Cliff Denny Email & Phone Number

Portland, Oregon, United States

Portland, Oregon

Reno, Nevada Area

New York

Member of the Pre-Opening Executive team tasked to re-open this iconic NY landmark, an affiliate of Leading Hotels of The World, and the Charlie Palmer Restaurant Group.Report directly to the GM of the hotel and to Chef Charlie Palmer.Researched and ordered all operating supplies for back and front of house equipment.Developed and designed custom built OSE pieces that defined our programming.Collaborated on FFE procurement for back of house.Established labor standards and schedules for all back of house areas.Created staffing guides from a zero based budget.Set up all food par levels for outlets and storeroom.Hired all key personnel for back of house operation.Set up and implemented all back of house SOPs and training calendars for employees.Created menus for all outlets including Charlie Palmer at the Knick, the signature restaurant at the hotel; Jake’s, the grab and go coffee shop on Broadway; and St Cloud the 5,000 sq. foot rooftop bar overlooking Times Square.Oversaw the transition between construction and operations on all back of the house areas and implemented action plans based on hand over dates.Assessed kitchen for NYC Health Inspection and Camis number application.Researched all suppliers with emphasis on sustainable farming.

Anguilla Bwi

As the new Executive Chef of the Viceroy flagship hotel with 166 rooms and 30 villas in the process of an ownership change, I implemented concise, clear improvements to culinary standards and negotiated new purchasing contracts with food suppliers.Food cost was brought down 12 %, and with labor, was now within budget.Results of a company wide Health and Safety Audit document a significant improvement in the Culinary/Stewarding department with scores now consistently in the mid 90s, a large increase from the previous year.The F+B department has had a dramatic swing in profitability, no longer financially viewed as an amenity to the lavish resort, but an asset.Changed all menus, correctly costed with pictures and set recipes; this alone brought consistency and accountability.Average check in restaurants increased, as well as Banquet food revenue.Implemented new villa private dinner menus with personal chefs, as well as intimate private dinners.With a staff of 50 chefs, (70 in season), I re-organized the operation to highlight our team’s strengths, while focusing on creating sustainable long-term profits.Employee satisfaction scores improved by 20% over previous year.Hosted an "Iron Chef Marc Forgione" event over the Christmas period, which was extremely successful. Hosted a "Culinary Concave Weekend" event with Chefs Jonathan Waxman, Kevin Sbraga, and Johnny Iuzzini.The Viceroy Anguilla has been voted "Top 10 Caribbean Resorts" Conde Nast Traveler; Conde Nast Travelers "Gold List"; Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence, Conde Nast Traveler UK Readers Award; with numerous media exposure, including Tatler, Vogue, Elite Traveler, New York Daily News, Travel+Lesiure, and The Sunday Telegraph.

The Cloister, The Beach Club and the Spa at Sea Island, Georgia, Forbes 5 Star 2010/11.Due to the economic downturn, I re-organized the culinary team of 140 to 75 while efficiently and effectively making an aggressively lean payroll budget.With the addition of the new beach club suites and condos, and the inclusion of Exclusive Resorts, we serve 240 rooms, with a labor cost for culinary at 14%.Maintained the Forbes 5 Star status for a third year in a row, without sacrificing food quality in any outlet.Implemented new food products that lowered food cost by a considerable 3 points.Developed new banquet and outlet menus to capitalize on newer trends in customer expectations; achieved major improvements in guest satisfaction and food quality surveys.Reopened the new Beach Club after maximizing and energizing existing space available; added themed events to attract more food and beverage revenue.Oversaw all catered Exclusive Resorts events for very discerning and important clients.Mentored and supported the ACF Golden Isles Chapter Culinary Apprentice Team with great success and pride; organized practice schedules and execution of food presentations. Two years in a row they won State and competed for the Regional; a close second in representing the South Eastern United States.Spearheaded and Oversaw an apprenticeship program with the US Navy Submarine base at Kings Bay whereby the Navy sent their best students to Sea Island to enhance their cooking skills.Hosting Chef for the inaugural PGA’s Fall Series "The McGladrey Classic". Envisioned and streamlined all culinary areas including 3 large mobile kitchens on the course. Developed all menu items for the concession stands, corporate tents, sky boxes, and sponsors tent. Spectators totaled around 25,000 people.

Sea Island Resorts made history by achieving the most Mobil Five Stars ever awarded one destination for The Cloister, The Lodge, The Georgian Room, and the Cloister Spa, for 2009 and 2010.Coming to a company with 78 years of history and community commitment was an exciting opportunity.My experience with opening hotel properties for the Ritz-Carlton helped in assisting the Executive Chef, Todd Rogers, to a successful opening of the $500 million dollar project that included the reopening of the 100-room new Cloister Hotel and the new Beach Club.With eight new outlets to open, I was in charge of all OSE for each outlet.My focus was: implementing new payroll forecasting tools; improving food consistency; clarifying job descriptions; improving employee work habits; teaching employees to realize their accountability in overall operations and goal achievement.I have managed all areas of this culinary department from Banquets, Gardemanger, and restaurants, to off-site catering events at private residence functions.

Golf Resort Naples Florida

Brand new property for the company opened January 2002 with 100% occupancy.My kitchen served the 295-room resort's dining options including: Lemonia, the 98-seat indoor dining room providing breakfast, lunch, and dinner service; room service; three private dining rooms; the Lobby Lounge; and Cigar Bar.Awarded Triple A Four Diamonds after only three months of success and limited staff.As Chef de Cuisine, this opportunity had been challenging and rewarding with positive reviews from respected Florida publications including "Gulf Shore Life" and "Naples Illustrated".My mission was to provide Tuscan cuisine that reflected the atmosphere created by the property, and become a dining destination in Naples.

City+Guilds 706/1 706/2, Culinary

City and Guilds 706/1 City and Guilds 706/2

Education record