Taylor McCain named executive chef of Lovelorn Lounge

Taylor McCain is the new executive chef at Lovelorn Lounge, the rooftop lounge and pool bar atop Tempo by Hilton Nashville Downtown, the hotel confirmed on September 15. She takes over a kitchen that runs New American plates by night and a Mediterranean-leaning pool menu by day, five floors above Broadway.

McCain arrives from Rose Pony Nashville, where she worked as sous chef, and before that from Holston House Nashville in the same role. Her résumé also includes stints as a private chef, work that mixes hotel banquet scale with the tighter demands of cooking for one table at a time.

Lovelorn Lounge sits on the fifth floor of the hotel at 127 Rosa L Parks Blvd, less than a block from downtown Nashville’s main strip. The lounge menu runs dishes like a hot crab fondue, a Manhattan strip steak with frites and a burger named the Mary Louise; the poolside side leans into lamb sliders and grazing boards.

I’m looking forward to creating food that feels thoughtful, approachable and distinctly my own.

Taylor McCain’s fall menu at Lovelorn

“I’m looking forward to bringing my perspective to Lovelorn Lounge and creating food that feels thoughtful, approachable and distinctly my own,” McCain said in a statement. “There’s so much energy in Nashville’s dining scene, and I’m looking forward to contributing to that while creating experiences that keep our guests coming back.”

Rachad Tayeb, director of food and beverage at Tempo by Hilton Nashville Downtown, credited McCain with a fresh perspective and an incoming fall menu that balances creativity with consistency. The hotel has not released specific dishes from that menu yet.

A second Hilton kitchen changes hands

The same announcement covered a second hire: Chris Melder as executive chef of Hilton Shreveport, roughly 500 miles southwest. Melder brings 25 years in Southern kitchens, most recently as executive chef at the Library on Fern and at Chianti, both in Shreveport, working in Creole and Cajun technique.

“Hilton Shreveport is a great place to showcase what makes Louisiana cuisine so special,” Melder said. “I’m excited to bring my experience with Creole and Cajun cooking to the hotel while creating menus that feel rooted in our region but still offer something fresh and unexpected for our guests.”

Hilton Shreveport general manager Valerie Cooper pointed to Melder’s grounding in Louisiana’s culinary traditions as the reason for the hire. It echoes a similar double hire this year at London’s The Cumberland, where two head chefs started on the same day. For a hotel brand, pairing appointments like this reads as a coordinated push into local menus, not coincidence.