Charles Mereday joined the MKA team in August of 2020.
An expert in new restaurant development, operational consulting and training, his range of experience includes restaurants, non-commercial operations, casinos and hotels.
Charles's first executive chef position was in 1994 at Philadelphia's iconic Zanzibar Blue in, where he built a reputation as an exceptional young chef. As his following grew it became inevitable that offers would follow, and in 1998 he was recruited by Lowe's Hotels to be the opening executive chef of their new Market Street flagship hotel, also in Philadelphia.. At Lowe's he designed and developed all their food operations, and implemented his unique brand of Southern Haute Cuisine in their main restaurant.
In 2010 Charles moved to Naples, Florida to open CM Restaurants with a partnership group. Charles grew CM to encompass the award winning Merreday’s Fine Dining, Merreday’s Brasserie and Alto Jazz Kitchen; and his own culinary TV Series Back of the House.
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Charles is a graduate of Johnson & Wales University in Charleston, South Carolina with a BS in Foodservice Management. His early experience was in restaurants in Charleston, SC, Raleigh, NC , St. Thomas and St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands. During this time he also worked with Craig Shelton at the James Beard Award winning Ryland Inn in Whitehouse, New Jersey, Daniel Boulud and his team at Le Cirque in New York City and Michel Troisgros at his 3 Michelin starred Restaurant Troisgros in Roanne in France.
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Credit Photograph to Yvonne Ayala McClellan - The News Press