Chef Eric Bauer To Leave Rancho Valencia's Veladora

A generous tipster whispered in our ear that Eric Bauer, executive chef of Veladora at Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa, is departing the restaurant next month.

Bauer ran the kitchen at Anthology before moving to the North County property, which reopened after a grand remodel in late 2012; during his time at the resort, he oversaw the food at both its casual eatery, called The Pony Room, and at the more upscale Veladora.

The chef, whose seasonal menus for Veladora centered around locally-sourced ingredients, began his culinary career at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Chicago and worked in Costa Rica and Las Vegas before landing at Rancho Valencia.

Bauer told Eater that he's taken the corporate executive chef position at H Events, which encompasses Festivities and Picnic People catering and organizes the local iteration of Dîner en Blanc. He'll oversee all food and beverages operations for the company and tell Eater that he's excited to have the "ability to reach a much broader audience" while helping H Events to "compete on the higher end levels of catering."

His executive sous chef, Joe Noonan, has moved on to be the executive chef of operations for Urban Plates.

In a statement, ownership at Rancho Valencia said that they wish Bauer success with his new position and that they're "enthusiastic about a fresh take on Veladora's menu happening this spring to include an expansion of seasonal offerings while continuing to highlight local organic produce and the highest quality ingredients."
· Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa [Official Site]
· All Chef Shuffles on Eater [~ESD~]