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  • Mar 19 2024
  • Mar 20 2024
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Meet the Chefs of L’Auberge de Sedona

Discover how Executive Chef Ryan Swanson is inspired by locally sourced ingredients and their Sedona surroundings and Executive Pastry Chef Donna Yuen is drawn to the art of pastry.

 

 

Ryan Swanson
Executive Chef

Our Executive Chef Ryan SwansonMeet Executive Chef Ryan Swanson, he brings a wealth of knowledge about Arizona cuisine and its ingredients – foraged and cultivated – to the fine-dining scene. After spending the last two years living in a seaside village in New England, on the culinary leadership team at Ocean House in Rhode Island, he is inspired to be home in Arizona, spearheading L’Auberge de Sedona’s culinary programming while observing the almost 40-year history of the property and driving Cress on Oak Creek into its next chapter.

Swanson has over 20 years of experience in the luxury hospitality industry and a 2020 James Beard “Best Chef – Southwest” nominee. Growing up in Phoenix, Arizona, he developed a passion for cooking early on, often spending time making meals with his family. He began working in professional kitchens at the age of 16 and felt an immediate connection to the culinary world. Prior to joining L’Auberge de Sedona, Swanson served as executive chef of Kai Restaurant at the Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass.

During his tenure at Kai, he helped maintain Arizona’s only Forbes Five-Star and AAA Five-Diamond dining experience for six years and secured placement on La Liste for four years. Swanson worked closely with local Native American communities to honor their culture through the dishes he created with the use of ancient cooking techniques and native heirloom ingredients. His commitment to Arizona’s native community and fine dining prowess got him noticed by the James Beard Awards and he earned a nomination in the “Best Chef – Southwest” category in 2020.

Chef Swanson was at the helm of kitchens early in his career and in 2012, he was specifically recruited to assist the opening team of The St. Regis Aspen Resort’s Chefs Club. Always on the hunt for inspiration, the source of Chef Swanson’s creativity can be credited to nostalgic childhood meals and foraging trips for nature’s culinary gifts.

We invite you to taste the flavors that Executive Chef Ryan Swanson is creating on a daily basis with inventive dishes gracing each of the breakfast, lunch, dinner, 5-course tasting and brunch menus. His excitement and desire mixed with the culinary history at L’Auberge de Sedona will establish Cress as one of the top destination restaurants in Arizona.

 

 

Donna Yuen
Executive Pastry Chef

Donna Yuen, Executive Pastry ChefChef Yuen was drawn to the art of pastry at an early age after enrolling in her local county fair’s baking competition. This interest led her to complete her bachelor’s in baking and pastry arts at the Culinary Institute of America. Shortly after, Yuen moved back to her hometown of Washington D.C. where she was quickly promoted from pastry assistant at Lia’s to executive pastry chef of the Chef Geoff Group. She went on to lead the pastry operations at The Dupont Circle Hotel and one of the city’s top restaurants at the time, Vidalia.

In 2014, she assumed the position of pastry sous chef at the Forbes Five-Star Boston Harbor Hotel. Yuen’s expertise soon earned her the title of pastry chef at Barbara Lynch’s Menton, Boston’s only Relais & Châteaux property, where she developed an artisanal bread program. In 2017, Yuen joined Ocean House as executive group pastry chef, staying in the Relais & Châteaux family. Here, she met L’Auberge de Sedona’s current Executive Chef, Ryan Swanson. Following her time in Rhode Island, she traveled to Arizona in 2022 to become the executive pastry chef at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge. In 2023, she made the move north to Sedona to join the culinary team at Cress on Oak Creek.

Over the course of her career, Chef Yuen has found joy in seeing guests light up when enjoying her personalized desserts and she looks forward to tying Sedona, and the resort’s story, into her work moving forward. In her new role, she will assist in the continuous elevation of Cress on Oak Creek’s cuisine alongside Chef Ryan, bringing fresh ideas and continuing to share her love for pastry art with guests of the resort.