FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April, 2007

Inn Contact: Noah Sheppard, 707.937.6736 or noah@maccallumhouse.com

Media Contact: Jude Lutge, 707.937.3719 or foodprose@mcn.org

NEW GENERAL MANAGER AT MACCALLUM HOUSE INN & RESTAURANT

Herman Seidell Brings Wide Range of Management Skills to Position 

Mendocino, CA…Owners Noah Sheppard, Jed and Megan Ayres announce the appointment of Herman Seidell as the new General Manager of MacCallum House Inn & Restaurant, 45020 Albion Street, Mendocino. Seidell, a Mendocino native, returns home to take over the hotel, restaurant, and wine tour operations, bringing seventeen years of diverse culinary, hospitality and management experience to this position.

“We are delighted to welcome Herman,” says Jed Ayres. “It will be special for both Noah and me to be reunited with Herman in this capacity. We all went through the Mendocino school system together, and he was my college roommate. We know Herman will be a great fit with our existing management team and will have an immediate impact on enhancing our guests’ experience.” The public will have the chance to meet Seidell at a Meet & Greet event, Saturday, April 21 in the MacCallum House Grey Whale bar from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Food and restaurants have been a part of Seidell’s life since he first worked as a dishwasher and then as a waiter at Mendocino’s Ledford house. While studying for a history degree at Sonoma State, he was a waiter and part-time innkeeper at the famed Applewood Inn and Restaurant in the Russian River Valley. He added to his experience at the noted Auberge du Soleil in Napa as a captain for private events and weddings. From 1998 to 2004, Seidell worked every front of the house position at the critically acclaimed Masa’s restaurant in San Francisco, working with Chef Ron Seigal, the first American to win the “Iron Chef” award. He moved with Chef Seigal to San Francisco’s Ritz-Carlton to revamp the dining room and to help train staff. In 2005, Seidell expanded his management skills when he accepted a position at Alex Restaurant-Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas.  Working the floor with maitre d’ Marino Monferrato, former long-time GM at Masa’s, he became part of the team that made Alex one of only sixteen U.S. restaurants in 2007 to receive Mobil 5 stars and AAA 5 diamonds awards. The Wynn Hotel was also the only hotel in Las Vegas to receive the Mobil 5 star rating.

“I have grown up loving food and travel and have made many friends throughout the world who work in the hospitality industry,” notes Seidell. “I’m very excited to be coming back to Mendocino, my home town. My goal is to use my experience to sustain and add to the great Mendocino landmark that is the MacCallum House. I love hiking in the woods, foraging for mushrooms, picking wild berries in the summer, and can’t wait to once more explore the backroads of the coast on my bike. After living in cities for the past 15 years, coming back to the relaxed healthy lifestyle Mendocino offers will be a welcome change.”   

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