For the final season of HB’s on the Gulf at the Naples Beach Hotel and Golf Club, chef Jonathan Hornyak has composed a menu designed to provide an exceptional guest experience.
Hornyak started his restaurant ca- reer at Mary’s Bistro on Mackinac Is- land in Michigan. Rather than attend culinary school, he began as a dish- washer and climbed up the ladder until he became a chef. He arrived in Naples 10 years ago and worked at the Naples Yacht Club and the now- defunct Citrus Restaurant before starting at the hotel in 2013.
HB’s on the Gulf will be serving breakfast for the first time, featuring items such as brioche French toast and jalapeño cheddar biscuits with chorizo gravy. Lunch begins with small plates and salads and continues to entrées such as blackened grouper tacos and bison burgers. Dinner main courses range from a Kurobuta pork chop with mojo marinade to Hornyak’s version of cioppino.
“It’s important for chefs to understand the composition of traditional dishes before they make changes and add their personal touch,” Hornyak says. “For the cioppino, we start with a clam stock and add fresh basil, Spanish onion, lots of garlic, and some red cherry flake for spice.”
Owned by the Watkins family since 1946, the hotel has been sold to The Athens Group, which will begin redevelopment after the season. Plans call for replacing the 319-room hotel with a 220-room luxury property and 195 condo units. The golf course will remain, but HB’s will be sorely missed.
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