The following is a press release:
Grand Hyatt Nashville, the 25-floor luxury property located within the 18-acre Nashville Yards development, announced Chef Khaled Tabet as the hotel’s new Executive Chef. Chef Tabet brings more than 22 years of experience holding leadership positions at restaurants and bars in New York City, Lebanon, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates.
“I am thrilled Chef Tabet has joined our culinary team to further strengthen excellence throughout Grand Hyatt Nashville’s multiple food & beverage outlets,” said Marc Sternagel, Area General Manager. “With outside-the-box ideas guaranteed to impress even the most discerning foodies, he will help usher in a new era of creativity and innovation at our restaurants, bringing guests an even more unique culinary experience that blends international flavors with local flair.”
Most recently, Chef Tabet served as the Executive Chef of the Conrad New York Downtown, ranked by Forbes as Hilton’s #1 hotel in North America, overseeing the famed Loopy Doopy rooftop bar and ATRIO wine bar and restaurant. Previously, he was the Executive Chef and Food and Beverage Director of the Roosevelt Hotel and the Novotel New York Times Square hotel.
At Grand Hyatt Nashville, Chef Tabet will lead the menu development and operations of the hotel’s catering and events services as well as its multiple in-house dining outlets, including The Nashville Grange, a full-service restaurant serving Tennessee-to-table breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner options; lou/na, a 25th-floor rooftop bar offering elevated cocktails and small bites; and Aurum, a gilded lobby bar with an expansive spirit list that showcases some of Nashville’s best live musicians every weekend.
Chef Tabet will also manage the operations of three newly opened Nashville Yards food trucks: The Azalean, serving gourmet street tacos; The Pan American, featuring sandwiches and veggie burgers; and The Southwind, offering salads and creative specials like sushi, pad thai, and pad kee mao noodles. Bringing the same locally sourced ingredients and culinary vision of hotel’s restaurants to a more fast-casual environment, the food trucks are now open to the public and can be found serving lunch outside Amazon Nashville on weekdays.
“I am honored to be leading such a talented team at one of the country’s top luxury hotels,” said Chef Tabet. “We’re evolving Music City’s culinary scene with new takes on classic recipes and incredible ingredients found across the community and region. As a chef, what could be more exciting than that? Grand Hyatt Nashville’s wide variety of dining options also offers a curated experience for everyone that comes through our doors – locals and travelers alike.”
Originally from Beirut, Lebanon, Chef Tabet grew up during the Lebanese Civil War and was inspired to become a chef while learning to make traditional dishes from his mother. He remembers cooking at an early age as one of the few times that his family and friends were able to gather, forget the surrounding circumstances, and enjoy a few moments with each other. Chef Tabet’s heritage greatly influences his cooking style. His past signature desserts have included Bûche de Noël, a Lebanese “Christmas Log” made with coffee and chocolate; Knefeh, a subtly sweet pastry similar to cheesecake; and Osmalia, a thick cream sandwiched between layers of stringy dough and garnished with pistachios.
Chef Tabet earned a Bachelor of Hotel Management in Beirut and participated in a Hotel Management Internship with the American Hospitality Academy in Orlando, Florida. After working in New York City for the last two decades, he now resides in Nashville with his family and enjoys traveling, hunting, fishing, and gardening.
