The Lake House on Canandaigua adds Steve Eakins, John Bard

CANANDAIGUA, NY – Both have worked in local kitchens and rose to top positions in kitchens in the gourmet cities of New York City and Austin, Texas.

And now they ply their trade at The Lake House in Canandaigua’s Rose Tavern, Sand Bar, Library Bar and the seasonal Pool Bar as the new Executive Chef and Head Baker.

Steve Eakins, who has appeared on the hit Food Network shows Chopped and The Best Thing I Ever Ate, was recently named executive chef. John Bard was appointed chief baker. They meet at the Lakeside Resort with Food and Beverage Director Nicholas Massimilian.

Eakins has worked with Marc Murphy’s Benchmarc restaurants in Manhattan, serving as executive chef at Ditch Plains, Landmarc at Time Warner Center, Kingside at the Viceroy Hotel, and Landmarc in Tribeca. His New York City dining experiences also include Central Park Boathouse and Danny Meyer’s Maialino.

Most recently, Eakins was Executive Chef at Radio Social in Rochester with two in-house culinary establishments – Ophira and Shortwave.

Bard learned to bake bread while working in the pastry shop at Jeffrey’s, a high-end French-inspired steakhouse, and became head baker. Most recently he worked with McGuire Moorman Lambert (MML), taking over the bread and pastry range at Clark’s Oyster Bar and opening Swedish Hill bakery and deli in 2019.

Before moving to Texas, Bard worked at Rochester’s upscale Mexican restaurant Dorado and Magnolia’s Café, where he cooked for former President Barack Obama.