Chef Info

Thomas Cook | Executive Chef

Thomas Cook is executive chef of Trattoria Il Mulino within the Hilton Nashville Downtown, a position where he oversees the culinary direction of the casual-chic Italian restaurant with guidance from the concept’s executive chef Michele Mazza. As part of the restaurant’s signature Abruzzese-inspired, Italian cuisine that pairs traditional flavors with inventive dishes, Cook incorporates the bold flavors of Music City into his seasonal menus.

Prior to joining Trattoria Il Mulino, chef Cook was executive chef at the historic Union Station Hotel in Nashville, where he established Prime 108 as an award-winning, premier fine dining restaurant with contemporary American cuisine punctuated by inventive twists. Prior to Prime 103, he served as chef de cuisine at Old Hickory Steakhouse at Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, where he earned an esteemed DiRoNA award for culinary excellence in 2003. During his time at the southern landmark, Cook also assumed leadership roles at Cascades American Cafe and Wasabi’s Sushi.

Cook’s previous culinary positions took him to the cosmopolitan coastal regions of South Florida and Los Angeles. Cook worked with culinary visionaries Mark Peel and Nancy Silverton at their acclaimed Campanile restaurant in Los Angeles, Calif., where he also catered private Hollywood parties. He also honed his culinary talent in fine dining restaurants at the Boca Raton Resort & Club in Boca Raton, Fla., and gained invaluable experience working for James Beard Award-winning chef Mark Militello at Mark’s Mizner Park restaurant. Cook is a graduate of Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, Ill., and The American Culinary Academy in Lakeland, Fla.