New Chef Will Set Strategy for Madison’s Restaurant and All Culinary Venues Under the Brand

(Highlands, NC) Old Edwards Hospitality Group announces the appointment of Chef Johannes Klapdohr as the new Executive Chef for Old Edwards Inn and Spa located in Highlands NC. The German native will oversee all aspects of the Old Edwards Hospitality Group culinary offerings, including Madison’s Restaurant & Wine Garden, the Spa Café, Poolside Bar & Bistro, the Rib Shack, the private Old Edwards Club, catered weddings at The Farm and corporate meetings at the Executive Conference Center. He will also be responsible for Old Edwards’ signature wine dinners as well as other special culinary events throughout the year.
Richard Delany, president of Old Edwards Hospitality Group, says, “We truly could not be more honored and thrilled to have someone like Chef Klapdohr leading our culinary team. Having worked with him at Sea Island, I’ve experienced the energy, innovation, vision and leadership he brings—not only for his staff but also for guests, who are drawn to his vibrant personality and his enthusiasm regarding the quality of their cuisine and their dining experience.”
Chef Klapdohr’s culinary career spans an impressive variety of cuisines, global regions, techniques and prestigious positions. He was most recently Executive Chef of The Culinary Vegetable Institute at Chef’s Garden in Ohio, whose purpose is to support the Chef and Farmer Concept™ and educate F&B professionals as well as the public of the importance of sustainable agriculture. This concept forms the basis for Chef Klapdohr’s culinary philosophy.
Chef Klapdohr says: “The constant research of selecting the finest products in the region, as well as globally, has become my ultimate passion. To nurture and create sustainable, flavorful cuisine that is also healthy and environmentally responsible continues to be the essence of my culinary philosophy.”
Chef Klapdohr’s passion for the culinary arts started with being born into four generations of Hoteliers, Restaurateurs and Chefs in Bad Kreuznach, Germany, located in the beautiful wine region Nahe. At an early age he discovered his love of the culinary arts in his father’s kitchen, where he picked feathers from pheasants and prepared finely diced heirloom potatoes for the famous family recipe of Fülsel Kartoffel served with a whole roasted suckling pig during wine harvest season.
Chronological Highlights of Chef Klapdohr’s Career Include
• Apprenticeship under Rainer Knichel in the Hünsruck Mountains learning classical French and regional hand-crafted German cuisine
• Haenish Schloβ & City Hotel Group in one of Germany’s first Italian fine dining restaurants “Bugatti” featuring the Mediterranean and the northern Italian style of cuisine
• The Relais & Chateau “Hotel Bareiss” in the Black Forest, one of the top five hotels in Germany in recent decades
• Franz Raneburger’s famous restaurant “Bamberger Reiter” in Berlin
• Karl Ederer’s “Gasthaus Glockenbach” in Munich, one of the first Michelin Star Chef’s to promote the concept of regional and sustainable cuisine in Germany
• The world renown “Restaurant Aubergine” with chef Eckard Witzigman, one of only four chefs in the world to be named “Chef of the Century” by Gault Millau
• Rejoined with Franz Raneburger at his “Restaurant Schloβ Glineke” in Berlin as Executive Chef
• In 1996, arrived in Atlanta for the Olympic Games and in 1998 was promoted to Chef de Cuisine at the prestigious “Nikolai’s Roof” – Atlanta’s finest award-winning restaurant at the time; Created a style of cooking that combines southern regional cuisine with the best ingredients in the world, which quickly earned him a place in the best 100 Restaurants in 1999 by Zagat and the Mobil four-star award, making it the only Four-Star restaurant in downtown Atlanta in 2000
• Executive Chef of “The Lodge at Sea Island,” the Mobil Five Star, AAA Five Diamond Hotel which was also named #1 hotel, including fine dining, in the US and #1 golf hotel in the world
• Joined The Chef’s Garden Company on December 2007 as Executive Chef and Director of Product Development of The Culinary Vegetable Institute. There he promoted the importance of bringing Farmers, Chefs and Guests together focusing on the education of sustainability through farm-to-table experiences
About Old Edwards Hospitality Group: (www.oldedwardsinn.com) The Old Edwards Hospitality Group encompasses The Old Edwards Inn and Spa in Highlands, NC, as well as The Old Edwards Club—a private club that features a professionally designed golf course, outdoor heated mineral pool, tennis courts, a fitness center, clubhouse and pro shop. Old Edwards Inn and Spa is Condé Nast Johansens Most Excellent Inn in the USA and Canada for 2008. The Mobil Four-Star, AAA Four-Diamond resort is located at 445 Main Street in Highlands, NC. Also included in the Old Edwards Experience are a Mobil Four-Star wellness spa, Madison’s Restaurant and Wine Garden, The Farm at Old Edwards special events and wedding facility, Acorn’s and Acorn’s Annex upscale retail shops, and The Rib Shack & Sports Corner. Madison’s Restaurant and Wine Garden has won the Wine Spectator “Award of Excellence” every year since 2005 and the “Best Of” award in 2008.