Napa Rose Chef Honored with Antonin Carême Medal
Napa Rose Executive Chef Andrew Sutton, a 26-year culinary veteran, was honored as one of four recipients of the Antonin Carême Medal presented by The Chefs Association of the Pacific Coast, Inc. in San Francisco on November 16.
Sutton accepted the medal for his lifetime of achievements including his involvement in creating an award-winning menu, featuring hand-selected ingredients from throughout California’s diverse regions for Napa Rose, the five-star restaurant he helped launched when he joined the Disneyland Resort nine years ago.
“This medal means so much to me,” Sutton said. “It is truly humbling to be recognized for outstanding and lasting contributions. For me, what it’s really about are the people I work with and the guests we serve.”
Sutton graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1987 but his passion for cooking was established years before. Learning from parents who he deemed “great cooks,” Sutton took his familial knowledge and worked in various casual eateries in his hometown of Dallas. The flavorful road between those first jobs and his first 10 years as a chef was filled with learning various culinary techniques including French, California, and Southwest cuisine.
In 1993, Sutton was recruited to the internationally acclaimed boutique property, Napa Valley’s Auberge du Soleil. In 2000, he joined the Disneyland Resort. Since then, his contributions to the profession have been demonstrated in his ability to bring Napa Valley’s “earth to table” cuisine to Disneyland Resort guests.
“We are extremely proud of Chef Sutton for this achievement. It is a tribute to his culinary excellence and his good character,” said Tony Bruno, vice president, Resort hotels and Downtown Disney. “His influence has been instrumental in shaping Napa Rose into an award-winning dining experience.”
The Antonin Carême Medal, which was awarded to Julia Child in 1974, was founded by The Chefs Association of the Pacific Coast, Inc. in 1969. Sutton is the 148th individual to receive the medal in the program’s 40-year history. Ferdinand Metz, former president of the Culinary Institute of America, and Bradley Ogden, who is celebrated for his New American Cuisine, also have received the award.
“Chef Sutton has set a benchmark for excellence and creativity throughout his career,” said Master Sommelier Frederick L. Dame, who serves as a trustee for the Antonin Carême Awards. “Napa Rose is a perfect example of his dedication to the culinary arts and continued exploration in refining his craft. He exemplifies the Antonin Carême Medal Awards’ extraordinarily high standards.”
In addition to the Antonin Carême Medal, Sutton’s honors include 2005 “Chef of the Year” by the Southern California Restaurant Writers Association, Santé Magazine’s 2003 award for “Best Menu for Wine” and he became a Certified Level One Sommelier in 2002.
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About the Antonin Carême Medal Program
The namesake of the Carême Medal, Marie Antoine (Antonin) Carême (1784-1833), was born in Paris at the height of the French Revolution. He is well known for simplifying and codifying the style of cooking known as haute cuisine, the high art of French cooking that is central to France’s national cuisine and he is often thought of as the first celebrity chef. Carême wrote several encyclopedic works on cookery, above all L’Art de la Cuisine Francaise, which included instructions for organizing kitchens. The medal program was founded to honor those rare individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the culinary profession.