Tall, tall chef takes over at Embassy

James Hettinger takes over as exec chef of the Embassy Suites Golf Resort & Spa, as the press release says, because he was "head and shoulders above" the competition -- at 6 feet 11 inches. (That's him with GM Terry Crawford, above.)

 The release calls him "one of the world's tallest chefs," a distinction difficult to confirm, but related numbers are big, too: He'll be in charge of producing 150,000 meals a year in the convention center, 120,000 breakfasts in the atrium and 60,000 meals in the Rocky River Grille, the Suites' restaurant, for which he'll be developing a new menu. He's worked at the Waynesville Inn Golf Resort & Spa, the Ritz-Carlton in Sarasota, Fla., and other hotel and club restaurants around the country.

He plans a Lowcountry feel for the new lineup, from sweet-tea-roasted chicken to food from a smoker he's building. Embassy Suites Concord; 704-455-8200; www.EmbassySuitesConcord.com.