Mazzone Hospitality names first female head chef

SCOTIA — On June 29, Capital District native Courtney Withey was appointed to the position of executive chef at Aperitivo Bistro located at 426 State Street in Schenectady. 

Aperitivo Bistro is a member of the Mazzone Hospitality group, which owns multiple restaurants in the area including Prime, an upscale steakhouse at Saratoga National Gold Club. Mazzone Hospitality, run by Angelo Mazzone, also oversees catering at local event destinations such as the Saratoga Hall of Springs in Congress Park.

Withey’s promotion makes her the first woman to ever run a kitchen at any one of the restaurants operated by Mazzone Hospitality.

“This is a great challenge and I’m thrilled to work for someone like Angelo (Mazzone) who’s done such a tremendous job building a successful restaurant business in t he region,” said Withey in a press release.

The move to executive chef at Aperitivo Bistro is a natural one for Withey, a long-time chef who specializes in American home cooking. Withey grew up cooking, but never seriously considered pursuing a career in the food business until studying abroad in Greece while she was an undergraduate at Boston College.

The lavish dining experience and celebration of food in Greece reminded Withey of her love for cooking. Once she returned to the States, Withey applied to a two-year culinary program at Johnson and Wales University in Denver. 

After culinary school, Withey spent time cooking at restaurants in Hawaii, New Hampshire and Maine before returning to the region to work at Aperitivo Bistro. 

The recent promotion from executive sous chef to executive chef will allow Withey to integrate her own personal style and flair into the Bistro’s menu and operations as she takes on new responsibilities and steps up as the first female head chef at Mazzone Hospitality. 

Marriott ExecuStay expands into the upstate market

SARATOGA SPRINGS — A new partnership between Marriott ExecuStay and Albany Corporate Housing LLC will allow Marriott to bring their executive line of apartments and corporate housing to the Saratoga Springs and Albany markets.

Marriott ExecuStay is a line of fully furnished apartments and temporary housing units that serve residents and corporate clients staying over 30 days. ExecuStay apartment rates include cable, high-speed Internet and all furnishings including cookware and linens. 

The Latham-based Albany Corporate Housing is a divison of Prime Companies and will be in charge of managing the new Marriott apartment complexes in the upstate New York region. ACH recently appointed Danica Ehmann to fill the role of general manager. Ehmann will be responsible for managing the new ExecuStay market which includes Saratoga, Albany, Rensselaer, Schenectady and Warren counties. 

Albany Corporate Housing is a real estate company that currently owns a variety of hotels and apartments in the region and conducts other real estate services including residential and commercial brokerage and property development.

 www.execustay.com

SKL