Born in New Jersey, Chef Peter Pollay graduated from Arizona State University as a Political Science major. His true passion came alive not in school, however, but in the large college house where he regularly cooked for his friends. Encouraged by family friend and well-known Chicago restaurateur Larry Levy to apply to New York’s Culinary Institute of America (CIA), Peter pursued a culinary education after a stint under Levy in Chicago. During his CIA training, Peter worked at Park Avenue Cafe and the Hudson River Club, and traveled to California to learn from industry great Wolfgang Puck, whose influence informs his hyperlocal, ingredients-first approach to this day. 

Following his graduation, Peter’s culinary endeavors ranged from cooking in famed kitchens to helping open concepts in Chicago, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. By the time he and his wife, Martha, had their first child, they relocated to Asheville, North Carolina, where they opened their contemporary American concept, Posana. The restaurant is Asheville’s first and only certified gluten-free kitchen, as well as the only Certified Green Restaurant in the state. Posana has been a staple of the Asheville community since 2009, elevating sustainable ingredients from local farmers, ranchers, and producers from the beginning. 

As additional Posana locations come to fruition, Peter continues to find inspiration in the relationships he holds with staff, purveyors, and neighbors, as well as the creative process in the kitchen. Beyond his hospitality projects, Peter is a lifelong traveler, and finds the most joy spending time with his family.

• Asheville Independent Air President (2010 – 2013)
• First Certified Green Restaurant® in North Carolina.

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Martha Pollay is co-founder and chief creative officer of Mandara Hospitality Group. Under this umbrella, she co-owns the contemporary American restaurant Posana with Peter Pollay, her husband and business partner. 

Martha hails from Southeastern Wisconsin, where her family has owned Jones Dairy Farm since 1889. Through college and early adulthood, she followed a passion for performing arts, later traveling the world to teach English, climb mountains, and pursue photography. After reconnecting with Peter, a longtime friend, in Chicago, the duo married and continued to travel together, finding a shared love for art and cuisine that would fuel their future projects. 

Today, Martha is the creative force behind Madara Hospitality Group. With a keen eye for brand development, design, and customer experience, she is constantly refining the restaurant’s approach, developing welcoming spaces and a supportive, emotionally intelligent team. Still an avid photographer, Martha lends her skill to Posana, capturing images for the restaurant’s branding and promotional materials. 

In her free time, Martha can be found relaxing with Peter and their children, Fedora and Parker, and their pride of orange cats—often with a camera in hand.

Jordan Arace has worked in restaurants his whole life. From his first job as a dishwasher to extensive training at some of the South’s finest restaurants, the Florida native found a true sense of purpose in the kitchen’s rhythms and routines. In Asheville, he has worked for Posana and the greater Mandara Hospitality operation for more than 12 years, holding several roles including chef de cuisine, executive chef, director of operations, and culinary director.

After cutting his teeth in fine dining establishments in Charleston, SC, and New Orleans, Jordan brings a Michelin star-level attention to detail to everything he does. Throughout his career, he has helped open eight acclaimed restaurants and overseen a multifaceted dining program for a large-scale hotel, experiencing the trials and triumphs of the hospitality industry from every angle. Today, his culinary style is a refined reflection of those experiences: simple, approachable food prepared with love and proper technique. He says he wouldn’t be where he is today if it wasn’t for his family: his wife, Taylor, his children, Tony and Kiona, and his dog, Whinne, who brings him nearly as much joy as the humans.

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Originally from Washington, D.C., Mandara Hospitality Group’s Director of Operations Peer Larson has a storied background in hospitality. As early as age 17, he worked behind the scenes at a D.C. music venue, preparing dressing rooms for the likes of Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson. After moving to Los Angeles, he was bartending when the offer of a management role changed his life’s direction. In the following years, new doors opened all around the country: Larson managed several restaurants in LA, worked under high-profile Chefs Jose Andres and Brian Malarkey, and eventually served as general manager of restaurant operations for various boutique hotels in Austin, TX, and Asheville, NC. Today, he’s thrilled to have reconnected with the Mandara Hospitality Group team, whom he worked with on previous projects The Bargello and District 42. 

For Larson, it’s the human connections that make a career in this industry so meaningful—not only with guests, who he loves interacting with on a daily basis, but also with the teams he’s nurtured and worked alongside. Looking back, Larson is proud to have stumbled into a role that feels like such a natural fit, in an environment that allows him to have a positive impact on the people around him. Outside of work, he’s a barbecue enthusiast who loves firing up the smoker, and a devoted husband and dad to his daughter, Coraleigh—his favorite person.

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