Experience

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  Hospitality Training Academy (HTA)

  • United States
  • Hospitality
  • 1 - 100 Employee

  • Director of Food and Beverage Training

    • May 2022 - Present

  • Lead Chef Instructor

    • Dec 2015 - May 2022

    Our team at HTA created a U.S. Department of Labor approved culinary apprenticeship program that puts students through a highly-rigorous seven-week training that gets them ready for a line cook's job at union properties. The program is cost-free for the student. Students are screened for suitability for the field and must meet exceedingly high standards in order to graduate. We work with a large number of industry partners in luxury hotels, at Los Angeles sporting and entertainment venues, and at LAX, who are eager to hire our students into jobs that pay well with full union benefits.HTA programs have won numerous awards as model apprenticeship programs. We have been asked to duplicate what we do across the country.We also have a room attendant apprenticeship, and other training programs for bussers/servers, baristas and other areas within the hospitality industry. Please send us those you know who need a helping hand and who are willing to do the hard work needed to step into success.

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  private consulting clients

  • International

  • Consultant

    • 2012 - Present
    • International

    • Zankou Enterprises• Unite HERE Local 1 - Chicago, IL - Helping Unite HERE - Local 1, Chicago's hospitality union create their new apprenticeship organization, Chicago Hospitality Institute, I helped to launch their first culinary apprenticeship at McCormick Place on April 19, 2021• Griffith...

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  Glendale Community College

  • Glendale, CA

  • Chef Instructor

    • Sep 2016 - Present
    • Glendale, CA
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  Le Gourmet Culinary, LLC

  • 541 W. Chapman Avenue, Suite A, Orange, CA

  • Owner

    • Apr 2016 - Present
    • 541 W. Chapman Avenue, Suite A, Orange, CA

    Recreational Cooking School and Cookware store in the heart of Orange County; just outside the Orange Circle.

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  Max Catering / Max at the Club

  • Palmdale, CA

  • Owner

    • 1999 - Aug 2020
    • Palmdale, CA

    Manage all aspects of a catering event venue, seating 400 guests, with additional outdoor event space and off-site services in the Antelope Valley and all of the Los Angeles area.

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  Culinary Arts, Restaurant Management & Hosp...

  • Oxnard, CA, Ventura County

  • Chef Instructor

    • 2014 - Mar 2019
    • Oxnard, CA, Ventura County

    Excellent and reasonably-priced culinary certificate programs with many credits transferrable to four-year university. Top-notch instruction by highly-experienced faculty.

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  AFL-CIO Working for America Institute

  • Washington D.C. Metro Area

  • Consultant - Subject Matter Expert

    • Sep 2016 - Sep 2017
    • Washington D.C. Metro Area

    Our team has developed a national Culinary & Hospitality apprenticeship program for the U.S. Department of Labor.

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  BKI Worldwide

  • Los Angeles Metropolitan Area

  • In-Store Commercial Equipment Trainer

    • Feb 2016 - Nov 2016
    • Los Angeles Metropolitan Area

    Trained supermarket employees in their initial use of BKI combi ovens and fryers.

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  Mack's BBQ, LLC

  • Acton, CA

  • Owner / Executive Chef

    • 2011 - Nov 2016
    • Acton, CA

    Managed and coordinated all aspects of a mobile Santa Maria Barbeque catering company serving all of Southern California.

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  Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, Los An...

  • Pasadena, CA

  • Chef Instructor

    • Nov 2015 - Mar 2016
    • Pasadena, CA
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  Institute for Culinary Education - ICUE at Coll...

  • Santa Clarita, CA

  • Chef Instructor

    • Jan 2015 - Dec 2015
    • Santa Clarita, CA
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  Art Institute of California- Los Angeles

  • Santa Monica, CA

  • Chef / Instructor

    • 2002 - 2015
    • Santa Monica, CA

    Teach culinary students geared towards entry into the profession at Associate and Bachelor level.Guide and Counsel students in their academic and professional choices.Courses taught: -Fundamentals of Culinary Techniques -Concepts and Theories of Culinary Arts -American Regional Cuisine -Garde Man...

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  Downtown Bistro / Cakes & Co.

  • Lancaster, CA

  • Owner

    • 1989 - 2002
    • Lancaster, CA

    The Bistro was voted by the Los Angeles Times to be the 5th best restaurant in the Los Angeles Valley region.

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  Mandarin Oriental Hotel- San Francisco

  • San Francisco, CA

  • Sous Chef

    • Apr 1987 - Jul 1989
    • San Francisco, CA

    We opened Mandarin Oriental's new American flagship hotel and received extraordinary reviews from Gourmet Magazine and all the San Francisco newspapers. Silk's was voted to be the third-best restaurant in the entire Bay Area. As sous chef, I was in charge of staffing, menu and recipe deve...