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Barona Resort & Casino Promotes Ivan Cota to Executive Chef
August 7, 2019
(SAN DIEGO, CA) August 26, 2019 – Barona Resort & Casino recently announced the promotion of Ivan Cota as the new Executive Chef at San Diego’s leading gaming resort destination.
Chef Cota joined the Barona Resort & Casino culinary team as Chef de Cuisine in 2009 and became Executive Property Sous Chef in 2014. During his tenure at Barona, he’s helped to manage 16 restaurants and casual eateries, special events catering, and the casino’s signature game side dining. In his new role, he will manage all operations related to the culinary and stewarding department, including cost control, menu development, and staff and manager training.
“We are delighted to appoint Chef Ivan as our Executive Chef and are confident that his culinary and leadership skills will continue to elevate Barona’s dining scene,” said Rick Salinas, general manager of Barona Resort & Casino. “As a member of the Barona family for the past decade, Chef Ivan embodies our culture and consistently goes above and beyond to ensure staff members have what they need to deliver an outstanding experience to players at all of our dining outlets and on our casino floor.”
Chef Cota has more than a decade of experience in the San Diego’s culinary industry. His background includes more than six years managing teams of 600-plus employees and overseeing the full operations of a total of 18 restaurants and casual eateries throughout his career. Before joining Barona, he served in Executive Chef roles at several local highly acclaimed restaurants and catering companies.
“I am extremely excited about the opportunity to create a special dining experience for our players at Barona,” says Cota. “While I want to develop new creative ideas and expand our menu, I want to maintain the collaboration of our talented staff. Working at Barona is like working at home and the love and dedication we have for our food and each other is conveyed in every dish we create.”
Chef Cota is a graduate of Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts in Vancouver, Canada, and previously attended Centro de Enseñanza Técnica Y Superior Universidad (CETYS) in Ensenada, Mexico.
About Barona Resort & Casino
Named Best Casino and “Loosest Slots” for eight consecutive years in the San Diego’s Best Union-Tribune Readers Poll, Barona Resort & Casino is the ultimate gaming entertainment destination featuring 2,500 slot and video poker machines and 120 table games. The hotel at Barona Resort & Casino features 400 casually elegant guest rooms and suites with beautiful views of the Barona Valley, award-winning dining, Spa Barona, a full-service events center and the 18-hole championship Barona Creek Golf Club, ranked in the Golfweek Magazine Top 10 for the past 16 years. For Barona Resort & Casino reservations and information, visit www.barona.com, or call toll free 888-7-BARONA (722-7662). You can also socialize with Barona on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
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