A Fresh Face; A Fresh Taste

Executive Chef Ülfet Özyabasligil Ralph is the newest addition to the team of highly acclaimed chefs at Brush Creek Luxury Ranch Collection. As a Relais & Châteaux property, Magee Homestead holds its culinary standards to the highest degree, and Chef Ülfet was selected to maintain this culinary focus. She has spent years mastering her craft, working under a variety of renowned chefs to hone her skills and learn unique methods in the kitchen.

Chef Ülfet graduated from the Culinary Institute of Charleston in 2011 with a degree in Culinary Arts. Additionally, she attended the French Culinary Institute in New York. Here, she studied Hydrocolloids under David Arnold and followed her desire to learn more about our food system in depth to the Cornell University School of Agriculture and Life Sciences, where she earned a concentration in Genetically Modified Organisms in 2017.

Magee Homestead is not Chef Ülfet’s first foray into a Relais & Châteaux property. Before joining us here, she served as Executive Sous Chef at Camden Harbour Inn in Camden, Maine, and as a tournant/saucier at Peninsula Grill at Planters Inn.

Chef Ülfet’s accolades include two Silver Medals at the ACF Culinary Competition in 2009 and 2010 and Best Chef in Asheville Food and Wine Festival in 2014. She also served as Host Chef for Travel & Leisure Channel’s Illegal Eater Charleston episode in 2013 as well as competing twice on Food Network’s “Cutthroat Kitchen” in 2015 and 2016.

Her fresh perspective will inspire Magee Homestead’s exquisite menus as she collaborates with Angus McIntosh, Executive Chef of The Farm at Brush Creek, during the property’s 2020 culinary experiences series, which will be hosted at The Farm at Brush Creek and Magee Homestead.

“Having an opportunity to work at Magee Homestead is like a dream come true,” said Chef Ülfet Özyabasligil Ralph, “The natural beauty of the ranch combined with the resources they have available for the culinary program – including the ranch-raised Wagyu beef and the extensive organic greenhouse system – are rare to find. I believe everyone’s success is the reflection of the environment that we live in and Magee Homestead gives you that gift to achieve greatness.”