Cole Porter
Washington,DC
Summary
Motivated expert who models perfection in all elements of kitchen and business operations. Skills include menu planning, R&D, budget analysis, cost containment, and employee development. Adept in operational management, reporting and analytics.
Overview
8
8
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Executive Chef
Doubletree Hilton
07.2023 - Current
- Currently manage about 20 kitchen employees and facilitated preparation and production of events in 10,000 sq ft. conference center.
- Streamlined kitchen operations with effective inventory management and cost controls.
- Implemented staff training programs to improve culinary skills, teamwork, and overall productivity.
- Created visually appealing plate presentations, enhancing the overall dining experience for patrons.
- Developed custom menus for clients with specific dietary restrictions or preferences, ensuring their utmost satisfaction during their dining experience.
Executive Chef/CEO
Native Plate LLC
04.2020 - Current
- Creation of menus and facilitation of events, tastings, and weekly catering orders
- Responsible for legal compliance, employee management, hiring, training, and daily management
- Contract management with various franchise entities such as Nextbite and FutureFoods
- In-house catering and events staffing for City-State Brewing in Washington, DC
- Budgeting and forecasting, tracking of payroll records, and revision of financial transactions to ensure proper business standing
- Sourcing, keeping inventory of, and ordering proper amounts of food/dry goods and packaging
- Maintaining reports for legal compliance and bookkeeping.
Executive Chef
AARP Corporate HQ, Seasons Culinary (Compass Group)
12.2022 - 07.2023
- Manage a team of 35 employees daily.
- Facilitate menu planning and execution of more than 50+ catering orders weekly
- Developed multiple daily menus for 6 different cooking stations, including 12 new menu items weekly.
- Improved food cost by 20% in less than two periods.
- Managed kitchen staff for efficient food production, ensuring timely delivery of high-quality dishes.
Executive Chef/General Manager
Cafe Unido
05.2022 - 12.2022
- Opened store from final stages of construction to initial months of operation
- P&L management, HR management, SOP creation, Production/Daily Operations Hiring, training, facilitation, and implementation of food production schedules
- Responsible for sales budgeting and forecasting, implementing inventory management systems, cost control systems, labor budgeting, commodity reports, and daily operations planning
- Implementation of payroll management systems and upkeep
- Responsible for maintaining accurate contracts, and weekly/quarterly operation reports for State and Federal legal compliance, inspections, and shareholder review
- Responsible for review and revision of financial expenditures/bookkeeping
- Sourcing, tracking inventory of 450+ items, employee training systems, and facilities management.
Sous Chef/Event Chef/Event Captain
Occasions Caterers
05.2018 - 02.2022
- Supervised anywhere from 5-75 servers, bartenders, chefs, and maintenance across various exclusive, security events, and private and corporate affairs with many international government entities in over 800 events
- Worked in FOH/BOH simultaneously in multiple roles as in-house chef and on-site chef/event captain
- Responsible for doing tastings in either FOH or BOH Working in-house leading the Mixology Team batching over 250 cocktail recipes from scratch for events up to 10,000 guests
- Creation of on-site chef assignments, coordinating food plating/production timeframes and staff workflow throughout event operations
- Responsible for executing client requirements, pre-planning course information and operation concerns with clients and event planners, ensuring that clients' expectations are met and surpassed
- Execution of large-scale and small-scale dinner services, ranging from plated dinners in partnership with Caterers as far as New York and Texas
- Other events include State Department, 15+ Embassies from around the world
- Other clients included: DC US Open, 50+ ambassadors to the US, RNC, DNC, Rayburn Office, Library of Congress and the Supreme Court of the United States, Amazon, MSNBC, State Department, 15+ Embassies.
