The Bistro at Red Newt Cellars welcomes a new member to our innovative culinary team. We are pleased to introduce Brud Holland as Red Newt Bistro's Executive Chef.

Brud has been a friend to the Whitings for over twenty years, pals with David from their high school years and a mentor to Debra when Red Newt Cellars was but a seed in its infancy. “You call on your friends when you need them and that is the reason I'm here,” said Holland. “Debra and I shared the same passions and philosophies both inside the kitchen, and in our everyday lives as well, which will make it effortless to keep her spirit alive.”


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A graduate of the New England Culinary Institute in Montepelier, Vermont, Brud has enjoyed more than twenty years in the field from professional cooking to foodservice management to education. It was while in the process of completing his degree at the Culinary Institute that Brud's career took off. During his second year of study, he and a fellow student were approached by a local restaurant owner to oversee his entire restaurant operation.

Upon receiving his degree, Brud and his wife traveled to the Loire Valley and the accompanying Charentes Region where they observed the French culinary scene and researched ideas to take back home. In 1991, shortly before returning to the Finger Lakes to start a family, Brud took the position of Baking & Pastry Instructor at Scottsdale Culinary Institute in Arizona and continues, to this day, to contribute his wealth of knowledge to the community in the form of culinary & wine education instruction at 171 Cedar Arts in Corning, NY, where he and Debra both taught.

In 1992, Brud's entrepreneurial spirit allowed him to find remarkable success when he founded Glen Mountain Market, designing the gourmet bakery and delicatessen business from the ground up. The next ten years followed suit. Brud became the owner and president of Della Terra, Inc., a vegetarian food manufacturer located in Dundee, NY, where he exercised his culinary skills in developing recipes for vegetarian delicatessen products on a commercial scale. From there it was back to the the kitchen as the executive chef and owner of the Watkins Hotel, the executive chef of Corning Incorporated, and the executive chef of the Corning Country Club before coming to Red Newt.

With a focus on creating innovative, quality-conscious cuisine with seasonal produce from local growers, an arduous vigor for perfection in service, and an enthusiasm for showcasing the synergy of food and wine, it is Brud's desire and ambition not to replace Debra but, instead, to carry on her vision to the fullest: to see that the Bistro Debra designed continues, that it thrives, and that people walk through the doors and receive the same experience that they have come to cherish.

It is through Brud's devotion to his family and friends, his personal connection with expressing creativity through food, his selfless hunger to help others, and his love for the Finger Lakes region that prove he is a perfect match.

“I can see the fit,” Holland said. “Debra worked with me for about three months while she was still in the planning stages of the Bistro. Her background in catering, where everything is pre-planned, was slightly different than the a la carte service she envisioned for the Bistro. From what I see, Debra was able to translate that into Red Newt seamlessly, from everyone who has worked with her in the past to the staff now. What we learned from each other during that time will be hard to describe to anyone other than a chef. We traded recipes and watched how each other prepared dishes – it was a truly collaborative effort on both sides. Debra left behind all the tools to keep her spirit alive and that is what I intend to do.”

It is impossible to overlook the similarities that Brud and Debra shared both inside and outside of the kitchen but it is clear that their overriding passion lies in the commitment to increasing the awareness of regional products and in establishing and developing relationships between regional chefs and farmers.

Brud and Debra attended the very first Finger Lakes Culinary Bounty meeting together. “It starts with a desire to want to make things from scratch,” Holland said. “When you train to be a chef you learn to do everything with your own two hands and with that comes a different level of quality – creating a dish becomes more personal. Utilizing fresh, local produce from farmers and growers right here in the Finger Lakes is a natural progression of that.”

According to Brud, food is art. Whether one is a writer, a painter, or a chef, there is an innate need to express that passion. “I find inspiration everywhere,” Holland said. “You can learn things from people of all ages and all backgrounds. Teachers learn from students just as often as students learn from teachers. It is my goal to continue to look for that inspiration everyday. The opportunities I see for the Bistro at Red Newt are endless.”