Simon Pound
Director of Operations

From the fairway to fine dining, Simon Pound has found himself in many elite and exotic places.  As a young man he pulled pints at Port Royal Golf Range in Scotland’s capitol, Edinburgh.  There, under the watchful eye of his mother and father, Simon learned the art of running a successful operation.

To fine-tune his skills, he studied economics and philosophy at Stirling University – all the while working for local restaurateurs to hone his craft.  An educational opportunity led him to another capitol, Washington DC, and it’s esteemed Georgetown University. At Georgetown he hit the books hard, and began his love affair with the city to which he would again return.

After his graduation, Simon continued his travels.  His first stop was Atlanta, Georgia and the Pleasant Peasant Corporation.  He then ventured to the Far East, taking in the many cultural forms of the hospitality industry.

It was then back to the DC metro area where Simon began his tenure at the acclaimed Inn at Little Washington.  During his 16 year tenure at the award-winning establishment, he served in virtually every position in his quest to understand Chef Patrick O’Connell’s philosophy of pursuing excellence in every action taken. 

When Simon left  his Director of Operations position at the Inn, he left having learned O’Connell’s lesson and now brings his breadth of experience to Pure Hospitality’s Georgetown flagship, Hook.

At Hook, Simon Pound continues his pursuit of excellence and calls upon his family’s tradition of hospitality to ensure that every guest has the ultimate Hook Experience—one of flawless sustainable food, excellent service and warm memories.

Jonathan Seningen
Executive Chef

Born in the quaintly historic city of Chestertown on Maryland’s picturesque Eastern Shore, Jonathan Seningen grew up surrounded by rolling farmland and freshwater rivers and streams. Fishing and hunting was a way of life. He developed a respect for the product; a love for the freshly harvested. But his love of the actual kitchen process began with the unlikely—sugar cookies. At about seven years of age, his craving for his mother’s freshly baked cookies became strong enough to send him to the kitchen on a mission to make them himself. “…and they weren’t bad,” he reminisces.

Soon Jonathan was fishing for the plentiful Perch of area and grilling fish skewered on sticks over an open fire with childhood friends. The fact that today, these creeks and rivers that used to be pristine enough in which to swim and yield fish that would easily fill a net, are no longer clean enough for swimming and barely have any living thing left at all, have added to Jonathan’s passion for sustainable seafood and healthy waters. Today, as chef de cuisine at Hook, Jonathan brings his culinary expertise honed over the past 16 years, as well as his passion for nature’s products to the restaurant’s menu.

Jonathan’s professional culinary career began as executive banquet sous chef at Frenchman’s Reef resort in the Virgin Islands—overseeing parties of 10 to 3,000 in seven diverse on-site locations, including opening their five themed restaurants. He soon left the resort to open a private catering to multiple locations on the Virgin Islands.

Seningen’s next island foray was to the highly visible island of Manhattan where he spent the next four years working for such esteemed chefs as Paul Liembrant, Terrence Brennen, Alex Lee, David Waltruk and Rocco DiSpirito—moving up from line cook to chef de cuisine at Atlas, Artisanal, Chanterelle and Union Pacific restaurants. Also during his years in the big Apple, he served as a private chef and consultant to Sotheby’s, The Dylan Hotel and the Harrington Restaurant Group.

Jonathan left New York to join acclaimed Chef Yannick Cam at the critically acclaimed Le Paradou in Washington, DC—opening the restaurant as poisonier. Two years later, he joined the popular Oya restaurant and Lounge as chef de cuisine. At Oya, he created a French/Asian small plates menu that made the restaurant a local destination.

Now at the kitchen’s helm at Hook in Georgetown, Jonathan brings not only a varied background but a homegrown flair for the region’s products that reflect the restaurant’s sustainable, earth-friendly philosophy as well as his own.

Heather Chittum
Pastry Chef

Heather Chittum has been the recipient of many an accolade in her career. She has been named a *2006 StarChefs.com Rising Star Chef, 2008 Pastry Chef of the Year 'RAMMY' Award recipient*, and is among *Gayot's **5 Best Pastry Chefs in the Nation*, 2008.

She may have taken a non-traditional path to her current role as *Pastry Chef of Pure Hospitality's Hook restaurant in Georgetown, (3241 M Street NW, **202.625.4488**, www.hookdc.com)*, but she has certainly always felt comfortable creating delicate sweets in the kitchen. Growing up in Brooklyn, New York, Chittum was exposed to diverse cuisines, which sparked a deeper interest in food. Although her passion for food would not translate into a career until years later, it was this early exposure that she credits with her decision.

Food became a secondary interest for Chittum when she left New York to study government and international relations at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. Upon her graduation in 1994, Chittum moved to Washington, D.C., to work for former New York State Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. During her four years working on Capitol Hill, Chittum developed a particular interest in fighting poverty and hunger, which led her to her next job working for *Share our Strength* (SOS), a national non-profit organization dedicated to ending childhood hunger. SOS introduced Chittum to some of the most influential chefs in the United States, and inspired Chittum to revisit her longtime passion for cooking.

In 2001, Chittum enrolled in the Fundamentals of Pastry Arts program at L'Academie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and began working alongside * *Equinox's acclaimed Pastry Chef Lisa Scruggs. Three years later, Chittum was appointed Pastry Chef for Potomac Restaurant Group's Circle Bistro, Dish and, soon after, Notti Bianchi, which opened in May 2005.

In November 2005, Chittum was tapped as Pastry Chef of acclaimed Chef Michel Richard's *Citronelle* restaurant, working under the mentorship of Chef Richard, who himself spent fifteen years as a Pastry Chef. The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington duly recognized Chittum's fast-growing prestige when she was nominated three years in a row for the *Pastry Chef of the Year* award which she went on to win in 2008. In May 2006, Chittum returned to her position as Pastry Chef at Dish and Notti Bianchi, and Circle Bistro.

In March 2007, Chittum left Potomac Restaurant Group to take on a new challenge, Pastry Chef of *Pure Hospitality's* *Hook* restaurant in Georgetown. Chittum develops the restaurant's desserts which mirror Pure's dedication to sustainability and locally grown produce. With a platform that embraces her methodology of purity through ingredients, Chittum concludes guests' meals with decadent, flavorful delights such as a Lingonberry Linzertorte with Tallegio Ice Cream and Port Wine Reduction, Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Local Cherries and Pistachio Biscotti, Carrot Cake with Cr?me Fraiche Sorbet and the Bittersweet Chocolate Cake*. *Her love of ice cream shines through with flavors ranging from Gorgonzola Dolce, Lavender Honey, Black Pepper, and Concord Grape, Frozen Yogurt Mousse Granola with red currants and raspberries.

Chittum's new venture not only provides a strong platform for her desserts to shine, but also gives her the room to grow and hone her skills for future Pure Hospitality projects.