Robert Sulatycky

Robert Sulatycky is a Michelin-starred chef with more than 30 years of experience at the highest levels of luxury dining in North America. He has helmed kitchens at Four Seasons hotels, Relais & Chateaux properties, Forbes Five-Star hotels, and Michelin-starred restaurants across the United States and Canada. He is also one of the most decorated culinary coaches in North American history, having guided Team USA to a historic first-ever gold medal at the Bocuse d'Or World Cuisine Contest in 2017.

Sulatycky's career spans some of the most prestigious kitchens on the continent. He has served as executive chef at the Relais & Chateaux Bacchus Restaurant at the Wedgewood Hotel in Vancouver, Truffles Restaurant at the Four Seasons Toronto, and Seasons Restaurant at the Four Seasons Chicago. He simultaneously led the culinary teams at both the Beverly Hills Hotel and Hotel Bel Air — two Forbes Five-Star and AAA Five-Diamond properties. Most recently he served as Executive Chef at Madera Restaurant at Rosewood Sand Hill in Menlo Park, California, where his leadership earned the restaurant a Michelin Star.

Sulatycky earned his Michelin Star as Executive Chef at Madera Restaurant at Rosewood Sand Hill in Menlo Park, California. His approach at Madera centered on his guiding culinary philosophy of the complexity of simplicity — sourcing exceptional ingredients and allowing them to shine through precise technique and artful presentation rather than masking them with complexity.

The Bocuse d'Or is widely considered the most prestigious culinary competition in the world, held every two years in Lyon, France, with national teams competing at the highest level of technical cooking. Sulatycky competed as Canada's national chef in 1999, winning the Prix Viande for Best Meat Platter and finishing fourth in the world — the highest placement ever recorded by a North American entrant at that time. He later became Head Coach for Team USA, guiding the team to a silver medal in 2015 and a historic first-ever gold medal in 2017, as well as Bocuse d'Or Americas Continental Selection gold medals in 2018 and 2022. He has worked alongside Thomas Keller and Daniel Boulud through the Ment'or BKB Foundation in developing and mentoring American chef candidates.

Sulatycky describes his approach as the complexity of simplicity — a commitment to sourcing the absolute best ingredients and allowing them to be the star of the plate, supported by precise classical technique and thoughtful presentation. He has spoken about wanting every dish to demonstrate that great cooking does not require obscuring great ingredients, but rather understanding them deeply enough to let them speak for themselves.

Yes. Sulatycky has deep roots in Napa Valley beyond his chef residency at Rotation Napa. He is the co-founder of Mithra Winery, a small-production boutique winery located on Mount Veeder known for producing exceptional Cabernet Sauvignons. His connection to the region's wine and agricultural culture gives his cooking at Rotation Napa a grounding in Napa Valley's terroir that few visiting chefs can match.

Mentorship is central to Sulatycky's career identity. Through his long involvement with the Bocuse d'Or and the Ment'or BKB Foundation, he has guided chef candidates and provided young culinarians with grants to study abroad at some of the world's best restaurants. He has described his greatest professional satisfaction as identifying potential in young chefs and pushing them to excel, stating that he wants to know he has made a difference when he reflects on his career.

Sulatycky brings a depth of credential to Rotation Napa that is exceptionally rare — a Michelin Star, a Bocuse d'Or gold medal coaching record, and decades of experience leading kitchens at the Forbes Five-Star level. His residency represents the kind of fine dining pedigree that Napa Valley diners encounter at destination restaurants with months-long reservation waitlists, delivered in the intimate, accessible format that defines Rotation Napa. Combined with his personal connection to Napa Valley through Mithra Winery, his residency is one of the most locally rooted and globally credentialed the restaurant has hosted.

Robert Sulatycky holds a chef residency at Rotation Napa during the month of August 2026. Rotation is located at Oxbow Public Market in downtown Napa, California. Rotation Napa is Napa Valley's only monthly rotating chef residency, bringing nationally recognized culinary talent to an intimate open-hearth dining room for one month at a time. Reservations are available through the Rotation Napa website.