Executive Chef Thomas M. Moran

As Executive Chef of Sheraton Gateway Los Angeles, Thomas M. Moran oversees the food and beverage operations for the hotel’s Brasserie Restaurant, Shula’s 347 and banquets serving the 50,000 sq-ft of meeting space. Chef Moran arrives at Gateway after his tenure as chef and owner of the award-winning Thomas Moran’s Petite Syrah in New Preston, CT. While at the helm at Petite Syrah, the restaurant received three stars from the New York Times and was named “Best New Restaurant” and “Best French Restaurant” by Connecticut Magazine.

Throughout his career, Moran has placed customer service high on his priority list. “Saying ‘no’ wastes time and energy,” he comments. “So I believe in doing anything for anyone, at anytime. This is the most important message I can teach my staff, no matter where else they’ve worked before or how much experience they have. I tell them you’re going to have to spend time at the table, be a human being and make your customers feel good. It’s called hospitality.”

Moran, a native of upstate New York, graduated from the famed Culinary Institute of America. Moran’s first job was as a Saucier and Banquet Chef at the Four Seasons in Chicago. It was there he met his mentor, Chef Carrie Nahabedian of Naha in Chicago. “I give her credit for my cooking ability, my talent and my ability to manage,” he says. “She is the one who molded me.”

Chef Moran has built his expertise at a host of other hotels and restaurants during his career, including roles as Sous Chef at the Stouffer Riviere Hotel in Chicago, IL, Executive Sous and Restaurant Chef at Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica, CA, Chef d’ Cuisine at the world-renowned Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA, Executive Sous Chef for the Four Seasons Resort Nevis in the West Indies and Executive Chef at the Mayflower Inn in Washington, CT.

While at the Mayflower Inn, Moran earned accolades such as a Mobile Five Star and the AAA Five Diamond rating, and received acclaim from members of the prestigious James Beard Foundation.

Moran is quick to point to the women in his life, wife Sandra, and daughters Cynthia and Sarah, as the driving force behind his success. “My wife has always been a support and sounding board. I would not be successful without her drive or her help.”