Chef
Manuel Fernandez
- Discipline
- Chef
- Based in
- Jackson Hole, Wyoming, United States
i. Biography
At Bishop’s Lodge, Auberge Resorts Collection in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the material for Manuel Fernandez is place itself: the Southwest named through flavor and the discipline of a chef trained across European and Latin American traditions. In 2025, he took the Executive Chef role there, carrying a career that has moved through Jackson Hole, Zurich, and leadership kitchens at Aman Resorts, Capella Resorts, and Four Seasons.
The Estate
The Santa Fe post is the defining point in Fernandez’s work now: Executive Chef at Bishop’s Lodge, Auberge Resorts Collection, a role he began in 2025. His own words frame the assignment with both humility and intent: "I’m honored to join Bishop’s Lodge and contribute to its dynamic culinary legacy. I look forward to crafting refined, soulful dining experiences that celebrate the vibrant flavors of the Southwest." That sentence gives the kitchen a clear compass. The emphasis is not on novelty for its own sake, but on food with a sense of place, built around the flavors of the Southwest and the emotional charge of dining that feels soulful rather than merely formal.
In the Cellar
Fernandez’s training includes César Ritz Colleges Switzerland and Fundación Mier y Pesado de la Salle. Those educational markers sit beside a specialty that joins Classical European and Latin American cuisines, a pairing that explains the balance in his work between structure and warmth, technique and appetite. The broader philosophy attached to his cooking reaches across global cuisines while holding to a classical foundation. Food, in his stated frame, has transformative power: not just a plate arranged for service, but a medium that can change the mood of a room, a table, or a memory. His career has also included a chef role at The Dolder Grand in Zurich, Switzerland. In that setting, the European strand of his résumé becomes concrete: a named venue, a precise city, and a period of work that sits alongside later leadership roles in hospitality kitchens.
The Bottlings
Before Santa Fe entered the foreground, Fernandez held the Executive Chef title at Amangani Grill in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. That role places his cooking in another distinct American landscape, with a specific mountain-region address in his career rather than an abstract résumé line. He has also held leadership chef roles with Aman Resorts, Capella Resorts, and Four Seasons. Taken together, those appointments show a chef trusted inside demanding hospitality environments, where cuisine has to carry technique, service rhythm, and a sense of destination at the same time. The named specialty remains the most useful way to understand his output: Classical European and Latin American cuisines, widened by global cuisines and held together by classical philosophy. At Bishop’s Lodge, that range is now directed toward refined, soulful dining experiences that celebrate the vibrant flavors of the Southwest.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Manuel
What are Manuel Fernandez's signature releases or dishes?
His named specialty is a repertoire rather than a single dish: Classical European and Latin American cuisines shaped by global cuisines, classical philosophy, and the transformative power of food.
What is Manuel Fernandez known for making?
He is known for cooking rooted in Classical European and Latin American cuisines, with an emphasis on refined, soulful dining experiences and the vibrant flavors of the Southwest.
Where does Manuel Fernandez work?
Since 2025, Manuel Fernandez has served as Executive Chef at Bishop’s Lodge, Auberge Resorts Collection in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
