Glendorn Appoints New Executive Chef
November 18, 2016
Pennsylvania’s Award-Winning The Lodge at Glendorn Announces New Executive Chef, Katelyn Steffan
Steffan is one of 35 females among the Relais & Châteaux association that includes 565 chefs
Bradford, Pennsylvania – November 16, 2016 — With the change of seasons, and on the heels of several major 2016 award wins—Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler and Orvis recognitions among them—comes a fresh culinary transition at The Lodge of Glendorn. Owner Cliff Forrest is pleased to announce Katelyn Steffan as the new Executive Chef, drawing on her years of experience, including approximately 18 months of strong culinary contributions at Glendorn to date.
“Katelyn has proven she is able to meet and exceed the award-wining culinary standards we have at Glendorn, as is synonymous with our Relais & Châteaux association,” notes Forrest. “Truly born into her culinary curiosity, she brings her love of food from her childhood experiences, and that translates to her understanding that food holds central relevance within gatherings among friends and family, a key element to the Glendorn experience. With her fresh perspectives, our guests can expect some new menu items over the coming seasons, with an emphasis on the locavore movement and seasonality; it’s all part of our commitment to the very best in culinary, nature and adventure, centered around family.”
Katelyn Steffan has been a strong and integral contributor since joining the Glendorn culinary team in June 2015, so the transition to the Executive Chef role was a natural one. Her philosophy of “cooking with the seasons” is well-aligned with taking advantage of the bounty available on the Glendorn property—the harvest from the carefully-tended Glendorn garden pays it forward on the menu for most of the year—as well as that from the area’s local foragers and purveyors. Whether it be ramps, summer squash, beets, heirloom tomatoes or a fine cut of beef, maintaining the integrity of the ingredient is of prime focus for this chef regardless of the complexity of the dish.
It comes as no surprise then that the garden is where Katelyn’s introduction to the culinary arts began. Initially, it was in her family’s garden in rural Pennsylvania, and that curiosity and appreciation was expanded during annual road trips across the United States and Canada, punctuated by trips to France and Switzerland. While preparing to study Culinary Arts at Paul Smith’s College in New York, Katelyn accepted what she thought would be a summer job before her senior year of high school working as a line cook at The Point, a Relais & Chateaux property, on Upper Saranac Lake, NY. Under the direction of a visionary chef deeply committed to the burgeoning farm-to-table movement, Katelyn’s love for the culinary arts and hospitality truly blossomed. She later joined Lake Placid Lodge as an assistant pastry chef and mastered each station in the kitchen before being promoted to Sous Chef, where she deepened her relationships with local farmers and purveyors to source the freshest seasonal ingredients for the lodge’s two restaurants.
Some guests will even consult with Katelyn for special requests, and for ideas to take to their own kitchens. She’s been known to share a recipe or two. Most recently, to appeal to guests who desire less-filling menu options to intersperse among their culinary exploration at Glendorn (which can include multi-course tasting menus), Katelyn has introduced some lighter menu selections, including charcuterie platters which have already proven to be popular with the lunch crowd.
As one of 35 females among the 565 at the Executive Chef level within the Relais & Châteaux association, Katelyn represents a relatively intimate but growing movement of female chefs around the world. It is also notable too that Katelyn’s sister, Sarah Steffan, shares a culinary calling fostered from childhood; she is posted at another Relais & Châteaux property—Blackberry Farms, in Tennessee, where she is Chef de Cuisine at the Main House.
“My culinary curiosity really was first sparked at home, and all my experiences since then, from my travels to my classical French training and the opportunity to work with some great chef mentors, have afforded me the privilege to bring it all home here at Glendorn,” noted Katelyn. “I am committed to respecting seasonality, as well as to allowing the true flavors of ingredients to shine through, and it’s a delight to be able to translate this to the ever-evolving menu for our guests.”
Katelyn is available to offer insights on all things culinary at Glendorn, and is happy to provide recipes and chef expertise on a range of food-related topics.