo del Barrio, BAM, and Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola (at the Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center), Great Performances is the only New York City caterer to own and operate its own 60-acre organic farm, Katchkie Farm, in Kinderhook, NY. For more information, please visit http://www.greatperformances.com/.
