Jamul Casino has promoted James Donovan to the role of Executive Chef. The casino’s restaurants have won culinary awards, including the Wine and Spectator Award of Excellence and the San Diego Union-Tribune’s “San Diego’s Best” honorable mention.
Donovan will continue maintain the restaurant’s current track record in his new role. He will oversee Jamul Casino's Food & Beverage team of 200 workers and will directly manage 85 crew members.
Donovan is a San Diego native graduated from El Cajon Valley High School in 1993. Three years later, Donovan began working at Viejas Casino & Resort as a line cook. He continued to build his career over the years and was hired by Jamul Casino in 2016 as its Sous Chef.
Jamul Casino President and General Manager Mary Cheeks said: "James brings a remarkable enthusiasm, creativity, and leadership to our culinary team. We are thrilled to recognize his talent with this well-deserved promotion."
Donovan took a moment to praise the restaurant’s team and said he looks forward to working with them.
He said: "The culinary experience at Jamul Casino is the result of a very talented team. Prime Cut's Chef De Cuisine, Cheryl Cruz, has become well known for her Chef's Table experience; Manager & (Level 2) Certified Sommelier, Dennis Reiter, has built an unparalleled wine program; and Benjamin Petell, our VP of Non-Gaming Operations, is a great leader and has cast an incredible vision for our team. I'm honored to work alongside them."
Jamul Casino first opened in 2016 and is owned and operated by the Jamul Indian Village Development Corporation, a tribal enterprise. The casino is the closest one to downtown San Diego and has a poker room, 46 live table games and close to 1,700 slot machines.
