Chef Marc Ehrler

To calculate the number of diamonds and stars earned by hotels and resorts at which Marc Ehrler has played a star role in the kitchen would take more than your fingers and more than your toes.

A native of Antibes, on the French Riviera, between Cannes and Nice, Ehrler trained with world-renowned chefs, including Alain Ducasse, Jacques Maximin and Andre Daguin.  His cooking style, a tribute to his native Provence/Italy, and influenced by travels in the Caribbean, Latin America, California, Asia and now Florida, embraces respect for tradition and simplicity.

A master of food arts, Chef Ehrler has been praised by media, critics and celebrities. Chef Ehrler has been featured in Wine Spectator, Conde Nast Traveler, Travel & Leisure, Gourmet, Tattler and The New York Times, as well as, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, the Discovery Channel’s “Great Chefs of the World”, Best 10 Restaurants in the World, CNN International and the Food TV Network. He has participated in the James Beard House “Best Hotel Chefs Series” and recognized by the Culinary Academy of France. Chef Ehrler is the only Chef to have received two AAA 5 Diamond awards for 2 different restaurants within the same Hotel and has received the coveted Master Chef of France title in 2002.

Leading up to the Loews Miami Beach Hotel, he was executive chef with the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company;  La Samanna, a Rosewood Hotel on the Island of St. Martin; the K-Club on Barbuda, a Bel Air hotel; the Stonehouse Restaurant at San Ysidro Ranch, a Relais et Châteaux in Santa Barbara, California; Antoine at Le Meridien, in Newport Beach; La Terrasse at Le Juana, in Juan les Pins, France; Westbury Hotel in New York; Maxims de Paris, in Paris and New York; Hotel de France, in Auche, France.

Chef Ehrler has hosted the SoBe Wine & Food Festival, and all Guest Chefs that appeared.

Chef de Cuisine Alexis Martinez

The Flying V Bar & Grill's new Chef de Cuisine Alexis Martinez is proud to announce a new menu in the Flying V Bar & Grill at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort.

The menu, which the chefs call "a dedication to the desert" has Southwestern fare with a Latin flare. Many of the ingredients incorporated into the dishes come from the desert and many of the recipes are inspired by Chef Martinez's upbringing in Southern Arizona.

The chef uses a common desert food, "nopales," or cactus pads, as an ingredient in the Broiled Desert Crab Cake and the Buffalo Chicken Pizza. Nopales, which have been a staple in Latin American cooking, have been touted for their medicinal properties and have been studied for lowering cholesterol and controlling diabetes.

Martinez, who grew up in Douglas, AZ, came to Loews Ventana Canyon Resort at age 19 and worked at the Flying V Bar & Grill first as a steward. After spending time around the chef and cooks in the kitchen he became intrigued by the culinary arts and began staying late to learn basic cooking skills.

Eventually Martinez worked his way up to cook in the main kitchen, spending time honing his culinary skills and earning him a promotion to the Ventana Room.

His passion for food stems from watching his mother cook as he grew up and many of her recipes can be found in some form on the new Flying V Menu.

On the menu he ties together foods from the desert with his home in the desert to create uniquely local twists on his favorite recipes and ingredients. The Chicken Ceppino is the chef's mother's recipe, a brothy chicken dish with rice, corn, poblano chilies and potatoes. He grew up eating that, as well as the Caldo de Queso. In fact, his mother still makes these two dishes for him when he returns home for visits. "I take her recipes and dress them up a bit on the menu. It's comfort food with a gourmet twist," he said.

Martinez's goal is to use fresh, indigenous and healthful ingredients that represent the bountiful desert surroundings and his passion for Southwestern cooking.

Manager H. "Rock" Saul

H. Rock Saul, the Flying V Bar & Grill Manager, is the rock that holds the Flying V in its place.

He's the first to greet guests at the door and the one to make sure you're not just savoring your dinner in the Flying V, but that you feel at home. In fact, the Flying V is Rock's home - he's been taking care of people there for a decade.

"You want to treat people almost like they're family. It's important to make sure they have a good time and feel comfortable so that they want to come back and hang out again - just like it's their second home," he said.

He's always been in the hospitality and restaurant business, and that's probably because hospitality is his second nature. "I grew up in the South -in New Orleans and that's what life is about, taking care of people."

After working in fine dining, hotels and restaurant management for three different locations for Disney in Orlando, he's finally settled into his home at the Flying V in Tucson. The relationships he's built here are close to his heart and they're the reason he's made the Flying V his home.

"It's all about relationships - always."

Contact: Jennifer Duffy, Public Relations Manager, 520.529.7936.