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Joseph Leibowitz
Executive Director of Food & Beverage and Culinary Operations
As Executive Director of Food & Beverage and Culinary Operations for Encore Boston Harbor, Joseph Leibowitz oversees all operations for the property’s 18 dining and lounge venues. His extensive responsibilities include concept and menu development, purchasing, food costing, kitchen design, stewarding, as well as staffing, training and managing all food and beverage employees. Previously holding the property’s Executive Chef title, he has been able to foster relationships during his tenure with a number of esteemed local purveyors that provide the resort with the best quality products available in New England.
Prior to relocating to Boston, Joseph spent 13 years at Wynn and Encore Las Vegas in a variety of culinary positions. He began his career with Wynn Resorts under the helm of Chef Alex Stratta, at Alex restaurant, working as a steady extra cook and was quickly promoted to executive sous chef for the Michelin-rated two-star and Forbes five-star establishment. Joseph then became chef de cuisine of Stratta, Wynn’s contemporary Italian restaurant, and later executive chef of Tableau, the resort's premier Tower Suites dining venue before being asked to join the corporate side of operations as executive sous chef for Wynn and Encore Las Vegas.
For the next three years, Joseph helped develop and lead a team of over 1,200 chefs, cooks and stewards. He gained an extraordinary amount of knowledge from a division that grossed more than $500 million dollars annually. He then went on to assist in designing all of the back of house spaces for Encore Boston Harbor, before developing the culinary team for the resort’s grand opening in June 2019.
Since arriving in Boston, Joseph has been appointed to multiple advisory boards to help cultivate the future of culinary arts as a profession in Massachusetts. Joseph and Encore Boston Harbor quickly formed a partnership with a local non-profit culinary program, the New England Center for Arts and Technology, and spearheaded the fundraising of over $300,000 to fuel the development of the program and its students. His mission is to ensure that the state continues to produce high quality culinary professionals that will someday enter the hospitality and culinary workforce in the region.
A New York native, Joseph lived most of his life on Long Island and graduated at the top of his class from the New York Institute of Technology’s culinary program. Joseph spends his free time with his three children and his wife, whose support and love drives him to be the leader and father he is today.