I am a dedicated and experienced chef with versatile culinary abilities and exceptional organisational skills. My varied experience from running my own catering business to working as a fine-dining restaurant chef has made me a very organised, adaptable and customer-friendly chef. In the last decade I have specialised in Asian cuisine but I am well versed in European cuisine and using classic European and French culinary techniques. I am also the resident chef-instructor at the cookery school Cocina Rivero and one of the regular guest-instructors at Laboratorio Cooking School.
Professional Experience
September 2015 to December 2020: Head Chef, Cafe Buddha, Prague
I was asked to upgrade the concept, menu and service of an existing cafe/tea room and transform the business into a full service restaurant specialising in modern Southeast Asian cuisine. I am responsible for creating and implementing the seasonal a'la carte menu, the daily lunch and dinner specials and the regular changing tasting menus as well as daily operations and management of the kitchen as well as staff training. Due to my my long-standing reputation and expertise in Asian cuisine I am also expected to be involve in all publicity and marketing required by the owner of the restaurant.
May 2013 to 2015: Project & Events Chef, The Sexy Curry Company TSCCo
Started up The Sexy Curry Company, project based in the well-known James Joyce Irish Pub, from the concept right through to the managing of the day-to-day operations. The Sexy Curry Company aimed to serve the best of world curries made from scratch with all natural ingredients. TSCCo menu was available for eat-in and home delivery as well as for event catering.
March 2012 to February 2013: Head Chef, Le Patio, Prague
Was headhunted to revive and develop the cuisine concept of this long-standing cafe- restaurant from a Czech/French influenced style to a modern Asian/French cafe and restaurant. The restaurant achieved good reviews and critical acclaim from local food critics and diners. Within the first month of joining Le Patio I organised and took the restaurant to the prestigious Prague Food Festival where the restaurant served more than 5000 portions of food over three days and came in second in revenue taken at the Festival. In the following three months I also organised the restaurant's participation in Food Parade and the Karlovy Vary Film Festival. The restaurant was also the venue for the Miss Czech Republic PR events.
Aside from performing all aspects of a Head Chef's role of kitchen management and operations I was also responsible for:
2009 to 2012: Freelance Chef
Worked as private chef, guest chef, chef-instructor as well as co-host of a private supper club.
Was specifically asked to head-up a modern pan-Asian fine dining restaurant located in the beautiful and historic centre of Prague Old Town. The cuisine was modern and creative interpretations of pan-Asian food focusing on the ingredients and authentic flavours of Southeast Asia with some Japanese influences, as well as using European and French culinary techniques. The name Angel was chosen due to recognisability of the trading name that I had been working under in the years of being a feature in the local culinary scene. The restaurant received several favourable recommendations and reviews from international publications such as Frommer, Fodor and Condé Nast Traveller, as well as the local press.
Self-employed as a personal chef and caterer offering bespoke services for private clients for a wide variety of culinary occasions and needs. A regular guest chef in various restaurant venues in Prague.
Opened a casual dining restaurant with the aim to provide delicious food and beverages from carefully selected sources in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere. The restaurant was known for its regularly changing global cuisine menus during a time when Prague was a culinary desert. The Sunday brunches were legendary and popular with locals, expats and visiting film stars and tourists. The restaurant received several good mentions in the press including the New York Times, Timeout Prague and the International Herald Tribune.
In 1997, in search of a more fulfilling vocation I left my IT Manager position in a large consultancy firm in London and arrived in the beautiful city of Prague. A chance opportunity led me to running a small café in the British Council and from then on to pursue a life-long passion of working with food and cooking.
Education Background
1982-1987 Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, Systems & Networks, University of Tennessee, USA
References
Can be provided upon request.
Professional Experience
September 2015 to December 2020: Head Chef, Cafe Buddha, Prague
I was asked to upgrade the concept, menu and service of an existing cafe/tea room and transform the business into a full service restaurant specialising in modern Southeast Asian cuisine. I am responsible for creating and implementing the seasonal a'la carte menu, the daily lunch and dinner specials and the regular changing tasting menus as well as daily operations and management of the kitchen as well as staff training. Due to my my long-standing reputation and expertise in Asian cuisine I am also expected to be involve in all publicity and marketing required by the owner of the restaurant.
May 2013 to 2015: Project & Events Chef, The Sexy Curry Company TSCCo
Started up The Sexy Curry Company, project based in the well-known James Joyce Irish Pub, from the concept right through to the managing of the day-to-day operations. The Sexy Curry Company aimed to serve the best of world curries made from scratch with all natural ingredients. TSCCo menu was available for eat-in and home delivery as well as for event catering.
