Four Seasons Hotel Toronto

Four Seasons Tenure

• Since 2024
• First Four Seasons Assignment: Current

Employment History

• Richmond Station, Toronto; Alo Restaurant, Toronto; Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Tarrytown, New York; Gramercy Tavern, New York City; Bouchon Bistro, Yountville, California; The French Laundry, Yountville

Education

• Bachelor of Commerce, Hospitality and Tourism Management, Ryerson University, Toronto

Birthplace

• Kitchener, Ontario, Canada

Languages spoken

• English, French

“It’s a quintessential French brasserie, and the word that comes to mind is ‘comfortable,’” says William Kresky of the culinary experience he fashions as Executive Chef of Café Boulud. The signature dining experience of Four Seasons Hotel Toronto, conceived by world-renowned chef and restaurateur Daniel Boulud, has seen a few iterations since first welcoming guests in 2012, leading to the “institution” Kresky sees it as today. “It’s timeless – and totally Toronto,” he adds of the impression the restaurant leaves on guests and locals. “Trendy spots may help shape the dining scene, but they come and go. Café Boulud is always going to be the place where people know they can get exceptional food and service.”    

With such a reputation, expectations must be met. Kresky is a cool cucumber on that front, drawing on culinary experience that is outsized for his age. While he works closely with corporate chefs overseeing Daniel Boulud’s far-flung restaurant collection, he is allotted what he calls “reasonable creativity” within traditional standards of French cuisine and technique. “I’m given a decent amount of freedom to create seasonal dishes with my own sense of flare, and that’s very satisfying.”

Kresky is both creative and nurturing in managing his team, as well. His leadership style is to lead by example, he says, the better to set the standards with himself first and then delegate to his supporting cast of 30. He believes strongly that chefs should take ownership of their operations, “so if something is right, I share in the glory, and if something goes wrong, I take the blame.” He avoids the latter by being the epitome of a professional. “This is a serious operation serving three menus every day. Functioning at the highest level gives everyone the level of respect they deserve.”

He also wants to give guests the meals they deserve. Key to that is sourcing the finest ingredients, which can be challenging given Canada’s short growing season. Never mind. “If you really want fresh product, you have to know where to go,” he explains of securing requisite produce and protein. “The best stuff often comes from places no one has heard of. I’m constantly looking at which farm has what and building relationships to ensure that we can get it.”

Hailing from Kitchener, Ontario, Kresky grew up eating “meat and potatoes” in a home that adjoined a country club whose dining outlet he joined at age 15. The attraction was immediate. “The minute I walked into the kitchen, I saw this massive man chopping a chicken with a cleaver, and that was it.” The chefs talked like they were “in a pub in a pirate movie. It was the craziest thing.” Assigned to make wraps part-time, the work was relentless, but he was never intimidated, adopting an attitude of “watch me do it” and taking inspiration from the positive reactions of guests.

Kresky eschewed culinary school, bending to his parents’ preference for a college education, but continued to grow his skills in the school’s catering department. He also landed a dishwashing gig on the opening team of Richmond Station, a bustling addition to the Toronto dining scene co-owned by a winner of Top Chef Canada. When a spot opened up in the kitchen, he jumped at it, though it meant going to school in the morning and cooking from noon to midnight. “I passed my courses by the skin of my teeth. I’d always sit in the front row so I wouldn’t fall asleep.”

He stayed with the restaurant after college, working his way to sous chef before seeking success in the US. The move took him straight to the top, with turns at renowned restaurants such as French Laundry and Bouchon Bistro in Napa Valley, Gramercy Tavern in New York City, and Blue Hill at Stone Barns in the Hudson Valley. When his visa situation got complicated, he returned to Toronto and landed as a sous chef at Alo, which had just been named the best restaurant in Canada.

Finally, in 2020, Kresky returned to Richmond Station as chef de cuisine and was soon promoted to executive chef. So, how did he end up joining Four Seasons at age 30 in 2024? By impressing a former colleague at Alo, who now heads the front of the house at Café Boulud.

“When he reached out about leading the kitchen, I couldn’t say no,” Kresky recalls with delight. “The opportunity to work with Daniel Boulud and Four Seasons was too intriguing to pass by.”