Francesca Rufo
San Francisco,CA
Summary
Detail-driven chef with 11 years in 3 Michelin star and AAA Four Diamond kitchens. Committed to culinary excellence, sustainable practices, and exceeding expectations. Recognized for leadership, waste reduction, refined knife skills, and visually striking dishes. Proven in high-pressure environments, menu development, ingredient sourcing, and maintaining impeccable food quality and presentation. Known for fostering collaboration, adapting to change, and delivering exceptional guest experiences through focus, creativity, and precision.
Overview
2026
2026
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Executive Sous Chef
Atelier Crenn
10.2024 - Current
- Increased customer satisfaction through consistent delivery of exceptional dishes, resulting in positive reviews.
- Maintained high standards of food presentation by supervising plating techniques during service hours.
- Managed inventory control, reducing food waste and optimizing budget allocation.
- Mentored junior chefs and provided constructive feedback for professional growth.
- Balanced labor costs by effectively scheduling kitchen staff according to business needs.
- Oversaw scheduling, inventory management, and supply ordering to maintain fully stocked kitchen.
- Trained and managed kitchen personnel and supervised related culinary activity.
- Monitored food production to verify quality and consistency.
- Worked closely with front-of-house staff to facilitate excellent customer service.
Chef - R&D and Events
Petit Crenn
02.2022 - 10.2024
- Enhanced customer satisfaction by consistently delivering high-quality culinary creations.
- Lead and executed high profile culinary events with frequent national and international travel, including team training and menu development for restaurant launch in Paris.
- Fostered culture of sustainability by sourcing ingredients from local farms and suppliers.
- Enhanced dining experience by crafting innovative menu items tailored to seasonal ingredients.
- Collaborated with front-of-house staff to ensure seamless service, addressing and resolving any issues promptly.
Sous Chef
Atelier Crenn
12.2020 - 11.2021
- Responsible for all kitchen operations including; oversight, training and delegation of tasks to Chef de Parties as well as food preparation and production.
- Monitored and ensured food quality standards aligned with goals for the kitchen department and overall vision for the restaurant.
- Assisted in developing programs to reduce the use of plastic in the workplace and sustaining a culture of cooks that understand the importance of Zero Waste.
- Ensured that recipes pertaining to all menu items are documented and costed in a standardized format.
- Responsible for placing daily orders for seafood, produce and specialty items.
- Conducted nightly audits of fridges to ensure items are fresh and being used accordingly.
- Logged and monitored kitchen budget and inventory nightly.
- Ability to anticipate and respond to guest needs to heighten each overall experience.
- Able to conduct oneself in the dining room, interact with guests, and confidently talk about each course while serving.
Poissonnier
Atelier Crenn
10.2019 - 12.2020
- Precisely cooks a variety of fish and seafood to proper cooking temperatures.
- Able to multitask the cooking of multiple courses at a given time.
- Able to communicate and delegate tasks with teammates when plating on the pass.
- Knowledge and experience of open fire cooking on a Binchotan grill.
- Exceeds sanitation standards and assures organization and cleanliness of station and surrounding areas.
Saucier/Entremet
Atelier Crenn
02.2019 - 10.2019
- Responsible for producing various sauces and garnishes for hot dishes to order.
- Able to follow timing standards to ensure sauce and garnish are hot and seasoned correctly simultaneously with hot plates.
- Able to follow plating standards and flavor profiles to a tee.
Sous Chef
The Marine Room
12.2017 - 12.2018
- Trains and oversees employees engaged in preparing, portioning, and garnishing foods to ensure that methods of cooking, garnishes and size of portions are as prescribed.
- Requisitions all food supplies and places food orders to include vegetables, meats, poultry, seafood, & dairy under the Chef de Cuisine’s guideline.
- Supervises proper storage holding & rotation of all meat, seafood & poultry.
- Develops recipes with Executive chef and Chef de Cuisine.
- Writes and delegates tasks for banquet and holiday prep lists.
- Assumes responsibility of kitchen in absence of Chef De Cuisine or Executive Chef, monitoring staff performance, food quality, and sanitation, etc.
Poissonier/Saucier
The Marine Room
03.2017 - 12.2017
- Prepares individual sauces for fish and meat courses to proper intensity, balance, texture and flavor on a daily basis.
- Precisely cooks fish and seafood to proper cooking temperatures.
- Always tastes sauces and prepared items prior to serving.
- Collaborated with chefs on creating new, flavorful sauces that complemented various menu offerings.
- Achieved consistent, high-quality sauce production by maintaining a clean and organized work environment at all times.
Line Cook
The Marine Room
11.2015 - 03.2017
- Properly handles meat and fish for sous vide preparations, maintaining a high level of food sanitation at all times.
- Properly cooks a variety of vegetables to al dente.
- Supplies plated starches, vegetables and miscellaneous accompaniments to hotline and receives plates from hotline for finishing with sauces and garnishes.
Pantry
The Marine Room
06.2014 - 11.2015
- Prepares egg based custards to standard such as pot de creme/ creme brûlée.
- Washes, peels, slices, and mixes vegetables and fruits for salads, cold plates, and garnishes.
- Carves and slices meats, cheese, prepared fruit, seafood cocktail and hors d’oeuvres.
- Measures and mixes ingredients to make salad dressings, cocktail sauces, gelatin salads, cold desserts, following recipes.
San Pellegrino Young Chef Semi Finalist
- Developed a signature dish that showcased ingredients, skills, genius, beauty and message.
- Was top 10 and the only woman to compete in New York to represent the United States on the World stage.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Culinary Management
The Art Institute of California San Diego
12.2016
Associates - Baking and Pastry
The Art Institute of California San Diego
03.2017
Skills
- ServSafe Manager certified
- Fine-dining expertise
- Attention to detail
- Kitchen and operations management
- Recipe creation and menu development
- Workflow optimization
- Banquets and catering
- Food cost analysis
- Fish and meat butchery
- Knowledge of Google drive programs, Tock, Triple seat, Margin edge, 7shifts, and Toast
Accomplishments
San Pellegrino Young Chef Semi Finalist United States, 2017
• Developed a signature dish that showcased ingredients, skills, genius, beauty and message.
• Was top 10 and the only woman to compete in New York to represent the United States on the world stage
Awards
San Pellegrino Young Chef Semi Finalist, United States, 2017, Developed a signature dish that showcased ingredients, skills, genius, beauty and message. Was top 10 and the only woman to compete in New York to represent the United States on the World stage.
Certification
ServSafe Manager Certification
Languages
English
Native or Bilingual
Spanish
Professional Working
Timeline
Executive Sous Chef
Atelier Crenn
10.2024 - Current
Chef - R&D and Events
Petit Crenn
02.2022 - 10.2024
Sous Chef
Atelier Crenn
12.2020 - 11.2021
Poissonnier
Atelier Crenn
10.2019 - 12.2020
Saucier/Entremet
Atelier Crenn
02.2019 - 10.2019
Sous Chef
The Marine Room
12.2017 - 12.2018
Poissonier/Saucier
The Marine Room
03.2017 - 12.2017
Line Cook
The Marine Room
11.2015 - 03.2017
Pantry
The Marine Room
06.2014 - 11.2015
Bachelor of Science - Culinary Management
The Art Institute of California San Diego
Associates - Baking and Pastry
The Art Institute of California San Diego
San Pellegrino Young Chef Semi Finalist
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