March 2012 to February 2013: Head Chef, Le Patio, Prague
Was headhunted to revive and develop the cuisine concept of this long-standing cafe- restaurant from a Czech/French influenced style to a modern Asian/French cafe and restaurant. The restaurant achieved good reviews and critical acclaim from local food critics and diners. Within the first month of joining Le Patio I organised and took the restaurant to the prestigious Prague Food Festival where the restaurant served more than 5000 portions of food over three days and came in second in revenue taken at the Festival. In the following three months I also organised the restaurant's participation in Food Parade and the Karlovy Vary Film Festival. The restaurant was also the venue for the Miss Czech Republic PR events.
Aside from performing all aspects of a Head Chef's role of kitchen management and operations I was also responsible for:
- Developing, testing and implementing the 'la carte menu, tasting menu and specials, as well as other bespoke menus for special events and catering.
- Recruitment and training of kitchen staff as well as participating in the recruiting and training of front of house staff.
- PR and marketing of the restaurant especially crucial during the initial concept change phase.
2009 to 2012: Freelance Chef
Worked as private chef, guest chef, chef-instructor as well as co-host of a private supper club.
- Catered to dining for private clients at their homes, creating and cooking fine and casual dining bespoke menus as required by clients according to their cuisine and budget requirements.
- Monthly themed events as guest chef at the James Joyce Irish Pub. Some of the events were Taste of Malaysia, Thai Cuisine, Indian, French, North African and Australian Food & Wine Evening. These events were sold out and generated new clients for this well-known pub and restaurant.
- Regular chef-instructor at the cookery school Cocina Rivero for private clients and corporate team-building events. Some of scheduled classes were French, Modern Vegetarian, Indian Basic & Intermediate, Easy Thai and Thai Curries. Conducted masterclasses in Southeast Asian and North African cuisine. Also, chef-instructor for bespoke private cooking parties.
Was specifically asked to head-up a modern pan-Asian fine dining restaurant located in the beautiful and historic centre of Prague Old Town. The cuisine was modern and creative interpretations of pan-Asian food focusing on the ingredients and authentic flavours of Southeast Asia with some Japanese influences, as well as using European and French culinary techniques. The name Angel was chosen due to recognisability of the trading name that I had been working under in the years of being a feature in the local culinary scene. The restaurant received several favourable recommendations and reviews from international publications such as Frommer, Fodor and Condé Nast Traveller, as well as the local press.
- Given carte blanche to devise, develop and implement the seasonal a 'la carte menu, the weekly changing lunch menu and the daily specials, as well as other bespoke menus for special events and occasions. Worked with the proprietors and wine suppliers for food and beverage matching.
- In charge of overseeing all aspects of food production and kitchen management including service, sourcing produce, stock control, food costs and hygiene standards.
- Sole responsibility for hiring, training and development of all kitchen staff.
- Participated in recruitment and development of front of house staff.
- PR duties as required including personalized customer care, press and media requests for interviews and writing articles to promote the restaurant.
Self-employed as a personal chef and caterer offering bespoke services for private clients for a wide variety of culinary occasions and needs. A regular guest chef in various restaurant venues in Prague.
- Menu design and full-service catering for formal and informal private parties, and buffet catering for special and themed occasions.
- On-site or delivered home-cooked “family” meals and baked goods including fridge or freezer stocking from a wide menu selection, catering to all tastes and dietary requirements.
- Private cooking classes for individuals and groups from the basics of baking to cook-to-impress lessons.
- Gourmet events specializing in global cuisine with a popular following as well as being highly profitable for the venues. Some of the highlights were Taste of Morocco, Modern Irish for St. Patrick's Day, French Indochine Weekend, New Thai Cuisine and Chinese New Year. An adaptable, flexible and cheerful attitude is highly essential when being a guest chef working with unfamiliar commercial kitchens and staff.
- Regular guest writer of food and recipe articles for a food column in the local English-language newspaper
Opened a casual dining restaurant with the aim to provide delicious food and beverages from carefully selected sources in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere. The restaurant was known for its regularly changing global cuisine menus during a time when Prague was a culinary desert. The Sunday brunches were legendary and popular with locals, expats and visiting film stars and tourists. The restaurant received several good mentions in the press including the New York Times, Timeout Prague and the International Herald Tribune.
- Responsible for the business plan, concept and design of the restaurant.
- Organised reconstruction of the premises and installation of a new commercial kitchen.
- Developed and implemented menus.
- Responsible for all aspects of kitchen management from purchasing, stock & costs controls, overseeing service and health & safety controls.
- Hired and trained kitchen staff. Training novice cooks and kitchen helpers was a major role as everything was made from fresh from scratch including all breads, pastries and desserts. Participated in recruiting wait staff.
In 1997, in search of a more fulfilling vocation I left my IT Manager position in a large consultancy firm in London and arrived in the beautiful city of Prague. A chance opportunity led me to running a small café in the British Council and from then on to pursue a life-long passion of working with food and cooking.
Education Background
1982-1987 Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, Systems & Networks, University of Tennessee, USA
References
Can be provided upon request.
