Profile
Executive Chef with 14 years of progressive kitchen leadership across fine dining, hotel F&B, and high-volume restaurant groups. Specializes in modern Italian-American cuisine, farm-to-table menu development, and food cost control. Reduced kitchen labor costs by 18% while maintaining a 4.7-star guest satisfaction score across a 3-unit restaurant group.
Work Experience
Executive ChefMar 2019 - Present
Osteria Vantaggio, Chicago, IL
- Designed and launched a seasonally rotating 72-item menu that increased average check size by $14 and drove a 22% year-over-year revenue gain in the first full cycle.
- Restructured prep workflows and cross-trained a 19-person kitchen brigade, cutting overtime hours by 31% and reducing staff turnover from 68% to 29% within 18 months.
- Negotiated supplier contracts with 6 regional farms and 2 protein distributors, lowering food cost percentage from 34% to 27% without compromising ingredient quality.
Chef de CuisineJun 2015 - Feb 2019
The Meridian Hotel & Spa, Milwaukee, WI
- Oversaw all culinary operations for a 240-seat hotel restaurant, room service, and banquet division producing up to 800 covers per day during peak season.
- Introduced a zero-waste prep program that repurposed 94% of trim and byproducts into staff meals and stocks, saving approximately $28,000 annually in food costs.
- Mentored 4 sous chefs who were promoted to chef de cuisine roles within the hotel group during tenure.
Sous ChefAug 2011 - May 2015
Brick & Rye Kitchen, Chicago, IL
- Assisted in daily production for a 180-seat gastropub averaging 550 covers on weekend service, maintaining ticket times under 12 minutes during peak rushes.
- Developed a weekend brunch program from scratch that generated $11,000 in incremental weekly revenue within its first quarter of operation.
- Conducted weekly line cook training sessions on knife skills and sauce fundamentals, reducing plate-rejection rate from 6% to under 2%.
Education
Associate of Applied Science, Culinary Arts2009 - 2011
Kendall College, Chicago, IL
Graduated with Honors; concentration in Classical French and Italian Techniques