Who we are.
Karla Zarate-Garant
Karla Zarate is an award-winning hospitality expert, with over fifteen (15) years of luxury and upper-upscale experience. Karla started her hospitality journey beginning with the Four Seasons Hotel where she learned that luxury is experiencing everyday things as if having it for the first time. Her time with Four Seasons Chicago opened the door to other possibilities such as Omni Hotels, where she worked all the way up to being an integral part of the corporate food and beverage operation, being the youngest Director of Outlets in Chicago. While at Omni Chicago, she assisted in numerous properties under a variety of different cultures. She later traded in her parkas for raincoats, and relocated to Vancouver, BC where she was the Director of Banquets for the world’s top-rated hotel, Fairmont Pacific Rim. Returning to Chicago a few years after as Director of Food and Beverage, she joined the most progressive hotel in the city, theWit Hotel, which is home to the Third Best Rooftop Lounge in the world by Travel + Leisure Magazine, Roof on theWit. With her continued search for creativity, Karla later found herself as Director of Food and Beverage at one of the country’s most unique operations, South Congress Hotel, where she managed eleven (11) different concepts that received multiple awards namely Third Best Hotel Bar in the USA by USA Today, Best New Chef by Food and Wine Magazine, Best Brunch by Food Network and more. Today, she is a consultant for different projects where she gets to share her passion. When not immersed in hospitality, her love for food and wine brings her to many restaurants, breweries, distilleries and wineries around the world from France to Australia, Scotland to Czech Republic, and Italy to Napa just to list a few.
Atticus Garant
Chef Atticus Garant, has constantly remained ahead of his time, springing off his career, directly after graduating with honors, and became Head Chef in some of the world’s most exclusive islands, Langara Island, BC and Long Island, Bahamas. He later worked with Michelin-decorated culinary icon, Daniel Boulud, which became the foundation for his continued pursuit of luxury dining. He then spent 12 years working for some of Fairmont’s finest properties in food-centric cities, such as Vancouver, Chicago, Austin and Los Angeles with projects in Pittsburgh, Mexico City and with the Culinary Institute of America. Throughout his tenure with Fairmont, Chef Garant has spearheaded major corporate initiatives, opened three hotels and multiple new restaurant concepts, and has earned numerous leadership awards. His travels have taken him to 17 countries, where he has experienced many of the world’s celebrated restaurants, including a stage at Noma. His global view, passion for culture and strong financial acumen, along with two decades of culinary and hospitality experience will propel any operation, new or existing.