John Cook
EXECUTIVE PASTRY CHEF
In his role as Executive Pastry Chef at The Omni Grove Park Inn, John Cook leads a pastry team fashioning sweet, tasty and beautiful creations for their eight restaurants and lounges, as well as in-room dining, banqueting operations and elaborate centerpiece creations.
Cook arrived at the historic, Four Diamond Omni Grove Park Inn from Norman Love Confections in Fort Myers, Fl., where he rose from entry-level cook to production manager of the chocolate factory and ultimately Executive Pastry Chef over a span of 13 years. With over 20+ years of experience, Cook is a chocolate specialist and in his free time he consults at a craft chocolate company in North Carolina that is owned by his wife! He also spent a decade teaching chocolate, pastry, and baking classes within the Omni Brand. Previously, Cook was a pastry cook at two Ritz-Carlton Resorts in Naples and West Palm Beach, Fl.
Born and raised in Fort Lauderdale, Fl., Cook earned degrees in culinary arts and international baking and pastries from Florida Culinary Institute in West Palm Beach. He graduated from advanced chocolate and sugar courses offered by renowned Pastry Chef Ewald Notter, and studied at the Cocoa-Barry School of Chocolate in Montreal. In addition, Cook was recognized as Pastry Chef of the Year at the U.S. Pastry Competition in 2017, has judged the National Gingerbread Competition for the past 5 years and has appeared on TV Food Network’s Haunted Gingerbread Competition.