Emmanuel Inocencio - Chef de Cuisine, Great Oak Steakhouse

If Emmanuel Inocencio looks familiar, just like the fresh ingredients in Pechanga's kitchens, he's been a staple here since 2013.

A graduate from Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School in Pasadena, Inocencio worked at notable locations including Angel Stadium, a San Bernardino-area resort/casino, and the historic Mission Inn's Duane's Steakhouse. In 2013, he earned the opportunity to join The Great Oak Steakhouse, and has since become one of the champions of Pechanga's culinary success.

Inocencio leads Temecula's premier steakhouse with a focus on elevating guests' fine-dining experience with top-grade ingredients, incorporating new cooking techniques, and an emphasis on fresh, seasonal options.

"Coming back to The Great Oak Steakhouse is a full circle moment for me, and I can't wait for our guests to experience the best of what Pechanga has to offer," says Chef Emmanuel. "My team and I have poured our hearts into the menu, selecting just the right ingredients and complements to each dish. We think guests are going to like it and come back again and again."

Pechanga Executive Pastry Chef - Deden Putra, Great Oak Steakhouse

Chef Deden Putra is the Executive Pastry Chef at Pechanga Resort Casino. Deden brings a wealth of experience to the team having worked with pastries and sweet confections since 1997. While Deden’s work experience is storied and vibrant, it took hard work and dedication to get where he is today.

Growing up in Indonesia, there was no culinary scene. While food was important, it was regular and consistent, far from the flair and creativity Deden embraces today. His mother regularly made rendang, a curry flavored dish often served with beef. She also made and sold steamed cupcakes called “bolu kukus” to the locals. His father, a policeman, made an incredible fried rice.

Deden says there was only one path presented to him as a young adult, and that was to join the police force with his two brothers, following in his father’s footsteps. Much to his father’s dismay, Deden had other plans for his future. He dreamt about America and knew hospitality was the key to get him to the United States. He earned a scholarship to study culinary arts at the National Hotel Institute of Indonesia. At first, it wasn’t Deden’s love for food that helped him excel in school. It was a means to an end – a necessity to becoming an American chef. However the more he learned, the more passionate he became and the prouder his father became of the unexpected journey Deden took. Today, he continues to believe in education and regularly immerses himself in courses to refresh, refine and gain new experiences in his craft.

Prior to Pechanga, Chef Deden has held numerous pastry chef positions at luxury five-star resorts in New York City, Beverly Hills, Santa Barbara, and Hollywood. He’s a published cookbook author, has appeared on national television shows and magazine articles such as Rachel Ray and Esquire. He is currently a member of the American Chef Federation.

Pechanga Executive Chef - Andre Pinto, Great Oak Steakhouse

As the Executive Chef of Pechanga Resort Casino, Andre has brought together the top culinary talents of chefs from Southern California and across the globe to bring world-class dining to the resort/casino.

Originally from Brazil, he gained an innate sense of flavor profiles and combinations as a young boy working with his mother in the kitchen. He recounts she knew how to use every part of a vegetable, the bones from a chicken or side of meat to make many more delicious meals. While his brothers were outside playing soccer, he wanted more to help his mom and learn his way around the kitchen. And he loved soccer.

The culinary field would become his true calling. In his early 20s, he moved to the U.S. to work at prominent restaurants on the East Coast. He gained better knowledge and understanding of the epitome of steakhouse and American fine dining. Several East Coast winters proved too much to take for a Brazilian boy so he packed up and moved west, landing at Pechanga Resort Casino in sunny Southern California.

Pinto brought his cooking and by the book restaurant management skills to Pechanga as the kitchen supervisor for Kelsey's, the resort's upscale American pub. He was promoted to head chef duties at Paisano's, where his broad culinary skills, creative passion and dynamic ability to motivate and lead a team created an inviting, savory experience for guests of the upscale Italian restaurant. A few years later, he took on the head chef position for the signature Great Oak Steakhouse. As the theme goes, his hard work and dedication to managing and leading culinary teams, and serving food guests came back for again and again helped continue get him promoted. He worked his way into the resort's Food and Beverage management and through the course of more years, ascended to the Executive Chef role.

He oversees the resort's 12 restaurants, banquet kitchens, in-house bakery, the in-house butcher shop, garde manger, and a staff of 540.

Sommelier - Zachary Abeyta, Great Oak Steakhouse

Zachary Abeyta pours more than 15 years of wine and hospitality experience into everything he does. He says his career path all started with a passion for Italian wines. Originally from Colorado Springs, Abeyta earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in history and added in a theater minor. Aspiring to make it in Hollywood, he packed up and headed west to California in 2004. As the thousands before him vying for a spot on the big screen, he took a server job at a classic Italian eatery while chasing his acting dreams. But as the upscale clientele continued to order new and different wines, Abeyta found himself learning more about the beverage industry and developing a passion for Italian wines. He credits his restaurant manager the catalyst for him becoming a full-fledged oenophile.

