When most people stop at a restaurant in an airport, they are not expecting gourmet food, especially not at an airport hotel. When celebrity chef Ellis Cooley became the executive chef for AMP 150 at the Marriott Cleveland Airport, he went about to change that. In two short years he took the dismal airport restaurant and transformed it so drastically that now foodies from across the state flock to the airport to compete for seats at AMP 150. After working at various restaurants in New York City for eight years, celebrity chef Ellis Cooley moved out to Cleveland, Ohio to amp up AMP 150. Chef Cooley embraces a farm-to-table approach to his modern American cuisine and receives much of his food from local farmers and purveyors. With many beehives and a quarter acre garden behind the restaurant, only the freshest ingredients are ever used for AMP 150’s seasonally changing menu.

After attracting national attention to his farm fresh work, celebrity chef Ellis Cooley decided to move to the sunny beaches of southern Florida to be the director of restaurants for the Marriott West Palm Beach. He will leave behind his executive sous chef Melissa Khoury. Chef Cooley says, “If I know Melissa like I’m sure I know her, she’ll continue to progress along. This isn’t the same restaurant it was a couple of years ago.” Currently celebrity chef Ellis Cooley is affiliated with many charities, including Tremont Farmers’ Market and Urban Community Schools, We Run This City, Veggie U, Cleveland Sight Center, Memorial Fund for Grace and Lucy, Cleveland Foodbank, Rose-Mary Center and Urban Community School. Celebrity Chef Cooley was also featured at the culinary vegetable institute in Ohio for Dinner in the Dark, where tickets are sold for charity and the lucky ticket holders get a surprise six-course meal.

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