General Manager Chad Russell

Upon receiving a B.A. in Literature from Ohio University at Athens, Chad decided to postpone real-life for just a bit longer, and attend culinary school in the Catskills in upstate New York, where he followed a life-long love, some may call it an obsession, with food. It started with his Chinese Mother, not to imply that he has an American mother, just to specify that his Mother is Chinese, who, with no formal training, was able to meld Chinese and American flavors seamlessly to create thoughtful, subtle dishes when Asian-fusion was in its infancy; so began his obsessive love of food.

Chad’s Grandmother, being from the American side, and not Chinese, though, in no way is a pejorative cultural comparison being drawn, just the indication of an inherent multicultural background, also influenced him greatly. She taught him the exquisite art of butter, pork fat, sugar, and salt. From these two wonderful fonts of culinary wisdom, and the fateful, encouraging words of his Father, “Follow what you love,” a cooking and eating machine was forged. After procuring a degree in Culinary Arts, Chad worked, for a time, at Mohonk Mountain House Resort in New Paltz, New York, gleaned what he could from a large resort hotel, and made a move to the front of the house in Vail, Colorado at the Swiss Chalet. He realized that he had a particular affinity with the workings of the dining room, and quickly moved on to Sweet Basil and La Tour, where he refined his knowledge and skills.

Then came a whimsical move back into the kitchen. He took the Executive Chef position at Charlotte’s Place Restaurant in Ealing, London, U.K., where he brought creative-American cuisine to the droves of flavor-starved Londoners. Despite the merry band of newly-converted, flavor-loving patrons, and, as is the story of countless people that have lived in Vail, Chad, the mountains beckoning, and caprice being on the wind, breezed back to Vail. He worked at various restaurants in the capacity of manager, gaining experience and cutting those food-loving chops on new aspects of the industry to refine the knowledge that he has collected on his travels.

In November of 2009, Chad was honored to accept the General Manager position, and returned to the venerable La Tour Restaurant. He likes to think that secular providence and all of his sundry experiences culminated in this position, but, in reality, it was probably just good, old-fashioned luck. He now works passionately and happily with the Ferzaccas, and the whole Ferzacca Management team to maintain the high standards and dazzling food that is La Tour; and to ensure that when guests walk through the door, they leave the world of the ordinary, and enter the world of the sublime.