Gaia Hotel & Spa now serving meals

Photo by Michael Woodward

OPEN FOR BUSINESS: Executive chef Randy Arnold, right, offers direction to chef Josh Phelps as the kitchen staff at the Gaia Hotel in Anderson prepares for a luau-style banquet including kahlua pork and tangy noodle salad.

FIT FOR A LUAU:
Chef Rudy Menchaca, right, describes his tangy noodle salad to cook Jose Tejada, left, with chef Josh Phelps in middle.

After several delays, food service at the Gaia Hotel at Anderson has begun. Two banquets were held on Friday. One was a luau involving Hawaiian dancers for the Shasta Association of Realtors. The chefs, led by executive chef Randy Arnold, were busy preparing Kahlua pork and a colorful, tangy noodle salad.

"Banquets are whatever people want," Arnold said. "You tell us what you like, we make it happen."

Arnold, initially hired on as banquet chef, was promoted to oversee all culinary operations at Gaia on Thusday last week. It's the Atman Hospitality Group's first attempt at running their own food and beverage service.

That makes Arnold the benchmark for future Atman hotels.

Swan Lake was to open on Tuesday, with a menu featuring ossobuco, winter squash bisque, bone-in ribeye, and a fancy posole.

"Everything is made in-house, nothing is packaged-bought," Arnold said. "This is fresh product down to the danishes by our pastry chef Tiferet Carbajal."

For Swan Lake Bistro, Arnold called on his chefs to describe two signature dishes.

The posole on the menu is not the standard pot of pork and hominy, explained chef Rudy Menchaca. Braised beef ribs in an onion, bell pepper, and garlic tomato sauce tops a cheesy polenta with hominy to dress.

Chef Josh Phelps introduced the Swan Lake linguini, which entails shrimp in a creole rub sauteed with red and yellow bell peppers, smoked tomato cruda and parmesean cheese. The dish would be finished with sherry and cream, he said.

Arnold, a Redding native, returned to the North State from Palm Springs for the position at Gaia.

While in Palm Springs, Arnold worked under chef Scott Robertson at Just Soup and New Leaf Catering. Later, Arnold worked as executive chef for the touring Professional Golf Association in Palm Springs. He also worked at Mira Monte resort and spas, also in Palm Springs.