Crave Culinaire chef Brian Roland critical after accident at Ferrari of Naples
Crave Culinaire owner and chef Brian Roland was in critical condition Monday after he was pinned under a freight elevator platform at Ferrari of Naples on Saturday night.
North Collier Fire Rescue responded to the dealership at 11291 Tamiami Trail N. at about 10:30 p.m. Saturday to rescue Roland, who was pinned beneath the elevator platform, said the department’s public information officer Heather Mazurkiewicz.
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Crews extracted and transported Roland to Lee Memorial Hospital. As of Monday morning, Lee Memorial reported Roland’s condition as critical.
Roland, 42, is a graduate of New York’s Culinary Institute of America. He’s had gigs at the Naples-based Chops City Grill and Shannon Yates’ Cru out of south Fort Myers, which saw Roland on a team cooking at the James Beard House in 2006.
While he achieved much as part of a team, he also led teams to success. He was an executive chef at M Waterfront Grille for several years and now owns Crave Culinaire, a catering company based in Bonita Springs.
Roland also has contributed to his community in other ways. During the pandemic, he joined the Frontline Foods initiative to deliver lunches to staff at Gulf Coast Medical Center in Fort Myers.
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In 2019, after Hurricane Dorian devastated the Bahamas, he and his wife Nicole mounted a successful social media campaign to gather goods to contribute to relief efforts.
Dozens took to social media to share thoughts and prayers for Roland, and other community members expressed their support.
Trish Leonard, owner of the Bonita-based TLC Marketing and Creative Services, has worked with Roland for several years.
“He was always kind and passionate. Always on top of everything to make sure those little special details were made for not only the person who hired him but for every dish that came out,” Leonard said. “Everyone’s praying for him and rallying around Brian and his family.”
Dara and Brian Gorman, who co-own Bonita's Artichoke & Company catering business, shared their thoughts and prayers, too.
“He’s a wonderful guy and we pray for him,” Dara said.
Brian Gorman described a friendly competition that pushed each of them to be better and said the accident comes at a busy time of year.
“(Roland) is a great chef and we wish him well, for sure,” Brian Gorman said. “Our prayers are going out for him.”
“He needs all of the prayers everyone can send please,” wrote Sage Events owner Amber Phillips in a text message.
Messages to Roland were not immediately answered, and staff at Crave Culinaire were unable to comment. Messages to Ferrari of Naples were not immediately returned.
Andrew Atkins writes about food and features for the Naples Daily News. Contact him via email at andrew.atkins@naplesnews.com. To support work like Andrew's, please consider subscribing: https://cm.naplesnews.com/specialoffer/
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Crave Culinaire chef Brian Roland critical after accident at Ferrari of Naples
