The Brown Hotel Announces New Chef de Cuisine

The Brown Hotel’s general manager Brad Walker has announced the addition of Richard Mills as chef de cuisine at Four-Diamond award winning restaurant the English Grill. Mills comes to the Louisville luxury hotel from Ravello at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tenn. where he served as sous chef.

After a devastating flood in 2010, Mills worked to revitalize Ravello by helping its team reopen the doors and develop a hand-crafted menu of Southern favorites fused with classic Italian techniques. He specialized in butchering, curing artisanal meats, and cultivating the wine selection. Mills also sourced local ingredients to bring Nashville diners a new option for regional and European-inspired fare.

As part of the English Grill team, Mills hopes to serve as the face of the restaurant and lead the kitchen to deliver the best quality products. He looks forward to working in the boutique hotel where he can focus on serving simple and elegant food to guests from around the world. The West Virginia native will collaborate with Executive Chef Laurent Geroli on a new menu to be debuted later this summer.

“My cooking philosophy is that less is more,” said Chef Mills. “I let the ingredients speak for themselves without crowding the plate.”

Mills started his cooking career in Columbus, Ohio during high school while working as a dishwasher. When the temperamental chef stormed out, Richard stepped in to make pizzas for the hungry guests. The owner was so impressed by his initiative that he soon promoted him to cook. Working his way through college at various restaurants, Mills soon decided to pursue his passion for food full-time. The Le Cordon Bleu Program in Culinary Arts graduate studied at the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute before working in Pittsburgh’s Duquesne Club and the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colo.