From his humble beginnings on a Michigan farm, Saul Levine became an FM radio pioneer in 1959 launching Mt. Wilson FM Broadcasters in Southern California. Levine’s radio success helped him get back to his roots, and with his wife Anita he started Cobblestone Vineyards. For over 30 years the Levines grew grapes for premium California wineries before releasing their own wines under the Cobblestone label. These limited production, single-vineyard wines have since received consistent acclaim from the top critics and publications, and are featured at many of the nation’s premier restaurants and wine shops.
Mr. William S. Bloxsom-Carter is the Executive Chef and Director of Food and Beverage at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles, California. He has been creating extraordinary food and exclusive wine offerings for Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion parties for over 25 years.
His passion for pairing food flavors with wines, both unique varietals as well as the classics, is paramount to the guests’ enjoyment at the Playboy Mansion. To foster the food/wine relationship, Chef Carter serves as a professional judge at numerous wine competitions throughout California yearly. The take-away knowledge from each competition provides him with guidance for future wine buying decisions. In turn, featured wines gain exposure to over 100,000 guests that visit the Playboy Mansion each year.
Chef Carter features food products purchased directly from farmers and ranchers throughout the United States. Working with the farming and ranching communities, he places great importance on “best practices” for all food products served to Playboy’s international clientele and his private hospitality clients.
Chef Carter’s philosophy is to bring out the best flavors in food products from beginning to end with minimal intervention and uncompromising standards of excellence. He relies on the principal that, “there is no substitute for fresh.”
Chef Carter completed intensive studies with the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company focusing on their Gold Standards of Hospitality Service to enhance the hospitality experience to all guests attending corporate and charity events at the Playboy Mansion. He initially completed his college studies at Florida Tech. He enhanced his education in hospitality related studies at UC Los Angeles Extension. Additionally, he has successfully completed UC Davis Extension classes in enology studies.
Complementing his responsibilities for Playboy Enterprises, Chef Carter has prepared winery dinners in Sonoma County, Napa Valley, Paso Robles and the Santa Ynez Valley as well as special events for high-profile clients throughout the United States, focusing on the importance of food and wine pairings and extraordinary hospitality service. Additionally, Chef Carter is a recurring featured guest on numerous radio shows syndicated nationwide describing and promoting California wines and foods.
At the Playboy Mansion, Chef Carter has developed an internship/externship program with culinary schools nationwide. The program has garnered an exceptional reputation as the preeminent host facility for students.
In June 1999, he received the PEI AWARD from Ms. Christie Hefner, former Chief Executive Officer of Playboy Enterprises, for his superior performance in cost savings and value-added product enhancement. The award also bestowed special recognition for his leadership and people management skills.
In April 2002, Chef Carter received the esteemed Auguste Escoffier Medal of Merit from the American Culinary Federation for his fundraising dinner to provide scholarship funds to culinary students at Los Angeles Trade Technical College.
In April 2002, Chef Carter received the esteemed Auguste Escoffier Medal of Merit from the American Culinary Federation for his fundraising dinner to provide scholarship funds to culinary students at Los Angeles Trade Technical College.
Most recently, Chef Carter has established himself as the recurring celebrity chef for the annual Bakersfield College Foundation’s Sterling Silver Dinner, netting over $25,000 the past two years for student scholarships in agriculture and culinary arts programs at the college.
Chef Carter lends his expertise to Pacifica High School in the Oxnard Unified School District in California reviewing the curriculum, mentoring and lecturing to class students throughout the school year. Additionally, he is has been active in fundraising efforts for the Oak Park Unified School District and Caregiver’s of Ventura County.
Chef Carter achieves his personal sense of purpose through a high standard of integrity, working tirelessly with the next generation of culinarians, giving back to the community, seeking-out hospitality food service innovations for the guest’s pleasure and synergizing creativity to increase staff morale. Chef Carter strives daily to achieve a “gold standard” of leadership accountability.
