Experience

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  Gusto by Verde

  • Hospitality Operational Leader

    • Jan 2022 - Present

  • Owner and Chef

    • Jul 2020 - Present

    Opened a small, home-based retail and catering operation, offering artisanal Italian foods including fresh pastas, sauces, and soups to provide a local dinnertime alternative during Covid-19.

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  NoMo SoHo

  • New York, NY

  • Hotel Manager

    • Nov 2018 - Jun 2020
    • New York, NY

     Implemented and monitored progress of the hotel’s goals, policies, and strategies. Established and maintained hotel standards throughout all operating departments. Oversaw Capex projects from bids through approvals and execution. Responsible for biweekly forecast and monthly P&L results on an operational level.

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  Dylan's Candy Bar

  • NYC

  • Regional Director of Food and Beverage

    • Apr 2015 - Oct 2018
    • NYC

    Provide support, leadership and oversight of the food & beverage strategies and activities for all in-store cafes both owned and licensed. My role bridges the corporate and operations teams to build and implement strategic and tactical plans for all cafe locations. Partner with cafe managers and store GM's of all owned cafes including menu development, training, marketing, product development, as well as planning and coordinating openings of new properties. Assist in the development of budgets. Act as a resource for Operations teams regarding issues and recommend changes when needed. Oversee business processes to maximize efficiency and effectiveness

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  Highgate Hotels

  • Crowne Plaza Times Square, New York City

  • Director of Food and Beverage/EAM

    • Jul 2012 - Jan 2015
    • Crowne Plaza Times Square, New York City

    The hotel is the largest in the brand system—795 rooms, 25,000 square feet of banquet space, $98 million in revenue. Consolidated F&B revenue is $17.4 million. The department includes 170 employees and serves an average of 350,000 covers annually.Assisted in a smooth transition of management companies from IHG to Highgate in July 2012 and was instrumental in the downsizing of the department in an effort to increase profitability. Streamlined restaurant and room service operations. Spearheaded the opening of a new grab and go outlet, which exceeded budget in revenue and ROI. The consolidated food and beverage operation finished 2014 at $514K profit, surpassing budget.

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  IHG

  • NYC

  • Director of F&B/Executive Assistant Manager

    • Jul 2008 - Jul 2012
    • NYC

    Organized and launched the reopening of the F&B department for an $80 million hotel renovation in September 2008. This included selection and hiring of the F&B management and culinary leadership teams and staff training of all F&B line staff.  Strategically elevated the quality of the product across all F&B departments. This was the basis to re-launch the property as a leader in the comp set. Implemented targeted programs to upgrade quality and consistency of service and to stabilize the management team. This was reflected in better guest scores as well as the ability to increase pricing both in banquet and the outlets. The combination of quality initiatives and cost containment improved profit flow. We rose from a loss of $1.2 million in 2008 and $1.5 million in 2009 to $340,000 in 2010 to a break-even for 2012.  Oversaw Convention Services team, to fulfill or exceed our group expectations. Our post-meeting scores from meeting planners in our MSTS (Meeting Satisfaction Tracking System) have steadily increased as the team has developed. Monitored the banquet/catering sales effort; attended sales, catering, revenue, and business review meetings. Coached and mentored department heads and supervisors in all F&B sub-departments to ensure development and growth of all promising managers.  Effectively managed labor relations. I successfully handled many of the numerous distinctive challenges the union environment in NYC presents, including guiding the department through a contract year.

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  Benchmark Hospitality

  • NJ

  • Food and Beverage Director

    • 2006 - 2008
    • NJ

    Planned and coordinated the opening of the F&B department of this new 250-room mixed use boutique hotel and conference center. Oversight included kitchen, restaurant, room service, banquet operation, and bar. Responsible for departmental budgeted payroll, food and beverage costs, and expenses. The consolidated revenue for the department was $6.5 million for 2007 with 80 FTEs.

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  NY Hilton

  • Assistant Director of Food & Beverage

    • Oct 2005 - Dec 2006

    Responsible for overseeing two restaurants,two bars, stewarding, room service, mini bar, and purchasing. Secondary oversight included banquets and kitchens. The hotel is the largest in NYC—2,000 rooms, 150,000 square feet of banquet space. Consolidated F&B revenue exceeded $55 million, $10 million of which was in the outlets. The department included 425 FTEs and served 825,000 covers in 2005. Responsible for the overall direction of all F&B outlets and coordination of activities between them.

  • Director of Food & Beverage at The Millennium Hilton

    • Jan 2002 - Oct 2005

    Directed and organized F&B department, including extensive reorganization that followed hotel reopening after 9/11. Areas of responsibility included kitchen, restaurant, room service, banquet operation, bars, and mini bars to maintain high standards of quality, continuous product improvement, and profit maximization. Managed all departmental financial functions, including forecasting sales, costs, payroll, and expenses, and preparation of monthly, rolling, annual forecasts.Facilitated development of seasonal menus and beverage and wine menus.

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  Various

  • Executive Chef

    • Jan 1987 - Sep 2001

    CULINARY EXPERIENCE Millenium Hilton, New York, Executive Chef Oscar’s at the Waldorf=Astoria, New York, Chef de Cuisine Gianni’s Restaurant, South Street Seaport, New York, Executive Chef The SeaGrill at Rockefeller Center, New York, Chef de Cuisine The Dining Room, Hilton at Short Hills, New Jersey, Chef de Cuisine  Restaurant Lafayette, Drake Hotel, New York, Chef de Partie under Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten  Le Cirque, New York, Commis de Cuisine under Chef Daniel Boulud