Sean Woods is currently the Executive Chef of The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes where he is responsible for overseeing all the culinary operations of the 584-room Ritz-Carlton, with its four restaurants and extensive banquet facilities, and has achieved outstanding results with his team, with a 90% overall satisfaction in banquet food quality according to a Gallop survey. Chef Woods was part of the opening team for this 500-acre luxury resort, which opened in July 2003 and features a Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott, Ritz-Carlton Spa and 18-hole Greg Norman designed championship golf course.

Chef Woods has over 17 years of experience with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. He began his distinguished career with the company at The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island and moved up the ranks to become Executive Sous Chef. He next moved onto the Executive Chef position at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples, where he was also the team leader for The Ritz-Carlton Culinary Management Training Program.

“I believe that the best food comes from a strong team. Through my management style and experience, I hope my culinary team shares the idea that each dish leaving our kitchen should be our best, because food is so much more than flavor. It is emotion too,” says Woods.

Chef Woods is a graduate of the esteemed Culinary Institute of America where he received a degree in culinary arts. His educational background and sheer drive is why he has been an integral part of the pre-opening teams for over 10 Ritz-Carlton hotels around the world, where he also trains new ladies and gentlemen on the company’s philosophy.