My Background

My first culinary job was in a privately owned restaurant in Shelton CT, where I started as dishwasher and moved into a prep cook position. That was in 1982. Since then I have worked as a manager, waiter; line cook; broil cook; soup and sauce cook; fry cook; sauté cook; expediter, chef, and more.

I have expertise in Italian coffee. In addition to managing Starbucks retail locations; I have also sold Italian espresso machines and coffees. I have trained many people over the years in the art of Italian coffee beverages.

A lifelong desire coupled with a convergence of circumstances allowed me to attend Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, in Atlanta GA. My culinary externship brought me to San Domenico, a fine dining Italian restaurant on Central Park South, in Manhattan. After graduating Summa Cum Laude from Le Cordon Bleu, I worked briefly in La Taberna Vulgi, a restaurant in Santo Stefano del Sole, Italy. This small town is located about forty kilometers inland from Naples. After my brief stint at La Taberna Vulgi, I traveled around Italy for a while. Having previously spent time in Japan, Thailand, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, France, Ireland, and the UK for brief periods as a tourist, I found my time in Italy as a worker and guest to be very rewarding. I also had the opportunity to hone my Italian language skills. I have successfully completed the certification courses for wine fundamentals 1 & 2 from the International Sommelier Guild. I am certified in both servsafe and nutrition.

Upon returning from Europe, I found myself on Fripp Island, South Carolina as the interim food and beverage manager. A stint as a wine sales representative for an Italian wine importer / distributor followed.

I am currently the Southeast Regional Sales Manager for Alto Shaam, a premier American manufacturer of commercial culinary equipment based near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This followed a very successful couple of years in a similar position of Regional Sales Manager and Chef for a multi-national manufacturer of combi-ovens based in Germany, where I consistently exceeded my sales goals and grew the territory by one million dollars.