Executive Kitchen Manager
Busboys and Poets
10.2019 - 11.2021
- Provided area operational procedures for 9 separate ($8-12million+/yr locations)
- Introduced changes to new hire training, employee SOP's and changes to systems such as inventory management, enforcement of product standards, and quality control
- Spearheaded two new location openings during tenure: (Baltimore, MD/ Columbia MD) Responsible for hiring, initial hiring training, food costs, vendor management/relations, budget compliance, and comprehensive NRO employee training
- Enforced performance and service standards to keep a consistent, high-quality environment devoted to customer satisfaction across each location
- Created new training and inventory/information systems to capitalize and develop upon workflow inefficiencies that hindered optimal operation at each location.
Sous Chef
Menus Catering
08.2018 - 10.2019
- Managed Saute, Meats, Garde Manger, Saucier Pasta, and Expediter Stations
- Managed production ordering and inventory, driver communications, and produced over 100 gallons of sauces hot and cold per week on average
- Production of over 800+ catering orders weekly
- Clients included: the Department of State, Fox 5 news, CNN, MSNBC, Amazon, Nikon, and various government agencies.
Director of Catering Operations
Burke Catering
04.2017 - 05.2018
- Devised and implemented strategies for new business cultivation, employing multiple new systems for employee retention and training
- Monitored and set budgets for ordering and inventory, payroll records, invoicing, and set new policies for drivers and dispatch SOP's
- Reviewed daily, weekly, and quarterly financial reports for ownership
- Created new staff guidelines that were focused on improving product quality and rewards which greatly enhanced productivity
- Facilitated daily meetings with ownership/management to introduce a better structure to the business and solve recurring problems with daily operations.
Event Chef/Event Supervisor
To Your Taste Catering
09.2016 - 06.2017
- Analyzed catering orders and liaised with staff to set up weddings, corporate events, private event equipment, supplies, and menu execution to meet and exceed client expectations
- Supervised catering staff at all functions including corporate, private, and government events
- Managing deadlines for daily delivery operations for catering accounts such as Uber and Deloitte.
Dispatch Manager/Prep Cook
La Prima
06.2016 - 01.2017
- Managed a fleet of 18 cargo vans/2 box trucks - 15 drivers
- Coordinated small/large scale event pre-planning, logistics as well as event-day coordination, and final dispatch checks
- Reported to the Director of Operations, and conferred with drivers, kitchen personnel, and customers to address logistical issues, problems, and requests for service or equipment allocation
- Motivated staff to deliver high-level delivery support while successfully meeting operational goals
- Worked in the kitchen as needed for packaging and large-scale food prep as needed.
Education
General Studies -
Nash Community College
01.2016
Northwestern High School
01.2014
Our Lady of Good Counsel High School
01.2013
Skills
- P&L Management
- Inspection and Audit Readiness
- Recipes and menu planning
Accomplishments
I lead my team to achieving the top score among all F&B programs in the company during the 2023 Hilton franchise audit.
Certification
- Allergen Safety, 02/01/22
- ServSafe Food Handlers, 01/01/23
- Controlled Unclassified Security Clearance - US State Department, 05/01/21
Personal Information
Title: General Manager/Executive Chef/CEO
Timeline
Executive Chef
Doubletree Hilton
07.2023 - Current
Executive Chef
AARP Corporate HQ, Seasons Culinary (Compass Group)
12.2022 - 07.2023
Executive Chef/General Manager
Cafe Unido
05.2022 - 12.2022
Executive Chef/CEO
Native Plate LLC
04.2020 - Current
Executive Kitchen Manager
Busboys and Poets
10.2019 - 11.2021
Sous Chef
Menus Catering
08.2018 - 10.2019
Sous Chef/Event Chef/Event Captain
Occasions Caterers
05.2018 - 02.2022
Director of Catering Operations
Burke Catering
04.2017 - 05.2018
Event Chef/Event Supervisor
To Your Taste Catering
09.2016 - 06.2017
Dispatch Manager/Prep Cook
La Prima
06.2016 - 01.2017
General Studies -
Nash Community College
Northwestern High School
Our Lady of Good Counsel High School
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