Michael Vaughn

About Michael Vaughn

A senior leader with valuable experience in all facets of food and beverage management in hotel, resort, restaurant, and private club operations including creative concept and menu development. Exceptional leadership in pre-opening, renovation, re-concepting and transition projects with complex restaurant and banquet concepts. Experience in expansions, turn-arounds, and transitions. Extensive experience in luxury hotels and restaurant operations with specific skill sets focused on maximizing operational and financial performance. Identified as a leader who delivers on profitability, improving sales, maximization of revenues, increased guest satisfaction, exceptional employee morale and professionalism under challenging conditions in resorts, luxury, convention and private club organizations. Also, possess very specific leadership skills as it relates to multi-unit hotel companies. Very team oriented with a strong mentoring management style. A very balanced approach to People, Profit, Product and Pride with a flair for Food & Beverage promotions. Specialties include Recruiting, Coaching and Mentoring a highly skilled professional team that exceeds expectations. Creative and open-minded style of leadership. Skilled at concept development that includes planning, culinary, design, operations and a keen eye on the profit potential. Outstanding food and beverage management skills with intense focus on cost containment and revenue maximization. Possess and promote a balanced approach to service, quality and profitability enhancement in a competitive business environment. A leader who takes great pride in his team and his profession. Experience includes Executive Chef La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club, Inc. Executive Chef Omni Hotels, Director Culinary Hilton Americas, Executive Chef Hilton San Francisco Union Square, Hilton Executive Chef- Task Force Americas, Executive Chef Waldorf Astoria Chicago; Executive Sous Chef La Quinta Resort and Club A Waldorf Astoria Resort La Quinta California, Executive Chef Rock Creek Cattle Company Deer Lodge, Montana. Sous Chef positions at Toscana County Club Indian Wells, California, Mountaintop Golf and Lake Club Cashiers, North Carolina and The Rim Golf Club Payson, Arizona. Resort properties such as The Westin Kierland Resort Scottsdale, Arizona; Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain in Paradise Valley, Arizona; The Boulders Resort in Carefree Arizona among others. Attended Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, St. Helena, Calif.

Experience

1. Corporate Executive Chef

   Parable Hospitality

   Jan 2026 — Present · Aliso Viejo, CA, US

   Rooted In ExperienceHospitality is shaped over time — by the places we care for, the people who bring them to life, and the choices made every day behind the scenes.Parable Hospitality was formed from lived experience, with a belief that lasting performance is built through clarity, alignment, and intention. We work alongside owners and teams to shape hotels with care — creating value that endures and stories worth carrying forward.Why Owners Choose UsTrust is built through transparency. Performance is built through alignment. Value is built over time. Hospitality is not managed. It is stewarded.We believe performance is not something you chase. It is something you create through alignment — between story and systems, teams and tools, vision and execution. Our work begins with understanding what a hotel already is — and what it has the potential to become — then organizing operations, culture, and strategy around that truth.Responsibility & CommunityResponsibility at Parable is guided by accountability and care for the places we serve.We believe hotels should contribute positively to their communities — not just economically, but socially and culturally. Our approach is grounded in presence: listening to local partners, supporting meaningful causes, and investing time and resources where they matter most.From philanthropic partnerships to community engagement, we focus on actions that are tangible and enduring. Responsibility is not a campaign or a statement. It is reflected in how we show up, how we participate, and how we commit to the long-term health of the places our hotels call home.

Education

• Culinary Institute of America, Saint Helena CA

  Culinary Arts/Chef Training

Skills

• Hospitality Industry
• Resorts
• Menu Development
• Hotel Management
• Banquets
• Hotels
• Hospitality Management
• Food & Beverage
• Pre-Opening
• Catering
• Food
• Cuisine
• Opening Hotels
• Culinary Skills
• Fine Dining
• Restaurants
• Micros
• Mediterranean
• Menu Costing
• Chef
• Restaurant Management
• Rooms Division
• Revenue Analysis
• Recipes