The Newport Experience is delighted to announce the appointment of Jim Colleran as the new Executive Chef. Colleran will oversee The Newport Experience’s extensive banquet and catering offerings and all restaurant culinary activities including lunch and dinner service.
Prior to joining The Newport Experience, Colleran served as Chef de Cuisine at the Brown Faculty Club, where he was responsible for the execution of culinary operations; including menu creation, private parties, and special events. Most recently he has held the positions of Executive Chef at Gurney’s Resort & Marina, Executive Banquet Chef at Foxwoods Resort & Casino and Executive Chef of 22 Bowen’s Wine Bar and Grille.
Earlier in his career, he held the position of Executive Sous Chef at Hyatt Regency Newport. Prior to this, Colleran practiced his culinary talent at Salvation Café, Newport RI, Castle Hill Inn & Resort of Newport, RI, a Relais & Chateau property, as well as the Clarke Cooke House of Newport, RI and Commander’s Palace of New Orleans, LA. His varied background working at smaller restaurants and also larger hotel properties in Newport, RI gave him a great variety of experiences and a unique perspective that have contributed to his culinary leadership.
Colleran was born in Cambridge, MA and grew up in Barrington, RI. He was influenced from an early age by his grandfather, Justin Wilson, an acclaimed television personality of PBS’s Louisiana Cookin’. Coupled with his apprenticeship in New Orleans, Colleran’s culinary style is inspired deeply by Cajun and Creole cuisine. At the core, he believes in cooking with care and technique and letting the ingredients speak for themselves. Colleran earned a Culinary Arts/Food Service Management Degree from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI. A member of the American Culinary Federation, he is a Certified Executive Chef and recipient of the ACF Rhode Island Chapter- Chef of the Year Award for 2019. He currently resides in Bristol, RI with his wife and children. He enjoys spending his free time with family, cycling, and barbecuing.
