Saracen Casino Resort in Pine Bluff recently named Todd R. Gold as its new Senior Director of Hospitality. Gold has an extensive career in the hospitality industry and previously served as Director of Food and Beverage at Saracen.
Gold received a Culinary Certificate from the Memphis Culinary Academy, as well as associate degrees of applied science in hospitality management and culinary arts from Pulaski Technical College. He served as President of the Arkansas Culinary School from 1995-2006, while also serving as GM of Dining Services and Corporate Executive Chef at Acxiom from 1998-2007.
From 2007 to 2012, Gold was President and owner of Purple Cow Restaurants, while at the same time working as Dean & South Site Director of Pulaski Technical College’s Culinary Arts & Hospitality Management Institute from 2006-2020.
Gold has been with Saracen since early 2020, before the main casino was opened.
“I will be over Food & Beverage, the Hotel and Event Center with some other supporting departments as well,” Gold told Arkansas Money & Politics. “Once construction is complete, I will have around 500 employees and three directors in total under me. At that point, Saracen will have around 1,100 employees, so almost half will be on my team.”
Gold is highly active in professional organizations such as the American Culinary Federation (ACF), the National Restaurant Association (NRA), The American Hotel & Lodging Association, Skål International and the Chaine Des Rotisseurs. He has won numerous accolades, becoming the first Arkansas chef to win the Chef of the Year Award three times and the fifth Arkansas ever inducted as a fellow into the American Academy of Chefs.
READ ALSO: ARKANSAS HEART HOSPITAL COMPLETES U.S.’S FIRST SUCCESSFUL PROCEDURE WITH TIVUS
