Tropical vacation accident kills chef who worked at Michelin-starred restaurant

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An acclaimed pastry chef was killed by a boulder during a picturesque hike on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, officials said.

Gianna Buzzetta, a 26-year-old from California, was hit by a falling boulder on March 23 as she was exploring the Makaleha Falls in Kauai with her boyfriend, Connor Quinton, the Kauai Fire Department said.

“They heard a really loud noise. [Quinton] looked up, but couldn’t figure out where the noise was coming from,” her dad, Sal Buzzettta, told 10News. 

“Within a second, it happened … The rock dislodged from quite a ways up … then it landed on her,” he said.

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Gianna Buzzetta, 26, was hit by a falling boulder on March 23 as she was exploring the Makaleha Falls waterfall in Kauai with her boyfriend, Connor Quinton. (Buzzetta family)

Due to the remote location, there was no cell service, and Quinton sprinted to find help. According to the Kauai Fire Department, when first responders arrived, they found Buzzetta unconscious at the base of the falls, with labored breathing and heavy bleeding from an apparent head wound.

The chef needed to be airlifted to a local hospital, where she was later declared dead.

Caty Buzzetta, Gianna’s mother, said that Quinton was fulfilling her daughter’s lifelong dream to hike the 5.2-mile round trip hike to the cascading waterfall. 

“She had told her boyfriend, Connor, that day, he had fulfilled her dreams, and it was the best day of her life,” Caty Buzzetta told KGTV.

The couple was set to get engaged and start a life together prior to the freak accident, her parents shared.

Gianna Buzzetta, 26, was a rising star at a Michelin restaurant in California. She worked as a pastry chef there. (JEUNE ET JOLIE/Instagram)

Buzzetta was a pastry chef at Michelin-starred French restaurant Jeune et Jolie, in Carlsbad, California. According to an online fundraiser, Buzzetta helped the restaurant achieve three Michelin stars over the years.

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“She was a huge part of the team. Super creative, super talented, incredibly hardworking,” her boss, John Resnick, told Fox 5 San Diego. “Humble, confident — I mean all these things that we want to see in the people we work with. So from that professional talent standpoint, she was incredible… Our whole team loved working alongside her.”

Gianna Buzzetta’s boss, John Resnick, shared how the 26-year-old’s work ethic and talent helped the team work towards success. (John Resnick/Instagram)

In a post on their Instagram page, Jeune et Jolie announced that it is raising funds for Buzzetta’s family by providing a special dinner service.

“Gianna was our former Pastry Chef, and our friend. She brought such joy, intensity, passion and love to this restaurant and to our team,” the restaurant’s team wrote. “Her sudden loss leaves all of us heartbroken, and searching for ways to be of help to her family.”

“And so, we are doing the one thing we know how to do. We are coming together as a restaurant, and welcoming guests in to celebrate the relationships that give our lives meaning,” they said.

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Fox News Digital has reached out to Jeune et Jolie for comment.

Sarah Rumpf-Whitten is a U.S. Writer at Fox News Digital.

Sarah joined FOX in 2021, where she has assisted on coverage of breaking and major news events across the US and around the world, including the fallout following the “Defund the police” movement, the assassination attempts on President Donald Trump’s life and illegal immigration.

She has experience reporting on topics including crime, politics, business, lifestyle, world news and more. You can follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn.