MJ Stewart
St. Louis,MO
Summary
I believe that being well rounded is the key to being a great chef and restauranteur. So throughout my career, I aim to not only learn new things but also fine tune the skills that I already have. Having worked in multiple restaurants and positions around the Saint Louis area, I have worked to learn all that I can about restaurants and how they operate from every side. I believe that being a team player is so important to hold together a restaurant: from prep, to service, to deep cleaning. Pastry and Hospitality are two of the things I am most passionate about in life, and I want to continue my education in both to become the best restaurant employee that I can be.
Overview
11
11
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
R&D/Product Development
Clementine's Naughty & Nice Ice Cream
12.2023 - Current
- Develop new flavors and carry out the process from small testing stages all the way through full production
- Use Fishbowl inventory to input our recipes for manufacturing and correctly calculate inventory in house
- Help with flavor naming and wrote descriptions for marketing, as well as producing flavors in advance for national media
- Responsible for recipe costing and analysis of new flavors, as well as reformulating older recipes to make them better quality and more cost efficient
- Formulate over 54 unique ice cream flavors annually, aligning with seasonal trends and consumer preferences, while enhancing product quality and reducing production costs through innovative ingredient sourcing and process optimization
- Multiple ice creams flavors have been featured in national press articles: Food Network, Food & Wine, Parade
Executive Pastry Chef
DNFT: A Pastry Pop Up
10.2022 - Current
- Company Overview: DNFT is a tasting menu style dessert pop up held across Saint Louis
- Develop new desserts for every pop up, based on a theme I come up with
- Design all social media/marketing and run the Instagram for every pop up event
- Curate playlists for each pop up based on the theme
- Design menus and do cost analysis to determine pricing for each pop up
- Make all prep and run service for the pop ups
Executive Pastry Chef
PASTARIA
04.2023 - 11.2023
- Developed and held up to 15 rotating gelato flavors for Pastaria & Niche Food Group booths in Energizer Park soccer stadium
- Ran production of desserts and toppings for Pastaria, Pastaria Deli & Wine, Niche Food Group Events, and the Niche Food Group booths at the Energizer Park soccer stadium
- Hosted DNFT pop ups bi-monthly simultaneously while holding this position
Expediter
Niche Food Group
07.2022 - 04.2023
- Expediter for Brunch & Dinner services at Bowood by Niche
- Garnished and cleaned every plate during services
- Cross trained as a server and busser
- Worked with pastry team, as needed
- Prepped pizza dough and worked service at the Energizer Park soccer stadium for home games throughout the season
- Worked off site events, as well as on site buyouts At Bowood by Niche
Executive Pastry Chef
Olive & Oak, Perennial on Lockwood, Olive & Oak Events
03.2020 - 07.2022
- Spearheaded the development and execution of a comprehensive pastry program singlehandedly across three venues: Olive & Oak, Perennial on Lockwood, and O&O Events
- Created new dishes, handled ordering, planned and carried out all pastry production, helped with prep and plating for all events
- Worked off site and on site events, whether it was for pastry or helping out the team
- Worked with pastry team at other Olive & Oak sister restaurants, as needed
Pastry Chef
YELLOWBELLY
08.2018 - 03.2020
- Developed and singlehandedly ran the dessert and bread program for Yellowbelly
- Developed a potato bun recipe that the restaurant still uses to this day
- Spun ice cream and vegan ice cream with liquid nitrogen, as well as created toppings for them
- Cross trained as hostess, server, and busser
Pastry Sous Chef
Niche Food Group
09.2015 - 03.2018
- Pastry Assistant at Niche Restaurant up until its closure in 2016
- Worked with all chefs to help open a new restaurant, create menus, and work pop ups
- Helped manage a production team of up to 6 people
- Produced desserts and gelato for 4 restaurants in the Niche Food Group
- Created multiple desserts for 2 restaurants in the Niche Food Group
- Made laminated dough and donuts weekly
- Made focaccia, English muffins, pizza dough, and dinner rolls daily for multiple restaurants across the company
- Cross trained at multiple restaurants to help pastry team, as needed
Lead Baker
Strange Donuts
04.2014 - 09.2015
- Worked overnights and led production and decorating team full time
- Helped with offsite events
- Created multiple donuts for the menu that they still use to this day
Education
Associate's Degree - Baking & Pastry
Saint Louis Community College
St. Louis, MO01.2015
Skills
- Kitchen Management Experience
- Serving Experience
- Labor Cost Analysis
- Product Development
- Research & Development
- Friendly, positive attitude
- Teamwork and collaboration
- Problem-solving
- Time management
- Attention to detail
- Flexible and adaptable
- Dependable and responsible
- Multitasking
Certification
ServSafe: Food Protection Manager Certification, 01/01/25
Accomplishments
- One of Sauce Magazine’s Ones to Watch 2023
- One of Feast Magazine’s Rising Stars 2020
Timeline
R&D/Product Development
Clementine's Naughty & Nice Ice Cream
12.2023 - Current
Executive Pastry Chef
PASTARIA
04.2023 - 11.2023
Executive Pastry Chef
DNFT: A Pastry Pop Up
10.2022 - Current
Expediter
Niche Food Group
07.2022 - 04.2023
Executive Pastry Chef
Olive & Oak, Perennial on Lockwood, Olive & Oak Events
03.2020 - 07.2022
Pastry Chef
YELLOWBELLY
08.2018 - 03.2020
Pastry Sous Chef
Niche Food Group
09.2015 - 03.2018
Lead Baker
Strange Donuts
04.2014 - 09.2015
Associate's Degree - Baking & Pastry
Saint Louis Community College
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