STEVEN BENINCASA

***** ******* **** ***, **********, MD 20876

adh1af@r.postjobfree.com

443-***-****

SUMMARY

Executive Chef with 20+ years progressive culinary and kitchen management experience. Strong creativity and recipe development skills to incorporate recent food trends while being keenly aware of costs and staff needs.

EDUCATION

Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, NY, 1994

Associate of Science in Culinary Arts

SKILLS & AWARDS

-Excellent leadership & organizational skills - Strong P&L acumen

-Under budget food & labor costs - Proficient with restaurant management POS

-Close relationships with local purveyors -ServSafe Food Manager Certified

*Represented Capital Restaurant Concepts at James Beard House, New York

*Awarded “Best Italian Restaurant” in Falls Church, VA by The Falls Church News Press, 2016

EXPERIENCE

Chef

Not Your Average Joe’s, Gaithersburg, MD, 2018 - Present

Lowered food cost below 26% and food variance to -1.35% by adjusting prep levels and ordering pars.

Trained BOH staff in recipe adherence and food storage organization.

Created new inventory counting procedures by implementing “sheet to shelf” format making weekly

inventories more accurate and productive.

Created seasonal menu items for Octoberfest, Summer and Fall offerings.

Maintained order and discipline by enforcing punctuality, uniform standards, hygiene and sanitation.

Executive Chef

Argia’s Restaurant, Falls Church, VA, 2016 - 2018

Increased gross sales 30% over prior year in my first year lifting the restaurant out of the red.

Oversaw all restaurant operations including new menu creation and kitchen design.

Hired and trained new kitchen staff, prepared menu item cost outs and prep-manual creation.

Analyzed P&L reports to ensure labor and food costs were trending positively with adjustments.

Trained service staff on menu knowledge and service skills for overall professionalism.

Executive Sous Chef / Acting Executive Chef

Filomena Ristorante, Georgetown, Washington, DC, 2015 - 2016

Managed all back of the house responsibilities of an $8M high profile DC restaurant as Acting Executive Chef one month after joining the company as Executive Sous Chef.

Directed 30 plus kitchen staff with limited Sous Chef support for a high volume 160 seat

dining room.

Oversaw the daily ordering and inventory control to ensure proper par levels, staffing and scheduling while upholding sanitation standards.

Created and executed profitable weekly and nightly specials while educating and preparing staff skills necessary to achieve consistent fine dining features.

Capital Restaurant Concepts, Ltd., Washington, DC, 1994 - 2015

Joined this premier operator of multi-concept restaurants in the Washington Metropolitan Area as a line cook upon graduation from the Culinary Institute of America and progressed to Executive Chef.

Executive Chef

Paolo’s Ristorante, Reston, VA, 2008 - 2015

Selected for the CRC company team to cook at the James Beard House in New York City.

Regularly conducted outreach and business development activities, to include in-house wine tastings, wine and food paring sessions, specialized cooking classes and community food and art events.

Participated in live cooking demonstrations on Channel 8 News.

Designed from-scratch menus that merged traditional Italian and modern California cuisine for upscale Italian restaurant with a capacity of 230 guests -serving both lunch and dinner.

Provided guest guidance to develop special party menus for their private dining room events.

Maintained prime costs under budget for five consecutive years in a highly competitive and recessionary market.

Maintained food costs at 26.9 percent and labor costs at 9.75 percent.

Responsible for effective, efficient, and profitable back-of-the-house operations managing the workflow of more than 20 BOH staff daily. Calculated costs for all menu items and maintained stringent inventory controls.

Conducted daily meetings to train front-of-the-house staff on the changing menu and proven service approaches.

Exercised tact and diplomacy in working productively with individuals from widely varying cultural, ethnic, and economic backgrounds, frequently in highly stressful environments.

Executive Chef

Neyla, Georgetown, Washington, DC, 2008

Hosted high profile events for embassy representatives and the D.C. Mayor.

Achieved all-time company record bottom line profit.

Managed all kitchen operations and supervised more than 20 staff members for this trend-setting Mediterranean grill. Developed expertise in creating menus and preparing advanced Lebanese cuisine.

Executive Chef

Paolo’s Ristorante, Georgetown, Washington, DC, 2006 - 2007

Moved by the corporate office back to CRC’s showcase restaurant, catering to Georgetown’s upscale clientele.

Created and executed highly popular new dishes based upon updated versions of old family recipes.

Maintained food cost of 26 percent and 8 percent for labor, while producing $4M in sales.

Executive Chef

Paolo’s Ristorante, Harborplace, Baltimore, MD, 2004 – 2006

Led the staff of a 300-seat restaurant in the heart of the always-busy tourist area of the Baltimore Inner Harbor, generating $3.5M in sales. Increased staff each year for the opening of the 120-seat patio area.

Executive Chef

Paolo’s Ristorante, Towson, MD, 1999 - 2004

Promoted to Executive Chef and named CRC’s Chef of the Year.

Assumed responsibility for a poorly performing 150 seat restaurant and increased annual sales by more than 60 percent to $2.25 million dollars.

Lowered food costs by four percentage points and labor costs by 3.5 points over the previous chef.

Responsible for overseeing kitchen operations while maintaining a safe and sanitary work environment for the staff. Selected as first ever live-on-air chef for the local Fox television channel.

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