Our Chefs
Lee Hillson
Lee Hillson was named Executive Chef in August 2005, having joined T. Cook’s as Sous Chef five years earlier. He has gained both local and national notoriety with this elegant and rustic interpretation of Mediterranean cuisine as well as his generous donation of both time and talent to countless charitable organizations.
Hillson’s progression up the food chain is paved with award-winning culinary experiences. He began his restaurant career in 1987 at the age of 16 when he enrolled in culinary school at Bournemouth and Poole College in his native England. Two years later, degree in hand, he took off to the Hyatt in Austin, Texas to explore new worlds and new cuisines.
A year later, he returned to London for the unique opportunity to be the Chef de Partie at the Roux Patisserie, owned by world-renowned chefs, Albert and Michel Roux. Hillson then served as Pastry Chef at the Michelin star Le Poussin in Hampshire, England. His next stop was Hintlesham Hall in Ipswich, Suffolk, England where he began as the Pastry Chef and three years later was appointed Sous Chef at this European award-winning, fine dining restaurant.
In November of 1998, Hillson again crossed the Atlantic to become Executive Sous Chef at Vanderbilt Hall in Newport, Rhode Island at its Alva restaurant. Within a few short months, he was appointed Executive Chef at this restaurant ranked as one of the country’s top five restaurants by Country Inn magazine.
From Rhode Island, Hillson joined T. Cook’s and has since been part of the lineup that has garnered acclaim from the likes of Andrew Harper’s Hideaway Report, Travel + Leisure magazine and a host of Phoenix/Scottsdale food writers. Hillson has cooked on more than one occasion at the James Beard House in New York, hosted a Friends of James Beard dinner at the resort, and participated in numerous local high profile culinary events.
In 2007, Hillson strut his stuff for the Arizona Kidney Foundation as a “celebrity dancer” for their record-breaking charitable event: Dancing with the Stars Arizona. In 2008, he was named Arizona spokesperson for Hass Avocados, nominated to the Arizona Culinary Hall of Fame, and was invited to battle Food Network’s Iron Chef Cat Cora on the blockbuster show, Iron Chef America where he achieved one of the season’s highest scores.
With Hillson at the helm, T. Cook’s was voted the most popular Phoenix/Scottsdale restaurant by Zagat’s: America’s Top Restaurants in both 2006 and 2007.
Pierino Jermonti
Pierino (Perry) Jermonti joined Royal Palms Resort and Spa in Phoenix, Arizona as Executive Pastry chef in 1996. Jermonti is the creative force behind all of the desserts, pastries and freshly baked Mediterranean breads on the award winning T. Cook’s menu and the elaborate wedding cakes and pastries for weddings and special events held at Royal Palms. He was named Manager of the Year for the resort in 1999.
Prior to taking the lead position in the pastry kitchen at Royal Palms, Jermonti was the pastry chef at the Arizona Biltmore Resort and the Wrigley Mansion Club, both in Phoenix, Lon’s at the Hermosa Inn in Paradise Valley, Arizona and the Citadel in Scottsdale.
Born in Cosenza, Italy, Jermonti’s love of baking began at age five. Inspired by his father, Jermonti learned the skills and techniques to make the traditional focaccia, flatbreads and rustic peasant breads of the region. “My father, in addition to being my first teacher, was my first idol. Perfection was the key to everything he did.” Jermonti’s grandmother imbued him with a passion for the art of food – that which “cannot be learned but must come from the heart. My father and grandmother taught me that all the education in the world cannot take the place of the love of baking.”
The Jermonti family established many successful food service businesses throughout the Midwestern United States, and at the age of fifteen, Pierino relocated from Cosenza to be a part of this growing family enterprise. Jermonti’s family and cultural background provided him with a rich legacy for his talent and the creativity he currently expresses in his work.
While baking bread is in Jermonti’s heart, dessert and chocolate creations appeal to his artistic nature. Many of his extraordinary desserts are based on time-honored family recipes, but it’s his idol, Frank Lloyd Wright, who inspires his art of presentation. In fact, at a young age, he dreamt of being an architect, and today approaches his designs from a structural perspective. He begins with a drawing of his vision and then “builds his masterpiece” much like an artist chiseling a sculpture.
His artistic creations and recipes have appeared in the New York Times, Pastry Art & Design, Chocolatier, Food & Wine and Bon Appetit. Bride’s, Pefect Bride and InStyle have featured his wedding cake artistry. Jermonti’s decadent holiday offerings were the focus of the November/December 2005 issue of The Magazine of La Cucina Italiana, with a multi-page spread of photos and recipes. Early in his career, he was honored as “Best Baker in America, Best Bread” by Travel + Leisure. Jermonti has made two appearances on the Food Network: in 2005, Sugar Rush featured his hand-crafted sweets, and a year later, he was a guest chef on the Food Network’s Wedding Cake Surprise Challenge.
In 2007, Jermonti participated in one of the country’s largest gatherings of international chefs, Delaware’s Meals from the Masters, and the same year, he won a gold medal for Best Dessert at the Scottsdale Culinary Festival. He has been a frequent guest chef at the James Beard House in New York as part of the T. Cook’s culinary team and has participated as a celebrity chef at functions for Commanderie de Bordeaux, the International Wine & Food Society, and Les Chaines de Rotisseur.
