By Susan Langenhennig, The Times-Picayune

After four years at the Maison Dupuy Hotel, chef Michael Farrell is heading to the Cayman Islands to become executive chef at Westin Grand Cayman Seven Mile Beach Resort & Spa. He doesn’t plan on having sand between his toes for long, though.

“As nice as it sounds, this isn’t a permanent move. I really love, love New Orleans,” he said. “I’ll be back, in a year or two at most. I look at this as a sabbatical.”

Pyramid Hotel Group, the company that until recently owned the Maison Dupuy, is remodeling the 350-room Westin Grand Cayman and adding a new upscale restaurant and a new casual eatery. “This is an opportunity for me to get these restaurants up and put my stamp on them,” he said.

It’s a job that will be familiar to Farrell. At Maison Dupuy, he was executive chef of Le Meritage, the hotel’s well-regarded wine-focused restaurant, and Bistreaux, its casual sibling which opened in 2010.

In 2009, with Farrell at the helm, Le Meritage earned a four-bean review from Times-Picayune restaurant critic Brett Anderson.

The restaurant remains open but changes are under way as the Maison Dupuy’s management moves to Fillmore Hospitality, the company which purchased the hotel this week.

Farrell grew up on a farm outside Charlottesville, Va., but considers New Orleans his home. His 7-year-old daughter is a student at the Academy of the Sacred Heart.

Eventually, he said, he’d like to have his own restaurant here. “The last four years of being part of the New Orleans food scene have been great,” Farrell said. “I’ll be back.”

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