Castle Hill Inn Names New Executive Chef

A torch has been passed from one chef to another at Castle Hill Inn in Newport.

The kitchen in the Relais & Chateaux property operated by Newport Harbor Corporation won’t see a huge change, either, since outgoing Executive Chef Karsten Hart is still working in the company after a promotion to Director of Restaurants for Newport Harbor Corporation.

For six years, he worked side-by-side with chef Lou Rossi, who now will put on the head chef’s hat at Castle Hill Inn, overseeing all food and beverage operations.

It’s a big job, since Castle Hill is known for winning culinary awards and delivering consistent product to guests who expect luxury and refinement while they stay at the historic hotel and lifestyle sanctuary.

“I cannot be more pleased that Chef Rossi has been promoted to this role,” Hart said in a statement. “He continues to show an unending enthusiasm for serving guests approachable and delicious cuisine.”

Rossi’s career began as a boy. At about the age of 8, growing up in an Italian household, Rossi learned at an early age to appreciate food as a centerpiece of daily life.

According to Castle Hill Inn, most recently, Rossi served as Castle Hill Inn’s Chef De Cuisine, where he’s been an integral part of the property’s culinary ethos since 2009. Rossi began his tenure at Castle Hill Inn as a culinary intern while attending the New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, VT where he graduated with a degree in Culinary Arts. Shortly after, Rossi immersed in the Manhattan culinary scene where he worked at Thomas Keller’s three Michelin Star restaurant, Per Se, before returning to Castle Hill Inn.

Castle Hill Inn describes itself has having “captured the imagination of guests from around the world with its enchanting coastal setting, relaxed elegance and authentic Newport spirit.”for more than a century.

Honored with the designation as a Relais & Chateaux property, an association of the world’s finest hotels, Castle Hill Inn “exemplifies the warmth and quiet luxury of 19th-century seacoast life nestled on a 40-acre peninsula overlooking Narragansett Bay.”