Becoming a chef was a fluke for Mary Trimmins, executive chef at Sierra Pacific. She started in event planning and bought a bed & breakfast where she appointed herself head chef many moons ago. After 12 years of owning and operating the Butterfield Bed & Breakfast in Julian, Mary sold it, decided to go to culinary school, worked in a downtown San Diego bistro and at the Palm Springs Convention Center, and finally returned to take the position of executive chef at the Hilton Harbor Island’s premier restaurant. After settling in, she revamped the breakfast, lunch and dinner menu, returning them all to the basics, but still sprinkling in enough seafood, gorgonzola cheese, walnuts and other gourmet food products to give upscale dining a run for its money.

One surprising touch for this Hilton Hotel restaurant is the soup, which is made fresh daily and doesn’t adhere to any preset rotation schedule. Another new addition to Chef Mary’s menus are diet modifications that can be made for the health conscious diner, such as low-carb wraps, veggie pizzas and breadless entrees. She wants Sierra Pacific patrons to enjoy the wonderful view of the marina with equally wonderful food and has worked long and hard to determine what ultimately made the cut for Sierra Pacific’s new menus.

When she’s not busy working 18-hour days, Mary enjoys collecting long-stem wine glasses, decorating her four Palm Springs condos, tearing up dance floors from Mexico to Palm Springs and framing old prints.

Mary has been a part of numerous charity events, including fundraising for Children’s Hospital, firefighter benefits and Make-a-Wish programs, and AIDS Foundation fundraisers.