People news: Tioga Downs appoints new executive chef

NICHOLS, N.Y. — Tioga Downs Casino Resort has appointed Robert Minor to the position of executive chef.

“Chef Rob” — as Tioga Downs referred to him — joins the organization with more than 20 years of experience in the culinary industry, Tioga Downs said.

After his first restaurant job at the Jamestown Settlement Café in Virginia, he attended and graduated from Le Cordon Bleu Culinary College in Atlanta.

His resume includes leadership positions at restaurants across the East Coast, including Opus 9 Steakhouse in Williamsburg, Virginia; the Gamble Mill Tavern & Micro Brewery in Central Pennsylvania; Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion Restaurant in Naples, Florida; Jia Pan Asian Restaurant at MGM’s Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi; and the Margaritaville Casino in Bossier City, Louisiana, Tioga Downs said.

Minor’s approach includes a combination of cuisines and techniques with a “fresh emphasis” on the farm-to-table philosophy.

Accolades for “Chef Rob” include AAA 4 Diamond awards each year at Jia; Casino Player Magazine’s Best Asian in the Southern Region; and a Forbes Global Rating of Recommendation.

In 2019, he was a finalist in the Louisiana Food Prize’s Society of the Golden Fork Culinary Competition, per the Tioga Downs news release.