PodcastsHear From Our People

Chef Seth Kondor brings over 20 years of expertise to Chiles Hospitality as Culinary Director, where he oversees all culinary operations, menus, and procurement for our restaurants. Having previously led culinary teams for leading hospitality groups such as Gaylord Opryland, South Sea’s Island Resorts, and The Walt Disney Company, we were honored to have had Seth initially join Chiles Hospitality at Mar Vista on Longboat Key, where he enhanced its legacy by sharing in our company’s commitment to unforgettable guest experiences. He believes in creating a warm and welcoming dining room, a place where the community can meet. His passion for crafting intriguing dishes based around seasonal ingredients and local food partners helps us provide a magical menu for our guests.

Horacio has been with Sandbar Seafood & Spirits for over five years, starting as a lead line cook, swiftly moving up to Chef de Cuisine, and is now in his current role as Executive Chef. His culinary journey began at just seven-years-old when he came to America from Venezuela. He then traveled between South America and Europe before establishing himself in Madrid, Spain, and graduating from Escuela Superior de Hosteleria y Turismo in 2010.

Post-graduation, Horacio spent time in restaurants in Madrid before ultimately returning to America. Since his return, he has been with Chiles Hospitality and works tirelessly to grow his culinary skills and knowledge. Outside of work, Horacio is married and a proud father of two boys. If you want to see what creative dishes he feels inspired to make, follow him on Instagram @chefheagan1989.

Chef Thomas Villetto has a special passion for food. Thomas joins the Beach House Waterfront Restaurant from working in some of the top restaurants in the country, specializing in Italian and French cuisines. He specifically loves to work with local vendors, ingredients, and small purveyors focusing on fresh ingredients with simple preparation in a constantly changing menu.

He has worked for both James Beard and Michelin Star chefs in the past and his passion for food shows on every plate he puts out. He shares the vision of sustainable farming with Mr. Chiles and looks to continue the legacy of the Beach House.

Steve leads our commissary kitchen at Gamble Creek Farms, servicing our wholesale restaurant accounts and farmer’s market. A Johnson & Wales graduate, Steve is a top-producing Executive Chef with over 30 years of experience in food preparation and kitchen operations for leading hotels, resorts, and restaurants. He has extensive knowledge in French, Italian, Continental, Americana, Southwestern, and fusion cuisine.

During his career he studied under different respected European chefs in France and Spain, resulting in a synergistic understanding of wildly contrasting styles. He trained at Pacific Islands Club, based out of Yokohama, Japan. Worked and trained at Emperors Palace in Seoul, S. Korea and over the years with a multi-cultural crew of Japanese, Thai, Korean, Filipino, Chook, Chamorro, Panapai, and Palau kitchen peers.

Outside of work, he competed and placed in the 1996 Culinary Olympic Games in Atlanta, GA, and was an alternate/competitor at the KIT in Germany where he placed 3rd overall.

Ted Louloudes, a Bradenton native hailing from a family of restaurateurs (his grandfather owned 6 Greek pizzerias), introduced him to the craft of baking from a young age. Today he is Head Baker for Chiles Hospitality, who initially joined in 2003 as a busser at the Sandbar during high school.

At that point, he went on to earn a Business Management degree from Florida State University before deciding to attend the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley. Upon finishing the culinary program, he worked in several NYC restaurants including Lafayette Grand Café & Bakery. He would then return to Florida, holding positions at Tampa’s Bern's Steak House, the Epicurean Hotel, and SideBern's restaurant.

He rejoined Chiles Hospitality in 2015, where he was set on establishing baked goods to service all our restaurants. Spending time at Gamble Creek Farms gave him a chance to grow, harvest, and process many of the products we use in the bakery’s recipes. Ted’s passion for baking is the driving force that shines through rustic sourdough, ciabatta, brioche, muffins, and focaccia, made daily with rave reviews.

Today, all of our bread, crackers, and desserts are housed under Anna Maria Bake House, with plans to further expand our reach.

Logan grew up on the East Coast of Florida before pursuing a degree in Hospitality Management from The University of Mississippi. Upon graduating, Logan worked for Mindful Restaurant Group in Washington, DC as the Events Director, specializing in political fundraising events.

In 2016, Logan joined Corner Table Restaurants and was an integral part of expanding the brand outside of its home market in New York City. As the assistant general manager, she led two restaurant openings in Washington, DC before ultimately being named the General Manager of the first Chicago location.

Logan joined Chiles Hospitality as the General Manager of Sandbar in March 2022. She is passionate about sustainability, empowering her team and crafting memorable experiences.

Dave began his 33-year career in the restaurant industry at a large waterfront restaurant in Connecticut. After more than 15-years there, he moved to Anna Maria Island working as a kitchen manager and eventually joined the Beach House as an Assistant Manager.
Promoted to General Manager in March of 2016, Dave led the restaurant during its final phase of renovations when the focus shifted from the recently remodeled dining room and bar to the outdoor deck.

"I'm thrilled to be part of the team and look forward to carrying on Ed's passion for food while bringing his vision of forward-thinking, locally-focused and sustainable culinary practices to life."

Brandi Craig, a longtime Chiles Hospitality team member, was promoted to Mar Vista’s general manager in 2022. Prior to that she was Assistant GM of the Beach House Waterfront Restaurant, where Brandi started her career as a server in July 2007. She spent time in management both at the Beach House and at Sandbar Seafood & Spirits. In all her assignments she displays great interpersonal and management skills.

Will Manson has been Executive Chef of the Beach House since 1999, moving over to General Manager of Gamble Creek Farms in 2022.

He received his first classical training from Chef Jean Pierre Knaggs, owner of the popular Bijou Cafe in downtown Sarasota. Will was given the opportunity to attend the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY.

His experience in boutique restaurants combined with the discipline of large restaurant companies like the Outback Steakhouse Corporation and Darden along with the immense responsibility of serving thousands of guests at a time through the Orange County Convention Center makes Will in a word - "seasoned".

As a young artist deeply interested in the natural world and travel, Zack found himself in South India where he got his first taste of ecological farming.

These South Indian farmers built complex food laden ecosystems out of what they had locally. This experience inspired him to dive fully into the world of agro-ecology. Zack has spent the last 10 years studying permaculture design with a specific interest in Agroforestry, Korean natural farming and syntropic farming systems.

His journey with Chiles Hospitality began with the installation of multiple self-sustaining gardens at our restaurant, Sandbar Seafood & Spirits, for the culinary team. Unique varieties of herbs, spices, vegetables, fruits, and flowers being grown with organic practices and permaculture principles have become a staple for all three restaurant locations.⁣

Since designing and installing countless ecological food systems for individuals, commercial clients, restaurant owners, chefs, and integrative physicians, some of Zack’s current goals at Gamble Creek Farms are to build cohesive plant relationships. This will in-turn decrease pest pressure and disease, bring permaculture perspective, ramp up native plant species, transition from using traditional organic fertilizers to onsite blended and fermented bio-available fertilizers, increase farm profitability and expose people to really unique heirloom varieties of food.⁣ There is potential for to discover forgeable culinary items in Florida and he is excited to bring unique flavors to the palettes of our patrons. It's all about the food!