Latest news with #Boudet
Eater
3 days ago
- Business
- Eater
Historic Ojai Hotel Debuts Two Chic Restaurants and a Bar by the Little Dom's Crew
A pair of seasoned Los Angeles restaurateurs just debuted two restaurants and a bar inside Ojai's historic Hotel El Roblar. Little Dom's Warner Ebbink, documentary filmmaker Jeremy McBride, Turtle Conservancy founder and filmmaker Eric Goode, designer Ramin Shamshiri, and chef Brandon Boudet have opened the Condor Bar, hotel guest-only restaurant La Cocina, and Snug Bar this summer in the newly refurbished 50-room hotel. Ebbink and Boudet are the same duo that introduced Los Feliz's longstanding Little Dom's, Little Dom's Seafood in Carpinteria, and Montecito's Bar Lou, which opened in late 2024. The two-acre Hotel El Roblar first opened in 1919, before reopening as an all-inclusive, adults-only spa hotel in the 1970s onward. After the 2017 Thomas Fire, Hotel El Roblar closed indefinitely until the current team purchased it in 2019. The design was a collaborative effort between the co-owners, with Ebbink and Boudet spearheading and leading the hotel's food and beverages. Little Dom's Boudet is not an official partner at Hotel El Roblar, but collaborated on the reopening of the historic hotel. 'I could never see doing this project with anybody else,' says Ebbink. 'Brandon's been part of this process just as long as anyone else. He put his heart and soul into this business. The restaurants and bar are at the heart of the operation with Brandon's fingerprints all over them.' The updated property boasts an elegant pool, chic boutique rooms, and a stunning design that's a tribute to Spanish Revival architecture, but Hotel El Roblar's dining and drink offerings are still a main draw, with a California-Mexican menu for Condor Bar rooted in California's history. 'The menu lends itself to Mexican cuisine,' says Boudet. 'It all melds together with deep roots in California, the Old World, and Mexican techniques and ingredients.' On July 16, Condor Bar revealed its 100-seat restaurant with a menu designed for sharing. The restaurant cooks over live oak on a Santa Maria Grill, a regional barbecue set-up that hails from the 19th century in Santa Barbara County's Santa Maria Valley. In the kitchen, Boudet uses it to add smoky flavor to king oyster mushrooms with mole verde, carne asada, chicken asado, a Veracruz-style Vermillion snapper, and pork ribs al pastor served with a green papaya pineapple slaw and miso pineapple butter. Sides include sauteed chayote squash and refried pinto beans with chicken fat and chicharron. Condor Bar makes all the tortillas in-house with organic masa from Kernel of Truth, though the team is also developing its own nixtamal program. Starters include a jicama salad, oysters, wild shrimp coctel de camaron with chiles, avocado, cucumber, and local tomatoes. For guests staying overnight, La Cocina serves breakfast and lunch, including chilaquiles, a Santa Maria grilled chicken asado torta, and breakfast burritos. The 45-seat Snug Bar serves complimentary coffee and a cocktail menu. The bar is in the beginning stages of assembling an agave spirit and wine collection, with particular interest in winemakers from Baja California, California, and Spain. El Roblar's cocktails are classics with margaritas, Old Fashioneds, Palomas, and a simple carajillo with Paranubes Oaxacan Rum, Licor 43 Spanish liqueur, and fresh espresso. Hotel El Roblar resides on the same street as another historic adjacent building that was recently restored: the Ojai Playhouse on Ojai Avenue. El Roblar is a short walk away from Ojai's local favorite, Rory's Place. The charming neighborhood, with its orange groves and walkable downtown strip with the third outlet for Highly Likely, and surrounding Los Padres National Forest, Ojai continues to evolve into a dining destination for Southern California. The Condor Bar is open from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. daily, and La Cocina serves lunch and breakfast to guests from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. The lobby's Snug Bar is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. at 122 E. Ojai Avenue, Ojai, CA, 93023. Duck leg carnitas at Condor Bar in Ojai. Bethany Nauert Prime arranchera steak on a Santa Maria grill. Bethany Nauert Oysters, Oaxacan After Midnight cocktail, and Best Friend cocktail. Bethany Nauert Bar closeup Gregory Goode Gregory Goode Bar view. Gregory Goode Bar adjacent dining room. Gregory Goode Patio dining. Gregory Goode Snug Bar. Gregory Goode Lobby. Gregory Goode Pool. Gregory Goode Entry. Gregory Goode Eater LA All your essential food and restaurant intel delivered to you Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
It's okay to work from home to supervise gardeners, tribunal says
