Dawn Pieroni-Genis
San Pedro,CA
Summary
Dynamic culinary professional with extensive experience across fine dining and catering. Customer service and a keen ability to enhance dining experiences through expert wine pairings and menu development. Demonstrates adaptive learning and a detail-oriented approach, ensuring high-quality standards and customer satisfaction are consistently exceeded.
Overview
40
40
years of professional experience
Work History
Personal Chef
Larry Elheirs
Santa Barbara
02.2021 - 12.2023
- Met with client and discussed preferred meals, dietary restrictions and food allergies.
- Shopped at specialty grocery stores to obtain ingredients needed for food preparation.
- Cooked 3 meals per day and served at residences or delivered to requested locations.
- Planned menus that incorporated healthy, fresh food sourced from local farmers and stores.
- Developed menus, controlled food costs and oversaw quality, sanitation, and safety processes.
- Recorded favorite meals of clients and worked continuously on new recipes and repertoire.
Assistant Catering Manager
Alan Parsons' Art And Science Of Sound Recording
Santa Barbara
04.2017 - 09.2019
- Met with clients to outline desired goals and prepared quotes for overall catering costs.
- Promoted catering packages with most profitable outcomes without sacrificing client desires.
- Handled catering scheduling, ordered food and planned events.
- Chose wine and crafted cocktails to pair with food.
- Coordinated with event planners for floor and table layouts, guest numbers, and overall catering needs.
- Kept facility compliant with health codes, sanitation requirements.
- Maintained kitchen cleanliness and sanitation through correct procedures and scheduled cleaning of surfaces and equipment.
- Coordinated with catering staff to deliver food services for special events and functions.
- Oversaw food preparation and monitored safety protocols.
- Verified prepared food met standards for quality and quantity before serving to customers.
- Purchased food and cultivated strong vendor relationships.
- Set and enforced performance and service standards to keep consistent, high-quality environment devoted to customer satisfaction.
Banquet Captain
The Wine Cask
Santa Barbara
04.2000 - 03.2002
- Oversaw timeliness and quality of food delivery at high-volume events.
- Set and enforced performance and service standards to keep consistent, high-quality environment devoted to customer satisfaction.
- Organized and oversaw food service training to educate employees on resetting tables, relaying orders to cooks and upselling food and beverages.
Fine Dining Server/Manager
Think Bistro
Rancho Palos Verdes
10.1995 - 02.2000
- Collaborated with owner in opening of this fine dining establishment.
- Assisted with menu and wine list.
- Hired all servers.
- Built rapport with clients that resulted in most customers returning and becoming regulars. This restaurant was very successful.
- Suggested wine pairings to go with specific menu items.
- Answered customers' questions, recommended items, and recorded order information.
- Learned and utilized extensive bar and wine knowledge to enhance guest dining experiences.
Fine Dining Server/Manager
Café Noir
Rancho Palos Verdes, United States
02.1990 - 11.1995
- Helped with concept planning and design and designing of new upper end restaurant from ground up.
- Performed duties of Server and Manager.
- Responsible for establishing and evolving an extensive wine list including all of the ordering.
- Managed registers,end of day tallies and insuring the restaurant was closed properly.
- Suggested wine pairings to go with specific menu items.
- Managed sections for smooth flow of guests and orders.
Fine Dining Server/Banquet Server/Bartender
West Channel Bar And Grill
LA Harbor/San Pedro
03.1988 - 11.1990
- Worked with banquet manager to coordinate event set up and schedule.
- Took and submitted orders that accommodated customer preferences and dietary requirements.
- Processed orders and sent to kitchen employees for preparation.
- Answered customers' questions, recommended items, and recorded order information.
- Prepared custom drink orders by accurately measuring and mixing house ingredients.
- Mixed unique and interesting cocktails for customers, including bar specials.
Hostess/Server
The Grinder Restaurant
San Pedro
02.1984 - 11.1988
- Beginning of my culinary career.
- Began as a hostess and quickly moved on as a server.
Education
Spanish
Harbor College
Los AngelesAssociate of Arts - Culinary Arts
Santa Barbara City College
Santa Barbara, CASkills
- Exceptional customer service
- Menu Memorization
- Sales abilities
- Adaptive Learning
- Wine Knowledge
- Proper table setup
- Wine Pairings
- Detail Oriented
- Flexible Schedule
- Spanish
Timeline
Personal Chef
Larry Elheirs
02.2021 - 12.2023
Assistant Catering Manager
Alan Parsons' Art And Science Of Sound Recording
04.2017 - 09.2019
Banquet Captain
The Wine Cask
04.2000 - 03.2002
Fine Dining Server/Manager
Think Bistro
10.1995 - 02.2000
Fine Dining Server/Manager
Café Noir
02.1990 - 11.1995
Fine Dining Server/Banquet Server/Bartender
West Channel Bar And Grill
03.1988 - 11.1990
Hostess/Server
The Grinder Restaurant
02.1984 - 11.1988
Spanish
Harbor College
Associate of Arts - Culinary Arts
Santa Barbara City College