Ethan Jackson

This position was in coalition with the Colorado Mountain College Culinary Apprenticeship, through which I was rotated around a variety of locations as an apprentice cook. I worked at The Ski Tip Lodge for the first 9 months, providing a foundation of culinary application and line experience. The first 3 months were focused on grill, continuing onto Saute for the remainder of my time there, accentuating fast-paced precision under pressure. I then worked at the Keystone Conference Center for 2 months before being rotated to the Keystone Lodge out of necessity. With lack of kitchen leadership positions, I was able to assist more with kitchen supervision and menu planning, both for the restaurants and for banquets. Here I switched back and forth between the Ski Tip and the Lodge throughout the winter season based on where hands were needed. This brought me to the Keystone Ranch, where I was placed in a similar position of kitchen supervision as with the Lodge.

This position started me as a dishwasher, working at Meeker's Bar and Grill. Due to a solid work ethic, I was quickly promoted to garde manger cook, then to saute, to grill, and to kitchen supervision, working up in difficulty in that particular restaurant. This is where the infrastructure of my culinary passion was laid. I was set to oversee a variety of stations, following restaurant, company, and personal standards of efficiency, cleanliness, and quality control.

I followed routine maintenance work for a DoubleTree hotel, implementing problem-solving skills to alleviate a variety of daily issues with minimal supervision.

This position created the groundwork for my ambitions as a hospitality worker. Here I meticulously maintained customer satisfaction, setting up and working each event with an understanding of the guests needs and desires. The majority of my time was also spent working as a banquet bartender, carrying out professional service, and retaining a polite and friendly approach.

Working directly with guests was important in learning to build relationships with customers, and maintaining a calm, professional demeanor. I helped with answering customer questions, handling cash transactions effectively, and organizing the store in a visually appealing, seasonal manner that promoted specific merchandise. I was elected employee of the month 5 of the 7 months that I worked there.

Starting as a pool attendant, the company quickly broke age-related policies to hire me as a lifeguard, promoting me again withing six months to one of several lead lifeguards. This position required me to respond to emergencies with swift action, providing first aid procedures when necessary. I was in charge of a large, rotating group of lifeguards every day, where we discussed daily plans and where I could mentor junior members. Streamlined communication between members and management was a requirement.