Our Team

JOSHUA HOLLINGER
Executive Chef, The Sanderling Resort

Joshua Hollinger joins The Sanderling Resort & Spa as the new Executive Chef.

As a child, Joshua knew he would either become a sea captain or a chef. Brought up on the Chesapeake Bay and having a family owned slaughterhouse in Pennsylvania, he was constantly around food and discovered early on that he was a natural cook. But he pursued his other dream first, graduating from the Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship in Piney Point, Maryland, and traveling through 22 countries as a merchant marine.

Ultimately, cooking called him back. Joshua joined Drew Nieporent's Myriad Restaurant Group as chef de partie at New York City's Tribeca Grill, then as consulting chef for Myriad's new property openings all over the East Coast. After serving as executive sous chef of The Coach House- now Water St. on Martha's Vineyard in 2002-2003, Joshua cooked in Europe and San Francisco before landing in Florida. He spent three years manning the kitchens at Smokin' Martini in Palmetto and Beach Bistro on Anna Maria Island.

The Northeast beckoned him again and he returned to Martha's Vineyard as the Executive Chef at the Harbor View Hotel & Resort and Water St. where he continued to develop his sustainable food approach while transforming the restaurant and designing a $4m kitchen.

Joining The Sanderling Resort & Spa, Joshua hopes to bring his 'Farm to Table' passion to the Outer Banks as never before seen and establish the Resort as a food destination. Please join us and experience the talents that Joshua brings to The Sanderling Resort & Spa.

TRAVIS LEE ROBINSON
Chef de Cuisine, The Left Bank

As Chef de Cuisine of The Left Bank, Travis Lee Robinson helms the culinary program of the Outer Bank's only AAA Four-Diamond restaurant. Chef Robinson has created a menu of contemporary American cuisine imparting the traditions and techniques of the French culinary arts. His focus is on creatively sourcing local ingredients and he is dedicated to a philosophy rooted in sustainability.

Chef Travis's first expression of the culinary arts came in his hometown at The Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach. Travis comes to The Left Bank after previously serving as Sous Chef at Le Vigne, the signature restaurant at Montaluce Winery. Prior to that, Travis worked with Arnaud Berthelier at The Mobil 5 Star Dining Room in the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead. At The Ritz-Carlton Tyson's Corner, he worked alongside James Beard Award Winner Fabio Trabocchi, at his 5 Diamond restaurant, Maestro. Within the Grand Floridian Resort, he spent time with Beard Award nominee Scott Hunnel at The 5 Diamond Victoria & Albert's.

Internationally, Chef Travis has worked at the Michelin Star rated Maze by Gordon Ramsey in London, as well as the Three Michelin Star Waterside Inn. He also resided at the legendary Bray eatery, The Fat Duck, S. Pellegrino's #1 Ranked Restaurant in the World in 2005.

Chef Robinson's mission is to serve the bounty of local farmers and fisherman with an emphasis on using Sustainable, Organic, Artisinal and Local Ingredients. This concept we refer to as S.O.A.L

MARK MCCLEARY
Chef de Cuisine, The Sanderling Resort

As Chef de Cuisine of The Sanderling, Chef McCleary's responsibilities include the oversight of the menus and service at the Resort's award winning Life Saving Station Restaurant as well as the implementation and supervision of the resort's banquet and catering operation. Chef McCleary's emphasis across this spectrum is to showcase the bounty and craft of North Carolina's finest farmers and fisherman. This dedication is apparent not only on the creative dishes that Mark features, but also in the pride in which they are presented.

Since his first culinary duties at the Lowe's Ventana Canyon's Mobil Four Star Dining Room, Chef Mark has been exposed to a progression of culinary styles and worked with unique ingredients from across the globe. These powers were on full display as Chef de Cuisine alongside James Beard award winner Roxsand Scocos at the acclaimed Roxsand in Phoenix, Arizona. This relationship led to his being one of only twelve culinary professionals nationally to be selected to attend The Beringer School for American Chefs with renowned author and mentor Madeline Kamman.

As Mark's career progressed, he joined the Mobil Five Star Team at Marquesa at The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess Resort, ultimately becoming Chef De Cuisine for Banquet Production. His leadership was also apparent while serving as a Chef Instructor at the American Culinary Federation accredited culinary program in Scottsdale. Chef McCleary's entrepreneurial skills served him well while handling territory for L.A. Specialty Produce, The West Coast's premiere farm to table purveyor of fresh wholesale foods.

Chef Mark's focus is to incorporate throughout his department what makes North Carolina, and in particular the Outer Banks region, so unique: combining a rich culinary heritage with the warm hospitality of its people.

MICHEL NISCHAN
Sanderling Culinary Consultant

As a leader in the sustainable food movement and chef with over 30 years of experience working with local producers and farmers, two-time James Beard Foundation award winner Michel Nischan wears many hats. Nischan is the owner/founder of Dressing Room: A Homegrown Restaurant, located at Westport (CT) Country Playhouse, as well as President/CEO of Wholesome Wave Foundation. The nonprofit organization's mission is to overhaul the nation's food system by increasing access to healthy, fresh and affordable locally grown food. Wholesome Wave and Dressing Room work in tandem to create grassroots initiatives that celebrate local food systems and heritage recipes.

Nischan's newest cookbook Sustainably Delicious (Rodale) will be released in April, 2010. An author of two celebrated cookbooks - Taste Pure and Simple; Chronicle Books 2003 (a best-selling Beard award winner in 2004) and Homegrown Pure and Simple; Chronicle Books 2005, Nischan won a 2008 James Beard Foundation Award for his work on the PBS television series, Victory Garden.

A son of displaced farmers, Nischan grew up with a deep appreciation for sustainable agriculture and those who work the land. As a professional chef and advocate for a more healthful, organic and sustainable food future, he has built on those childhood values and become a catalyst for change and new initiatives in local and regional food systems. Wholesome Wave was founded in 2007 with funding from Newman's Own Foundation and the Betsy and Jesse Fink Foundation, and supported in part by funding from Grow for Good, a philanthropic initiative of FOOD & WINE Magazine.

Nischan serves on the boards of the Amazon Conservation Team, the James Beard Foundation and Harvard's Center for Health and the Global Environment. He lives in Fairfield, Connecticut with his wife, Lori and their five children.