Aurelia at Castle Hill Inn reopens May 22 with a new chef who's spent the last decade cooking in Michelin-starred French kitchens—and now he's turning that rigor toward Rhode Island's coast. Quentin Diez, most recently sous-chef at Serge Vieira's two-star in France, is taking over as Chef de Cuisine at the Forbes Five-Star property in Newport.
Diez's résumé includes time at Maison Lameloise (3 Michelin stars) and Le Vieux Logis (1 star), all under the Relais & Châteaux umbrella. That's the kind of background that teaches you how to cook vegetables with reverence and how to make a six-course menu feel inevitable rather than labored. His approach at Aurelia leans into hyperlocal sourcing—spring lamb with foraged watercress from Castle Hill's own forest, local lobster with asparagus and nettle soup, squid stuffed with white semolina. The menu is prix fixe, six courses, seasonal and contemporary New England.
"His background in some of the world's great culinary destinations brings a fresh, global perspective to our regional cuisine," said Brian Young, Managing Director of Castle Hill Inn. Diez himself has said he's eager to integrate local flavors while maintaining the discipline he learned in France. That balance—between technique and place—will define whether Aurelia stays relevant in a market where fine dining is increasingly scrutinized for originality.
The restaurant sits on a 40-acre peninsula with views of the Atlantic and Narragansett Bay. Dinner runs nightly from 5:30 to 9 PM; reservations open two weeks in advance via OpenTable starting May 8. The Forbes Five-Star designation, awarded again in 2026, keeps Aurelia in rarefied company. Whether Diez can sustain that standard while making the menu feel alive and grounded in New England—not just a translation of French technique—will be the real test.
