Red Lobster Redesign

I've been invited by the Red Lobster Media & Communications division to attend this event and meet their Executive Chef Darryl Mickler on April 1, 2010. Red Lobster will be introducing its new, redesigned atmosphere, inspired by the seaside village of Bar Harbor, Maine. As their guest I will have the opportunity of experiencing fresh, delicious seafood in their new vibrant, nautical setting. By June 2010, 51 Red Lobster restaurants across North America will have undergone a redesign that will includes updated coastal touches both inside and out. Within the restaurants, guests will find cozy, dark-wood paneling, warm-toned fabrics, soft lighting and nautical decor. New exterior features include shingle and stone towers, lanterns, flags snapping in the breeze and Adirondack-style benches, all intended to transport guests' minds to the coast.


Certified Grill Masters will prepare fresh fish, tender lobster and other seafood over the open flame of wood-fire grills. A Today's Fresh Fish menu will be updated daily to reflect a variety of fresh fish. More culinary-forward items, new flavors and seafood combinations will be added to the menu to provide guests with a higher-quality experience at the same affordable price for which Red Lobster has always been known.


Now, meet the Executive Chef behind these changes.


Darryl Mickler

Executive Chef / Director of Culinary Development, Red Lobster


As the Executive Chef and Director of Culinary Development for Red Lobster, Chef Darryl Mickler is responsible for leading the culinary team in charge of generating creative new menu concepts for Red Lobster.


Prior to joining Red Lobster in March 2006, Chef Mickler had a vast and diverse culinary career at the Walt Disney Company. He started as a Chef Assistant, progressing quickly to become the head of culinary development for Disney’s Polynesian Resort and later Chef de Cuisine responsible for all special events, banquets and menu development at MGM Studios, Animal Kingdom and Walt Disney World Sports and Recreation. His work earned him a Disney Partners in Excellence Award, honoring lifetime achievement, in 1998. In 2005 Chef Mickler was chosen to lead culinary efforts for the grand opening of Hong Kong Disneyland.


Beyond recognition from Disney, Chef Mickler has won numerous medals in national and local culinary competitions and was part of the Red Lobster team to earn a “Best Line Extension” Menu Masters Award from Nation’s Restaurant News their Today’s Fresh Fish program. In September 2001, CitySearch.com recognized his work with an Editorial Award for Best Desserts and a Popular Choice Award for Family Dining.


Chef Mickler has appeared on numerous radio and television cooking programs, including a role as the featured chef on The Food Network’s “Cooking with Kids” and the Discovery Channel’s “Great Chefs, Great Cities.” Chef Mickler was a founding member and active participant of the American Culinary Federation, serving as the Buena Vista, Florida Chapter President and on the ACF’s Board of Governors. In 2005, he was a featured chef at The James Beard House in New York City, and he has been a guest lecturer and speaker at the famed Culinary Institute of America, Greystone and Cornell University’s School of Hospitality Management.


Chef Mickler received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rollins College, and holds a Master of Business Administration from Rollins’ Crummer School Graduate School of Business. He also earned an Associate of Science degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management and Culinary Arts from Pensacola College and has apprenticed at Les Chefs de France, the restaurant partnership of Paul Bocuse, Gaston LeNôtre, and Roger Vergé at Disney’s Epcot theme park. In 2003 he received a Certified Sommelier and Certified Spirits Diploma from the Court of Master Sommeliers.