EXECUTIVE CHEF JIMMY MITCHELL

Jimmy Mitchell is the Executive Chef for Hilltop Restaurant and oversees food and beverage operations for The Retreat at Artesian Lakes.

A native Texan, Chef Mitchell has held executive chef positions at the prestigious Rainbow Lodge and Vallone's Steak House in Houston, Gaido's in Galveston, and the Mesina Hof winery in Bryan. He also has extensive resort experience, having spent three years as executive chef at the Riversong Lodge in Anchorage, Alaska. He was most recently with Taverna Winery and Restaurant in Lake Conroe.

Chef Mitchell is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in New York, and holds a certification in master gardening from Texas A & M University.

During his 25 years of culinary experience Chef Mitchell has received several awards for his creations and was named one of "the great chefs in Houston" by Media Ink.

His association with Hilltop Restaurant and Herb Garden can only be described as the "perfect match" given his gardening background, his insistence on using only the freshest of organic ingredients, and his overall love of nature.

Hilltop's roots are thoroughly herbal, having been founded by legendary Madeleine Hill, and Chef Mitchell is looking forward to building upon Mrs. Hill's legacy. To support this quest, the restaurant's adjacent 18,000-square-foot herb garden has been completely redesigned and re-built with multi-level stone retaining walls and extensive seating possibilities for weddings and outdoor dining and concerts. The herb beds have also been re-built with special soil compositions and re-planted. A vegetable garden is being added at the property's blueberry farm and a vineyard is successfully developing.
Under Mitchell's leadership, Hilltop's signature recipes-such as blackened beef tenderloin with corn relish and red bell pepper beurre blanche, chicken Acapulco, and Norwegian apple pie cake-are being revived. This return to tradition is reflected in both the menus and the specialty products, which include classics such as the herbal blend tea Tranquilitea, Cousin Marr's Jalapeno Jelly, the famous Hellfire and Damnation condiment and a variety of fruit jellies, jams and marmalades.