Donna Scala, the celebrity chef whose La Luce by Donna Scala opened the Hilton at Bonnet Creek hotel four years ago, has died at the age of 60. The cause, according the the San Francisco Chronicle, was a brain tumor.

Scala was a well-known Napa Valley chef when she was tapped to open a restaurant for the Waldorf Astoria/Hilton Bonnet Creek complex near Walt Disney World. She was very much hands on in the beginning, and she was an amiable owner and host. She often took part in charity events at Disney, standing out in front of the cook station and greeting and servine the guests herself.

She was an immediately likable person. She showed me the path to walk from the Waldorf Astoria to the Hilton and her restaurant one day a few years ago, and even though we had just met we chatted as though we were longtime friends. There was something very genuine about her.

There is no immediate word about what will happen with the restaurant at Hilton Bonnet Creek.

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