A longtime fixture of Arkansas’ culinary scene is taking a high-profile role in Pine Bluff.
Todd Gold is taking on the role of food and beverage director for the Saracen Casino Resort. He is stepping down from his role as the Associate Dean of Culinary Arts and Hospitality at the University of Arkansas Pulaski Tech’s Culinary Arts & Hospitality Management Institute.
In his new role, Gold will oversee a food and beverage operation that features a brewery, beehive, greenhouses and more. Gold will head up the operations for seven restaurants within the resort, along with a convention center and a hotel with more than 300 hotel rooms. He told Arkansas Money & Politics that an amphitheater is planned for the resort, as well.
When asked what motivated the jump to the Saracen Casino Resort, Gold said that he was looking to return to the frontlines of the culinary world. “Begin able to get back in the middle of the action is so important to me,” he said.
Gold previously co-owned the Purple Cow restaurants from 2007-2012 and earlier served as Acxiom’s corporate executive chef.
He will be reducing his workload at UA Pulaski Tech’s Culinary Arts & Hospitality Management Institute, a program he held establish. While his final day will be Aug. 7, 2020 as a full-time employee, Gold will remain on as a part-time faculty member and as the chairman for the Culinary Arts & Hospitality Management Institute’s advisory board.
Moving on from the culinary school was difficult, he acknowledged, calling the program his “pride and my baby.” However, he credits the Quapaw Tribe, which has developed the casino and resort, as well as chairman John Berrey, for creating a tantalizing opportunity and the opportunity to explore new culinary possibilities. “It was very attractive to me. I wanted to be a part of something the state has never seen before,” Gold said.
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