French Master Chef Patrick Ponsaty Joins Hotel Del Coronado

September 1, 2017

After leaving his namesake restaurant and the longtime employ of Grand Restaurant Group earlier this summer, French Master Chef Patrick Ponsaty has been appointed to take the lead at Hotel Del Coronado's onsite 1500 Ocean restaurant. 

The Grand Restaurant Group's longtime Corporate Executive Chef Patrick Ponsaty opened his namesake restaurant at the former Delicias space at 6106 Paseo Delicias in Rancho Sante Fe less in 2016, but after a disagreement over staffing and ingredient sourcing, he left the restaurant group at the end of July. Grand Restaurant Group, which also owns Bellamy's Restaurant in Escondido and The Ranch at Bandy Canyon, has since changed the name and concept of the restaurant to Nick & Gi's, a more affordable Italian-style eatery. 

At Hotel Del Coronado's 1500 Ocean, Ponsaty, who at one time was named on the list of top hotel chefs in the country by the James Beard Foundation, replaces the former chef de cuisine Meredith Manee. Ponsaty will begin tinkering the menu starting with the Fall incarnation and plans to introduce more seasonal and coastal offerings. 

Chef Patrick Ponsaty is a 5th generation chef, hailing from Southern France. He began cooking early in his life at the age of 15, developing his craft at Michelin-accredited restaurants in Monaco and Spain before relocating to New York. Ponsaty ventured to San Diego in the late 1990s to assist chef Jean-Michel Diot open Tapenade restaurant, before moving on to the position of chef de cuisine at the El Bizcocho restaurant at Rancho Bernardo Inn. In 2003, Ponsaty opened Bernardo’O restaurant in Rancho Bernardo. He soon moved on to La Bastide in Scripps Ranch, then Loews Coronado Bay Resort before joining The Grand Restaurant Group in 2013. Along with Bernard Guillas of The Marine Room, Ponsaty is one of only two French Master Chefs working in San Diego.