Wichita chef news: Hyatt hires first female head chef; Culinary school director plans exit

The latest round of chef news in Wichita includes a high-profile departure — and the hiring of the first female head chef in the history of Wichita’s Hyatt Regency hotel.

Katie Doornbos, a former Butler Community College culinary arts student who most recently worked as the executive head chef for Century II, took over the top job at the Hyatt late last year after Chef Frank Halasz’s departure.

When the job came open, she said, a couple of people she knew who worked in sales at the hotel urged her to apply. She finally agreed and got the job.

“I love it,” she said. “I’d like to stay here until I die.”

In addition to working as executive chef, Doornbos is also a director on the hotel’s executive committee. She’s in charge not only of the hotel’s restaurant, Harvest Kitchen/Bar, but also of catering and the hotel coffee shop.

She just finished updating the hotel’s catering menu and said she is slowly working on changing Harvest’s menu, which she wants to reflect that of a “classic steakhouse.” The menu updates should roll out in April, she said.

Harvest, which opened in 2008, also will be getting a face lift that includes new paint and new carpet.

“We want to make it look less like a breakfast restaurant and more like a steakhouse,” she said.

Doornbos, who also worked as a chef at Via Christi St. Francis, said she loves the freedom she has in her new job.

“It’s everything that I had hoped for,” she said. “It’s kind of a dream job to have as much control as I do. They have a lot of trust in me to make things how I want to and to make them to my standards.”

Culinary school departures

Meanwhile, the school that helped train Doornbos also will soon undergo some big chef changes.

Butler Community College’s culinary arts school is parting ways with its founding chefs — Luis Pena and Alicia Pena. The two have helped lead the program for the past three years.

Luis works as the director of the culinary and hospitality program at the school’s Redler Institute of Culinary Arts, and wife, Alicia, is on the faculty. Both will continue working with the school until the fall semester.

After that, they plan to open their own food business in Wichita, Luis said, though they can’t yet share exactly what it will be. They also plan to continue collaborating with the Butler program.

Luis said it felt like the right time to leave Butler. They’re excited about their next venture, which they’ve been planning for years, he said.

Before coming to Wichita, Luis and his wife had both worked in east coast restaurants. They ended up in Wichita after Alicia was reassigned to Wichita’s McConnell Air Force Base.

Both of the Penas are culinary school graduates, and for a while they were running their own home-based bakery called Pinch of Grace Sweets.

Butler has launched a national search for Chef Luis’ replacement.