Adam Ciota
Florham Park,NJ
Summary
Dedicated and energetic professional looking to apply modern and classical cooking techniques to formulate and execute gold-standard products. Has experience in and has a strong desire to ideate and work in a team where inquiry, innovation, communication, and hard work coalesce to create products above and beyond expectation.
Overview
10
10
years of professional experience
Work History
Manager of Commercialization
Wonder Group
04.2022 - Current
- Built, implemented, and oversaw a new production trial and commercialization process which ensured that benchtop gold standard products were properly developed, tested, and validated prior to product launch.
- Developed an in-house sensory process (leveraging hedonic and tetrad testing) using R&D members as panelists to aid in the capture of directional feedback used to help make critical product development decisions.
- Traveled to and worked with outside companies to co-manufacture Wonder products while maintaining a high level of quality and ensuring the proper guardrails were in place to produce a consistent product.
- Advised the 30+ member R&D team on how to design recipes for scalability using new pieces of production equipment, production-friendly processes, and through the use of hydrocolloids and other functional ingredients.
- Played a key role in new product launches, working closely with R&D teams to ensure successful transition from concept to commercialization.
- Developed and tested benchtop solutions to production related issues through the use of compounded flavors, functional ingredients, and hydrocolloids.
- Facilitated cost reduction through recipe improvements, updates to production processes, and sourcing of raw materials.
Research and Development Chef
Freshly Inc.
01.2021 - 02.2022
- Developed meals for the Core, Fit, and Premium lines according to strict nutritional and cost parameters.
- Worked with the Meals, Procurement, Culinary Operations, FSQA, and Master Data teams to move the meals I developed through the ideation, commercialization, and implementation/launch process.
- Worked directly with Freshly's food scientist to create innovative new formulae and procedures for new and existing meals on the production floor. Also coordinated with multiple 3rd party labs to organize microbial testing of formulae for shelf-life validation.
- Individually collaborated with celebrity chef Kristen Kish to create a meal for Freshly's Premium line based on a dish from her cookbook.
- Responsible for working with the Procurement team to approve all new fruit and vegetable products for use by R&D. Conducted sample tastings with the team for all new products on a weekly basis.
- Conducted weekly pH and aw testing on on-menu components for the FSQA team.
Culinary Assurance and Implementation Chef
Freshly Inc.
01.2020 - 01.2021
- Became a lead trial and commercialization chef. Led the organization and execution of meal trials on the production floor. Responsible for collecting critical qualitative and quantitative data, and communicating it to product stakeholders in an accurate and organized way.
- Coordinated weekly new meal launches which included overseeing each product on the production floor and making weekly presentations to the Production team.
- Responsible for overseeing and maintaining the culinary quality of all product produced by the Production team in the vegetable and protein preparation rooms, the kitchen, and the assembly area.
- Used a diverse background of culinary and restaurant experience to advise other departments on how best to produce product that is up to a high culinary standard while also respecting efficiency in both time and cost.
- Responsible for constantly reviewing and analyzing meal ratings as well as customer feedback to aid in the improvement of the culinary quality of our 30+ meals.
Culinary Technician
Freshly Inc.
09.2019 - 01.2020
- Played an important role in the trial process by helping commercialize new meals from bench-top formula, to finished product ready for high volume production.
- Collected meal and component data through yield tests and portion audits to validate specification compliance and verified data accuracy through repetitive testing.
- Implemented and performed scientific and analytical testing in a manufacturing environment to improve recipe performance and production efficiency.
- Discovered over $50,000 in waste per year by observing and evaluating multiple inefficiencies in production processes.
- Ensured that quality, safety, product specifications, and good manufacturing processes (GMPs) were followed.
Chef and Co-Founder
Rolling Smoke BBQ
03.2018 - 09.2019
- Conceptualized, built, and opened Rolling Smoke BBQ from the ground up.
- Designed menus, developed dishes, standardized recipes for consistent quality, and established proper presentation techniques.
- Controlled food costs and oversaw quality, sanitation, and safety processes.
- Managed a team of six employees (five BOH, one FOH) to serve and provide a quality experience to thousands of customers over my tenure.
- Procured and hired all vendors and purveyors.
- Solely inventoried all food and non-food items, handled all ordering.
- Personally interviewed and trained all staff to uphold standards and execute procedures properly.
- Generated employee schedules, work assignments and determined appropriate compensation rates.
Chef De Partie
Tail Up Goat
02.2017 - 02.2018
- Helped maintain 1 Michelin star during my tenure.
Chef De Partie (Intern)
Alinea Restaurant
05.2014 - 10.2014
- Helped maintain 3 Michelin Stars during my tenure.
Education
Bachelor of Professional Studies - Culinary Science
The Culinary Institute of America
Hyde Park, NY12.2016
Associate in Occupational Studies - Culinary Arts
The Culinary Institute of America
Hyde Park, NY06.2015
Skills
- Strong technical ability in Culinary Arts
- Operational knowledge of laboratory equipment (Instron texture analyzer, CVap ovens, colorimeters, pH and aW meters, Brookfield viscometers, etc)
- Extensive experience using Genesis R&D nutrition software and Galley recipe software
- Operational knowledge of high-volume production equipment (steam jacket kettles, tilt skillets, conveyor fryers, vacuum tumblers, and more)
- HACCP Certified
- ServeSafe Certified
- Proficiency in the use of Excell, Powerpoint, Confluence, Jira, and other organizational applications
- Product Commercialization
- Recipe Development
- Shelf-life Testing
- Strong Organizational Skills
- Data Analysis
- Menu Conception
- Forecasting and Planning
- Ingredient Sourcing
Timeline
Manager of Commercialization
Wonder Group
04.2022 - Current
Research and Development Chef
Freshly Inc.
01.2021 - 02.2022
Culinary Assurance and Implementation Chef
Freshly Inc.
01.2020 - 01.2021
Culinary Technician
Freshly Inc.
09.2019 - 01.2020
Chef and Co-Founder
Rolling Smoke BBQ
03.2018 - 09.2019
Chef De Partie
Tail Up Goat
02.2017 - 02.2018
Chef De Partie (Intern)
Alinea Restaurant
05.2014 - 10.2014
Bachelor of Professional Studies - Culinary Science
The Culinary Institute of America
Associate in Occupational Studies - Culinary Arts
The Culinary Institute of America