By: Michael LaHara, Hospitality Professional
Many years of restaurant management experience, with a proven track record in front and back of the house operations, including, food and beverage control, personnel management, staffing, training, menu development, pricing and purchasing, food preparation, advertising and promotion, and P&L. My management style is disciplined and detail-oriented, with a focus on guests enjoying a truly positive dining experience.
My most recent role was to consult on the opening of an up and coming young Chefs first solo venture. He had made quite a name for himself as Chef de Cuisine at a restaurant owned and operated by a Chef owner for many years. Once at the helm he was able to bring the owner of this restaurant his highest Zagats rating ever received. Next he competed and won on The Food Network Show “Chopped”. He was very innovative in his food style but was first to admitted he knew nothing about the front of the house or business side of running a restaurant.
My focus was to create a bullet proof package for him to follow once my contract ended. My responsibilities were to set up the office and computers, develop all manuals, Corporate Human Resources, Front of the House Service Training, Sequence of Service and General Day to Day Protocols necessary for developing a team of consistent players. I also conducted all training classes, hiring, tasting and assisted him with menu planning.
Before leaving this assignment we received a “Very Good” (which is four out of five) from the New York Times. A successful beginning for this young Chef.