Abeyta continued learning and worked his way up to becoming a sommelier. This led him to an opportunity he had to take – opening his own restaurant with a close friend and mentor. Among the many responsibilities of being a restauranteur, he took the lead of setting up the wine list and continued to act as the sommelier for his restaurant's guests.

After several years as a sommelier, Abeyta took his expertise to serve as Director of Wines at notable restaurants throughout Los Angeles and at fine dining establishments on Catalina Island.

Abeyta leapt at the chance to work at Pechanga Resort Casino with the opportunity to take The Great Oak Steakhouse’s award-winning wine list to new heights. Ready to show his expertise in wine and hospitality, Abeyta is excited to impart his wine expertise to develop budding oenophiles in both guests and the rest of the team.

Outside of work, Abeyta loves to travel around the United States with his wife. Though he doesn’t think it's fair to pick favorites, his go-to glass is Brunello di Montalcino.

Mixologist - Nicholas Dukes, Pechanga Resort Casino

Nicholas Dukes is a trained craft beer, wine and spirits expert. But, more than all of these, Dukes can be called a certifiable history buff, and not in any one corner of the world or period of time. For him, the study of how beverages have helped shape and mold civilizations through time drew him in and hasn't let go.

It stands to reason Dukes found his way into the beverage and hospitality industry more than 15 years ago. From humble beginnings as a bartender and then moving up to work in gastropubs during the insatiable craft beer boom in the 2000s, his curiosity for all things beverage continue to allow him to leap frog into roles with more responsibility and where a greater knowledge base of wines, beers and liquors were necessary. He worked as a bar manager for several years when he was asked to join another Southern California casino's food and beverage department.

He credits his time there with providing the opportunity to study and obtain his Cicerone certificate, as well as learning from accomplished spirits and wine experts.

When the chance to work with Pechanga Resort Casino and to move to Temecula availed itself, Dukes did not hesitate. Eager to show his passion for hospitality, customer service and building relationships, he also looks forward to imparting his expertise to Team Members and cultivating the next crop of bartenders, beverage managers and potentially sommeliers and mixologists.

He created the Great Oak Steakhouse's craft cocktail menu and looks forward to branding many other beverage offerings with signature Pechanga highlights.

When not at work, Dukes spends time on home projects, playing golf and tennis.

Great Oak Steakhouse – An exquisite wine and cocktail program

Top sommeliers will tell you the old school of thought of pairing white wine with fish and seafood, and red wine with steak, is just that. Now? Guests should drink what they like without confines. The Great Oak Steakhouse's Wine & Cocktail program encourages guests to enjoy their favorite libations and flavors, while discovering new twists and profiles to their once go-to beverage.

In reopening the Great Oak Steakhouse following its seven month renovation, guests can look forward to a vastly increased fine and approachable wine selection. Each bottle comes directly from perfectly temperature controlled displays withing the restaurant. Wines are served at optimal temperatures – 65 degrees for red. 45-degrees for white.

Wines Worth Savoring

With more than 200 wines from which to choose, the Great Oak Steakhouse offers one of the most extensive and well-traveled wine lists in the region. Bottles and vintages have been hand selected from Australia and New Zealand, top wine regions of Europe, South America and of course, the Pacific Northwest and right here in California await discerning oenophiles.

For those who appreciate a good bubbly, the top Champagne and sparkling wine selections stand available for a celebration, or for simply enjoying with one's memorable meal.

Fine Wines by the Glass

New to the Great Oak Steakhouse's wine program are wines by the glass of labels previously only available in a full bottle. This proves a perfect way to try a new wine without investing in a full bottle. Coravin technology allows wait staff and bartenders to serve individual glasses of any price point of wines, even high end labels such as Caymus and Silver Oak, at the bar or in the dining room.

Expertly Crafted Cocktails

The restaurant's new craft cocktail menu was carefully curated by Pechanga Resort Casino's on-staff mixologist, Nicholas Dukes. The menu features 15 cocktails, many created with locally and responsibly sourced ingredients from regional purveyors. Every element of the craft cocktail menu, with exception of the spirits and sodas, Dukes' team makes fresh in-house. They mix up their own infused simple syrups, dehydrate locally procured citrus for garnishes and muddles, and much more.

Then there's the whiskey. Guests can travel the world through the more than 75 Whiskey, Bourbon and Scotch selections available at the Great Oak Steakhouse. Bartenders are happy to whip up an Old Fashioned from the country and whiskey of one's choice. How about a Japanese-inspired Old Fashioned with Japanese whiskey, demerara syrup and fresh plum.

Friendly, Knowledgeable Service Team
Every Great Oak Steakhouse server, bartender, barback, porter, host and hostess underwent a rigorous craft cocktail and wine training ahead of the restaurant's reopening. As the industry continues to change, they continue to learn so they can assist Great Oak guests in finding that perfect wine or beverage combination with their unforgettable meal.

The Great Oak Steakhouse is open nightly from 5 p.m. The bar and lounge is open every day at 3 p.m.