Tampa native Nathan Hardin has been appointed chef de cuisine of Highball & Harvest at The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes. Hardin replaces Mark Jeffers, who transferred to a Ritz-Carlton in California. Bucking recent trends at the luxury resort, the position was not filled from within the company.
Hardine will oversee all culinary operations of Highball & Harvest, which opend last fall. Highball & Harvest has been well received for its Low Country-style cuisine featuring ingredients from local purveyors and the resort’s 18,000-sqaure-foot Whisper Creek Farm.
Most recently, Hardin was executive sous chef at the award-winning Yardbird Southern Table & Bar in Miami Beach, where he worked with two-Michelin-starred chef Danny Grant, and prior to that at Copperfish Grill and Oyster Bar in Tampa. His earlier experience includes four years as Sous Chef and Head Line Cook at J Alexanders in Tampa.