Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North

Four Seasons Tenure

• Since 2011
• First Four Seasons Assignment: Pastry Chef de Partie at Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo

Employment History

• Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas (formerly a Four Seasons hotel); Four Seasons Hotel Washington, DC; Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo; Intercontinental Hotel, San Jose Costa Rica

Birthplace

• Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Education

• Instituto Nationnal de Aprendizaje Culinary School, San Jose, Costa Rica, O’Sullivan Culinary School, San Jose, Costa Rica

Languages Spoken

• English, Spanish

“We design. We create art. We dream about things: Oh, I’m going to do this amenity for Christmas, or that decoration on a wedding cake. I’ll see something random and think ‘I can create that!’” So goes the busy and imaginative mind of Executive Pastry Chef Yudith Bustos, now leading the team making imaginative desserts and sweet memories for guests at Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North.  

Bustos arrived at the Resort in November 2022, fresh from her most recent role at the brand’s former sister property in Dallas, Texas. Bustos is excited to lend her pastry expertise to the operation in Scottsdale, leading the creation of innovative dessert menus for the Resort’s signature Talavera restaurant, American canteen Proof, and poolside al fresco dining outlet Saguaro Blossom. She has also launched a new program of in-room amenities and is bringing back the wedding cake operation in-house.

“I enjoy making all types of desserts, but I really love making wedding cakes,” she says, noting she was blessed with “the finer touch and attention to detail” that it takes to craft original and elaborate nuptial designs. “I remember when I started with Four Seasons, I was taught that you can never make a mistake on wedding cake – they are far too important.”  

“So my style became perfection.”  

She enjoys leading the team in the pastry kitchen, helping them grow to their top potential. Bustos’ aim is to keep her pastry kitchen well-staffed, make everything from scratch, and use every asset she has to transform the Resort’s dessert and pastry experience.  

Key to that is being honest and positive with her team. “I have a lot of discipline, and I believe very strongly in organization,” she says of her management style. “Sometimes I train, but I also like to encourage people toward creativity and give them opportunities to do what they do best.”  

Growing up in a small town in Costa Rica, Bustos could have followed her brothers into farming, but she wasn’t interested. Instead, she took to cooking to stay out of trouble in boarding school. When a friend enrolled in a local culinary academy and opened her own pastry shop, she invited Bustos to help bake bread and cakes. The experience was eye opening: “Dreaming, designing, creating something from scratch – I’ve always been fascinated by how a few ingredients could come together into a delicious work of art.”

Bustos went on to take all the culinary classes she could, including in the US, and then landed an internship at the InterContinental Hotel in San Jose, Costa Rica. The first chef she worked under was French: he showed her how to make mille-feuille, and also made her cry. However, the executive chef, also French, recognized her infectious energy and thought she had great potential. When he moved on to lead the culinary operations at Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo, he encouraged her to prepare a tasting to show off her skills. “They hired me on the spot,” she remembers, snapping her fingers. “I started with a lot of training and classes, and I just grew from there.” 

Grow she did, learning the art of the perfect wedding cake and, in 2013, transferring to Four Seasons Hotel Washington, DC as Chef de Partie where she helped transform pastry offerings for the property’s renowned power breakfasts and brunch, and had opportunities to work under culinary experts at Four Seasons addresses in Nevis, Dallas, and Paris. “Talk about perfection!” she says of her turn at the last. “How they plated, how they did the amenities. It blew my mind.”  

Bustos worked her way up to Sous Chef and then Executive Pastry Chef in Washington, where she was noted for her collaborative approach, creativity, and leadership in getting her team to constantly push the envelope of pastry. 

Her talents took her far. In 2019, Bustos was honoured to represent the Hotel at Four Seasons Pop Down London, one of a global series of invitation-only immersive events celebrating the artistry and passion of Four Seasons craftspeople around the world. Her trip across “the Pond” began with a staging at two-Michelin-starred La Dame de Pic London. In 2020, she was spotlighted in USA Today as one of 10 female chefs who were elevating the food scene in the Nation’s Capital. In 2022, she was selected to head to Four Seasons Hotel Toronto on a special assignment to work alongside Daniel Boulud for the property’s 10th anniversary celebration.

Now thrilled to be in Scottsdale, Bustos is in awe of the natural beauty that surrounds her in the Sonoran Desert. “My first impression of Scottsdale was that it is very sunny! The light is different here, more dynamic, and inspiring. I’m enjoying bringing that energy into the pastry kitchen. I have a lot of passion when I put my jacket on.”