John Paolini
Summerville,SC
Summary
Proven leader in kitchen management, adept at boosting performance and reducing waste at Cucina Toscana Ristorante. Excelled in food safety and staff coordination, enhancing team productivity and food quality. Developed successful strategies and fostered professional supplier relationships, ensuring top-notch ingredients and cost control. Skilled in training and motivating teams to achieve excellence in culinary service.
Overview
23
23
years of professional experience
Work History
Kitchen Manager
Cucina Toscana Ristorante
2023.08 - 2024.06
- Created and deployed successful strategies to boost restaurant performance, streamline food prep processes and reduce waste.
- Delivered in-depth training to workers in food preparation and customer-facing roles to promote strong team performance.
- Delegated food preparation duties down to cooks and followed up with cooks to verify proper preparation and production of meals.
- Scheduled and received food and beverage deliveries, adhering to food cost and budget.
- Conducted daily checks of refrigerators and freezers to verify proper food storage, container labeling, and surface cleaning.
- Checked and tested foods to verify quality and temperature.
- Implemented and maintained food safety and sanitation standards to establish safe handling and preparation of food.
- Developed and implemented kitchen policies and procedures to establish clear guidelines for kitchen operations and comply with regulations.
- Reviewed and analyzed kitchen performance to verify gaps and observe continuous improvement.
- Developed kitchen staff through training, disciplinary action, and performance reviews.
- Implemented effective inventory control systems to reduce food spoilage and waste.
- Calculated prices of ingredients to monitor food costs and control expenses.
- Developed and maintained professional relationships with suppliers to acquire high-quality ingredients and products with reasonable prices.
- Inspected equipment and machinery for proper working condition and directed staff to clean and repair as needed.
- Coordinated with catering staff to deliver food services for special events and functions.
- Motivated staff to perform at peak efficiency and quality.
- Oversaw food preparation and monitored safety protocols.
- Verified prepared food met standards for quality and quantity before serving to customers.
- Maintained effective supply levels by monitoring and reordering food stock and dry goods.
- Maintained kitchen cleanliness and sanitation through correct procedures and scheduled cleaning of surfaces and equipment.
- Purchased food and cultivated strong vendor relationships.
- Kept facility compliant with health codes, sanitation requirements and license regulations, alleviating potentially heavy fines.
- Managed staff schedules and maintained adequate coverage for all shifts.
- Trained staff on proper cooking procedures as well as safety regulations and productivity strategies.
Executive Chef /Business Owner
Piccola Italia Ristorante
2001.10 - 2023.04
- Delivered excellent food quality and maximized customer satisfaction by preparing meals according to customer requests.
- Oversaw business operations, inventory control, and customer service for restaurant.
- Developed kitchen staff through training, disciplinary action, and performance reviews.
- Scheduled and received food and beverage deliveries, adhering to food cost and budget.
- Maintained high food quality standards by checking delivery contents to verify product quality and quantity.
- Inventoried food, ingredient, and supply stock to prepare and plan vendor orders.
- Coordinated employee schedules and developed staff teams to boost productivity.
- Requisitioned food, selected and developed recipes and standardized production recipes for consistent quality.
- Handled and stored food to eliminate illness and prevent cross-contamination.
- Generated employee schedules and work assignments and determined appropriate compensation rates.
- Modified recipes to accommodate dietary restrictions and allergies.
- Set up and broke down kitchen for service.
- Disciplined and dedicated to meeting high-quality standards.
- Participated in food tastings and taste tests.
- Coordinated with team members to prepare orders on time.
- Assisted with menu development and planning.
- Monitored food production to verify quality and consistency.
- Oversaw scheduling, inventory management, and supply ordering to maintain fully stocked kitchen.
- Developed and remained accountable for safety, quality, consistency and adherence to standards.
- Developed close relationships with suppliers to source best ingredients.
- Utilized culinary techniques to create visually appealing dishes.
- Implemented food cost and waste reduction initiatives to save money.
- Evaluated food products to verify freshness and quality.
- Trained and managed kitchen personnel and supervised related culinary activity.
- Trained and mentored new staff members in kitchen safety, sanitation and cooking techniques.
- Developed new recipes and flavor combinations to enhance customer dining experience.
- Worked closely with front-of-house staff to facilitate excellent customer service.
Education
Associate of Arts - Culinary Arts
Newbury College
Brookline, MA06.1986
Skills
- Kitchen staff coordination
- Food Safety
- Recruitment
- Quality Assurance
- Kitchen Management
- Supply Ordering
- Product Rotation
SPORTS, READING, WORD PUZZLES
I OWN A LARGE SPORTS CARD COLLECTION, STARTED COLLECTING IN 1979, LOVE WATCHING SPORTS, ENJOY READING TRUE STORIES,
I LIKE TO CHALLENGE MYSELF WITH WORD PUZZLES AND TRIVIA !!
Timeline
Kitchen Manager
Cucina Toscana Ristorante
2023.08 - 2024.06
Executive Chef /Business Owner
Piccola Italia Ristorante
2001.10 - 2023.04
Associate of Arts - Culinary Arts
Newbury College
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