BENCHMARK® Appoints Sean Ruddy Executive Chef for High Hampton Resort in Cashiers, NC

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USA, Houston, Texas. March 27, 2018

BENCHMARK®, a global hospitality company, has named Sean Ruddy executive chef for High Hampton Resort, located in Cashiers, North Carolina. The resort is a Benchmark Resorts & Hotels® property. Tom Garcia, Benchmark's vice president and general manager, made the announcement.

“I am so pleased to welcome Sean to High Hampton Resort” said Mr. Garcia. “He blends his love for cooking and his profound appreciation of the importance cuisine plays in our guests' lives with his tremendous love for the south and the region's unique flavors.”

Chef Sean Ruddy was previously the executive chef for the Greystone Inn of Lake Toxaway, North Carolina. During his tenure there, the property was named to Conde Nast Traveler's prestigious listing of Top 15 Places to Stay in the United States, and it achieved Four Diamond status.

Sean Ruddy began his culinary career at the young age of 15 working part time in restaurants hear his home. He graduated from Florida Culinary Institute in West Palm Beach following high school. After this, he moved to the Caribbean to the Cayman Islands, where his knowledge of blending the flavors of diverse cultures and using fresh local ingredients and spices was developed. He completed his culinary studies at the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena, California.

“I love taking cooking styles from diverse regions and bringing these to the south,” said Chef Ruddy, who identifies his cooking style as New Southern Cuisine. “Cooking is an act of love and it requires a special touch to make it appealing to everyone.” Sean Ruddy resides in Toxaway, North Carolina.

About High Hampton Resort

High Hampton Resort, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has for 95 years operated as a rustic yet elegant mountain inn overlooking the spectacular scenery of North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains. Amenities at this 3,600-foot elevation, 1,400-acre, 116-room resort (with lodge rooms, cottages and cabins, all with private bath) include a myriad of seasonal events (children's programs, llama walks, golf and tennis clinics, dahlia dinners, etc.), an 18-hole George W. Cobb-designed golf course, a full dining room with three sumptuous buffets daily, five tennis courts, spa, hiking trails and a 35-acre lake for swimming, boating, fishing, and other water-related activities. Visit High Hampton Resort in Cashiers, North Carolina.  For more detailed information, see the website at www.highhamptonresort.com or contact reservations toll-free at (800) 334-2551.

About Benchmark Resorts & Hotels®

Benchmark Resorts & Hotels® features the finest in lodging, dining, recreational and meeting accommodations.  Featuring unique and distinctive properties renown for exceptional service and for creating unforgettable memory-making experiences, it is the signature portfolio of BENCHMARK®, a global hospitality company, which has been a leading US-based hospitality management company for nearly 40 years.  Many Benchmark Resort & Hotels' properties are certified by IACC, the association that represents the finest meeting venues and services globally, and many have also been recognized with the coveted Benchmark Conference Centers® certification of meeting excellence.  www.benchmarkresortsandhotels.com.  To become a fan on Facebook, visit www.facebook.com/BenchmarkResortsandHotels  Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/BenchmarkHotels, on Instagram at www.instagram.com/benchmarkresortsandhotels, and on Pinterest at  www.pinterest.com/benchmarkhote