About

Executive Chef Paolo Buffa, who hails from Italy, brings over 25 years of culinary experience to the Marriott Irvine Spectrum, where he will be showcasing inventive California cuisine through a Mediterranean lens.

The hotel’s indoor-outdoor design sets the stage for Buffa’s casually sophisticated menu inspired by the Orange County lifestyle. At the signature restaurant, Heirloom, the wood-burning oven is central to its harvest-to-hearth cuisine with regional bounty as the starring ingredient, hand crafted zucchini bread and honeycomb butter dip, house cured meats and charcuterie, crafted pastas, unique bowl presentations, salt crusted whole branzino, and charred vegetable hummus with local vegetable crudité. At the lively rooftop bar—Irvine’s first such perch—Buffa elevates shareable plates and the wine list alongside craftier cocktails and local brews.

Buffa studied at the Culinary Art Institute of Milan and further honed his skill of Italian, French and Belgian cuisine while in Austria. His US foray was Caffe Milano, the Italian hotspot on Miami Beach’s Ocean Drive, and later, he held multi-faceted positions at The Ritz Carlton, Battery Park and the Mayflower Hotel in Washington DC.

Buffa is not new to the Marriott family, having led banquet functions and operations at the hotel group’s Southern California locations. Off duty, he spends time with his son Leonardo, and pursues outdoor adventure, photography and the California varietals featured on his wine list. He is fluent in Italian, Spanish and English.

See me at:

Pitmaster’s Veterans Day Barbecue