Chef Kevin Cottle

Chef Kevin Cottle’s culinary development began early in life, on the shores of Cape Cod. As a young child Kevin would help his father, who was an avid fisherman, filet the daily catch. His culinary roots were firmly grounded in the creativity and passion for food depicted by Kevin’s mother, who was also a chef. According to Kevin, it was his father’s love for fishing and his mother’s culinary creativity that inspired his flair for contemporary New England Cuisine.

Chef Cottle’s formal culinary training began at Plymouth South Vocational High School, where he graduated at the top of his Culinary Arts class. Kevin then continued his culinary training at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y.

Chef Cottle’s professional culinary journey began in Philadelphia at Sfuzzi, where he worked as a Sous Chef specializing in Italian Cuisine. After working in a few of Philadelphia’s finest restaurants, Chef Cottle’s love of the ocean brought him back to Boston, where he worked at the Colonnade Hotel under the watchful eye of skilled Master Chef John Joho. On his days off, he lent a hand at Sandrine’s Bistro in Cambridge, where he gained invaluable experience from French Master Chef Raymond Ost. “It is during my time in Boston that I learned to fuse contemporary New England cuisine with the elegance of French gastronomy,” Cottle says.

In 1998, Kevin decided to venture west to Colorado, where he initially worked as a Banquet Chef and later as the Executive Sous Chef of the Sonnenalp Resort in Vail. During his time in Colorado, Kevin took full advantage of available natural resources, using fresh game to create dishes with a local flair.

After spending just over three years in Colorado, Kevin once again returned to Cape Cod, where he accepted a job at the Wequassett Inn Resort and Golf Club. In 2002 as Chef de Cuisine, he presided over the opening of Wequassett’s fine dining restaurant, “28 Atlantic,” which has received numerous awards and accolades, including AAA’s four-diamond award and Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence. He was also honored to cook at the James Beard house as part of the best hotel chef series featuring “28 Atlantic” restaurant.

In 2005, Kevin joined the Mountain View Grand Resort and Spa located in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. As Executive Chef, Kevin viewed this as an opportunity to merge the experiences of his diverse culinary background. His menu featured seafood specialties such as pan seared escolar “cassoulet,” as well as locally farmed wild game, including pistachio-dusted elk loin. Kevin has always strongly believed in using local products whenever possible, to promote all that a region has to offer. While at Mountain View, Kevin also became a very active member of the “Farm to Chef” program, which is run by the Department of Agriculture. In 2006, he transformed Mountain View’s signature restaurant, “The Main Dining Room,” into the only AAA Four Diamond- rated hotel or resort dining facility in New Hampshire.

In 2007, Kevin became Executive Chef at the prestigious Country Club of Farmington, in Farmington, Conn. From the start, his role at Farmington has been to restructure all culinary operations, from building new kitchens to creating a culinary school within the private member club. Kevin reached out to the Farmington High School Culinary program to help further educate students with hands-on experience at the club and teach the importance of using locally farmed foods. Here, too, Kevin works closely with local purveyors to promote local products in the club, and he has again been aggressively involved with the Connecticut Department of Agriculture’s “Farm to Chef”.

Chef Cottle’s culinary talents have been viewed on numerous television shows and magazines, including Chef Gordon Ramsay’s hit reality show, Hell’s Kitchen Season 6, on the Fox network. Highlights can be viewed on Chef Cottle’s personal website, www.chefkevincottle.com