Employees should not be disciplined for working from home to supervise gardeners, a tribunal has ruled. While trying to hold an important meeting remotely so workers can supervise tradesmen might be a 'mistake', it is not necessarily 'blameworthy' conduct, the panel said. The ruling came in the case of an IT company director who argued with his boss after asking to move a planning meeting to the online app Teams because he was having 'work done' in his garden. Ben Wicken had been scheduled to meet Christophe Boudet, the founder of his company Akita Systems, in person to try to resolve a work disagreement, the employment tribunal heard. But he asked to hold it on Teams because he needed to work from home for the rest of the week. Mr Boudet told the tribunal he was 'very disappointed' by this because it made it seem as if Mr Wicken, the company's technical director, was not taking the process seriously. Shortly afterwards, his co-directors announced that they had 'lost trust and confidence' in Mr Wicken, leading to his eventual resignation. Mr Wicken is now set for a payout after winning his case against Akita Systems for constructive unfair dismissal. The tribunal, in Croydon, south London, heard Mr Wicken began working at the company in March 2014 as a junior network manager and later became technical director. In March 2022, he argued with Mr Boudet about holiday cover and the pair entered a mediation process. However, when a meeting was scheduled on May 3 2022, Mr Wicken rang to ask if it could be moved to Teams 'as he needed to work from home for the rest of the week because he had work being done in the garden and so he would need to be there', the tribunal said in its findings. 'The tribunal accepts the evidence of Mr Boudet that he was very disappointed about this and told [Mr Wicken] that it appeared he was not taking the process seriously. [He] did then attend the office,' the ruling went on. 'After lengthy discussion [he] conceded that in hindsight he should have communicated better with Mr Boudet and he should have attended the office for the 1:1 meeting.' The tribunal heard that Mr Wicken felt 'attacked' during the meeting and broke down in tears following an 'off the record' discussion with his boss afterwards. Subsequently, Mr Wicken agreed to draft an 'improvement plan' for his relationship with the founder. However, it was considered that his plan did not address the key issues around his capacity as a technical director, and Mr Wicken was told the directors of the company had a 'unanimous view' that they had lost trust and confidence in him. Two days later, Mr Wicken submitted a grievance, claiming that Akita had 'unambiguously announced' its intention to dismiss him before any process had been followed. David Charity, an external HR consultant, was appointed to investigate but he was also a longstanding friend of Mr Boudet. Mr Wicken said instructing him was therefore 'unfair and pointless'. A lengthy process then followed between Mr Wicken's solicitors and Mr Charity. Eventually, Mr Charity unilaterally closed Mr Wicken's grievance because he had failed to 'actively pursue' it. This was the 'last straw' for Mr Wicken, who had been off sick for two months, and he chose to resign on June 28 instead of returning to Akita. He listed the reasons for his resignation as conduct towards him since February, a 'sham' performance improvement plan, and the appointment of Mr Charity to investigate his grievance. The tribunal found Mr Wicken's treatment did lead to his constructive unfair dismissal. Lisa Burge, the employment judge, said that although Mr Wicken acknowledged prioritising his gardener over the one- to-one meeting was a 'mistake', it was not 'blameworthy' on his part. She said: 'The tribunal concludes that [Mr Wicken] did not contribute to his dismissal... '[Akita] submits that [Mr Wicken] admitted that his decision to prioritise arrangements with his gardener over attendance at a one-to-one mediation follow-up meeting was a mistake and that he refused to cooperate with the grievance investigation. 'However, these actions, in the context of the facts found and detailed above, do not constitute 'culpable or blameworthy' conduct.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Bloomberg
18-02-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Dairy Queen Boasts Strong International Growth: Choppin' It Up
Dairy Queen's international development team seeks to expand into countries where they can quickly grow market share, the customers can afford the product, a sizable limited-service market already exists and strong potential franchisee partners operate, Chief Operating Officer Nicolas Boudet tells Bloomberg Intelligence. In this episode of the Choppin' It Up podcast, Boudet sits down with BI's senior restaurant and foodservice analyst Michael Halen to discuss the company's sizable overseas operations and development strategy. He also comments on recoveries in China and the Middle East.
