Matt WEINGARTEN

• Head Chef, in charge of culinary strategy and menu
• Envisioned and created our culinary program and brand offer that focuses on seasonal scratch cooking at scale.
• Led culinary training programs and kitchen design initiatives, ensuring high standards of food safety and quality across all of our restaurants.
• Directed menu development and R&D efforts, creating innovative and sustainable culinary solutions that aligned with brand strategy, and have enabled us to scale to almost 40 locations across the Northeast.
• Managed financial aspects of culinary operations, including budgeting, and cost control, optimizing food and labor costs alongside operational efficiency and profitability.
• Developed and managed our transatlantic partnership with JetBlue, overseeing catering partners in London, Paris, Dublin, Amsterdam, New York, and Boston.
• Designed seasonal menu offerings, that surpassed our food and labor cost goals, via a dynamic and PMIX data driven approach

• Championed and lead our evolution to a full scratch based kitchen that partners with local farmers, ranchers and fisherfolk to highlight the best in seasonal, sustainable cuisine
• Developed our CIT ( Chefs in Training) program that has enabled us to scale from within, empowering a new generation of chefs that are passionate about cooking great food and taking care of our guests. Knife skills are life skills.
• Introduced new culinary techniques, and adopted the classic brigade structure to our operations in order to develop and elevate the overall skill set and capabilities of our chefs in training
• Built a strong and passionate culinary team, by leading from the front, "working the pass" and inspiring our teams through consistent coaching, mentoring, and performance evaluations.
• Promoted sustainability initiatives by prioritizing, ethically sourced ingredients and incorporating a no waste ethos in all of our recipes.

• Culinary Director of Innovation and Sustainable Solutions, NORAM
• Developed bespoke offerings for high-profile clients throughout the United States, focusing on sustainable menus that stayed current with culinary trends
• Led the development of our award-winning Airline lounge business, including partnerships with Virgin, Delta, American, Swiss Air and United, ensuring high standards and delicious menus across global locations.
• Supported key business openings worldwide, collaborating with international counterparts to maintain consistent quality and operational excellence.

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• Landmark 500 Seat Restaurant on Park Avenue featuring sustainable, heritage cuisine

• Peter Hoffman's pioneering restaurant featuring local and sustainably sourced greenmarket Cuisine

• Rocco Di Spirito and Jeffrey Chodorow's acclaimed Midtown Italian Restaurant

• Robert DeNiro and Drew Nieporent's iconic American Grill

• Katy Sparks's award winning Soho Bistro

• Larry Forgione's groundbreaking American Restaurant