Veteran chef George Hoek, much appreciated Executive Chef at the Manchebo Beach Resort & Spa received a Lifetime Achievement Award on Friday as the Aruba Hotel & Tourism Association in collaboration with the Digicel Group presented the Shoco, national awards of excellence in the ballroom of the Hyatt Regency.
Chef George, says General Manager Edgar Roelofs, is our secret culinary weapon, and we are very pleased to witness his recognition as he receives the island’s top professional decoration.
Hoek started at the Sheraton Aruba now the Riu Palace in ‘67, where he climbed up the culinary ladder. He worked at the Sheraton Aruba for 21 years, then spent three years at the Manchebo, on his first stint with the resort. Recruited by the Hyatt Regency, he worked for the international chain for 15 exciting years, cooking at the Aruba, Detroit, Colorado, Sarasota & Miami Hyatt hotels and resorts.
At the end of a stellar career Hoek retired, played golf, shot billiard and slammed dominos, but missed the kitchen very much and decided to stage a comeback. On April 1st, 2008, he returned to the Manchebo Beach Resort & Spa as Executive Chef, where he reinvented the Italian Garden Terrace Restaurant, and reintroduced it as Giorgio’s Italian restaurant with a new, exciting menu, he designed a light & healthy all-day dining menu for the Pega Pega pool bar, refreshed the classic menu for the evergreen French Steak House, and tweaked all banqueting options. Chef Hoek coaches students at the hotel school as well as cooks at home for his family which adores his food. Serving as the Manchebo Beach Resort Executive Chef he never strays very far from the kitchen. You are invited to sample his food in one of the resort’s restaurants.
Pictured here Chef George with Bert Schreuder and Wanda Broeksma of the Digicel Group, Rob Smith, President & CEO, Aruba Hotel & Tourism Association and Doreen Kralick, General Manager Edgar Roelofs and his assistant Rita Van Vollevelde.
