I am a business-minded restaurateur and food innovation expert with a passion for creating and executing culinary concepts that bridge my fine-dining training with my business and operator expertise. My focus is on helping founders and their teams transform food concepts into scalable businesses.Over the past two decades, I have played a pioneering role in rapidly growing contemporary, movement-making restaurant businesses. I am fortunate to have led numerous progressive food innovations and operations, including Dig, by Chloe, and Hu Kitchen.I often say, “butter from lettuce sugar from peas.” I believe we don’t need to compromise flavor for quality. Fine-Dining Trained Chef: I trained and honed my knife skills with the legendary Chef of the Century, Joel Robuchon, and Jean-Georges. I also worked as Chef de Cuisine at Bouley Bakery.Food Network Showcases: I’ve done a variety of FoodNetwork appearances, most notably beating Bobby Flay and winning Iron Chef of America season 7.NYC Restaurant Owner and Operator: Owned and operated multiple NYC restaurants, Brats (Sausage), Fresh (Seafood), Little Cheese Pub, and contemporary, neighborhood favorite, Klee Brasserie.The following are some of the areas of expertise🔥Culinary Development + Operations-Culinary Innovation -Culinary Concept Development-Hospitality Excellence -Strategic Leadership R&D-Team building and Management-Systems Implementation-Revenue and Growth Models-New Restaurant Openings-Multi-Unit Store Operations-Operational Strategy & Excellence-Operational Efficiency Improvement-Restaurant Management-Business Process Improvement-Performance Improvement Food Service Development-Purchasing & Procurement Processes-Supply Chain Management-Recipe R&D and Menu Development-Food Costing -Nutrient Calculation & Evaluation Labor-Recruitment & Training-Labor ManagementFinancials -Revenue & Profit Growth-Financial ManagementPR & Live Speaking Events -Branding and Experience Strategy-Spokesperson Real Estate-Retail Site Selection-Lease Negotiation