Certified Estate Manager/Chef

Personal Statement:

I have been a private service professional for about a third oof my 30-odd year professional life in hospitality. I have a passion for what I do, and have never considered not being in hospitality. My first memories of service happened in childhood. I remember making dinner with my older brother for our parents when I was only 5 and taking such pride in it. I also recall the magic of my grandfather’s club: napkin folds, polished silver, and professional service. I paid attention to the right way to set a table and found myself frustrated with my little brother, who would put everything in the wrong place.
One of my first cooking jobs was at a rustic Massachusetts arts retreat, where, at 20 years old, I ran the kitchen. I have a lifelong relationship with the arts facility, starting as a child and recently spending six years on the Board of Directors. Working at Pinewoods taught me an acute awareness for the needs of others. My experiences there are the foundation of who I am professionally, and I continue to serve the facility as board member. I have served on the boards of other arts nonprofits, and understand the value of philanthropy, which in itself is a form of service.
I attended the Culinary Institute of America, which led to positions in world-class restaurants and hotels. On my first day on the job at La Grenouille, the last of the old guard “Grande Dames” of New York City, every waiter stopped, introduced himself and shook my hand. I had never experienced such civility in the workplace, and it is a model that I have aspired to ever since. La Grenouille has been justifiably awarded a James Beard Award for service. Fantastic service flowed from how the staff was treated and how the staff treated each other.
After working at The Jefferson, a luxury hotel in downtown Washington, DC, I moved into private service, initially as a chef, but then growing into a Household Manager. The first family I worked for was that of Kenneth Feld, the owner of Feld Entertainment. It was an exciting home to serve, as the family frequently entertained guests, and I wore both hats as chef and formal server. They loved being surprised and were excited by new things, and I grew tremendously.
Eventually, I would go to work for Julian and Elizabeth Eisenstein, both retired professors. I spent four and half years with them. I then attended Starkey International Institute for Household Management to fine-tune my Household Management skills. I returned to the Eisenstein’s fulltime several years later when they were in their 90s. They needed someone they trusted, and this job became the most profound work I have ever had. When they passed away, I continued to work for the estate, managing the complexities of closing the home. There was mutual respect between us, something that is crucial for any service relationship.
Currently, I work as part of a team of chefs serving the needs of a family here in DC area. . While I do not need to leave the position, I would like to get back to household and estate management. My management skills stem from a lifetime of serving others and a belief that bringing happiness to others matters. I am the go-to person within a home, paying attention to every minute detail and exceeding my principals’ expectations. I look forward to taking the depth of my knowledge to my next employers.

Certified Household Manager/Chef

Personal Statement:

I was born in Washington D.C. in a Catholic family with an older brother and sister. My father’s family is Italian and my mother’s is Greek. My early childhood was spent in Maryland where I was surrounded by books, music and the freedom to be a child and explore the outdoors. Most days were spent building forts, exploring the woods and spending hours along the Potomac River. I have been very organized even since childhood and this has followed me into adulthood; I know the value of hard work and I feel my natural ability to organize and my common sense allow me to get the job done. I quickly learned that honesty and integrity combined with my ability and drive to work hard were valuable assets and staying true to these values would be the only way to succeed and have true pride in myself at the end of the day. My standards are high and I want to make sure my Principal’s expectations are met and exceeded. I take great pride in my work. Over the past twenty years, I have been fortunate enough to have been able to travel and do what I love to do, cook and explore. I have honed my skills over the years and have had the fortune to be able to work in fine dining restaurants, busy hotels and most importantly, for private families. Working in the private service field started with parties and catering events and the next natural step was to work in private homes and that is where my service heart has been ever since. I have been able to take care of the daily needs of my Principals, their family and guests. I have the natural ability to see what needs to be done, anticipate needs and fill them. My top three service standards are Culinary, Administrative and Housekeeping. Culinary: I have enjoyed cooking and entertaining from an early age. I started buying cookbooks in my early twenties, and then decided to attend Scottsdale Culinary Institute. After culinary school, the fire was lit and I was then able to learn from many creative chefs along the way. My experience after being formally trained turned into a quest for knowledge that led me to explore different avenues in the culinary world. I worked in many facets of the restaurant service industry including three catering companies, large hotels, many intimate restaurants, giving cooking demos at a resort, creating countless menus for service in many restaurants, working as a chef in pastry and seven years as a personal chef for a lovely family. I am able to utilize my skills and experience in the culinary field by being able to identify the needs of my Principals and their guests and surpass their expectations. I am able to cook all kinds of meals, orchestrate dinner parties and create memorable desserts and pastries. I am also able to organize the pantry/food storage areas to make sure healthy food is always available and at its best. I am able to set up for smaller parties, from flowers to music and everything in-between.

Certified Household Manager

I was born as an only child in Richmond, Va. I was raised by hardworking parents who
instilled a hard work ethic from an early age. When I was 13 years old my father passed away
from colon cancer. At the age of 15 years old I started working in restaurants to help my
mother pay bills. Though some tough experiences early in my life, I am very grateful as it has
helped me understand the importance of work ethic.
My father worked and retired from DuPont & Company as a factory worker before he passed
away and my mother worked at Dominion Virginia Power as customer service representative.
Both worked very hard as I was growing up and I learned from a young age how working hard
and doing things the right way could and will lead to a successful life. When I turned 17 my
Uncle moved in with my mom and I after he had served in the Navy for 15 years. Through
talking with him and hearing his stories, I knew the Navy was the place for me to not only get
away from my hometown, but to serve my country and make a career.
It has been my honor to serve my country over the last 18 years in the United States Navy as
a Senior Chief Petty Officer. I currently serve as an Enlisted Aide to the Deputy Commander,
United States Space Command. I have learned an incredible amount about leadership and
service while serving in the Navy and while living the Navy core values of Honor, Courage,
and Commitment. This career has afforded me the opportunity to learn and enhance my
attention to detail and get it done attitude. I am very discreet and loyal. I am an integral
member of multi-disciplinary teams, successfully navigating partnerships. My time as an
Enlisted Aide has given me the opportunity to take care of multiple households, serving over
11 General/Flag Officers and their families while holding a Top Secret security clearance with
Sensitive Compartmented Information Access..
I am self-confident and trusting. My military service taught me to be well-groomed and to
have a professional appearance. I have leadership with a sense of purpose and I am able to
efficiently communicate any tasks at hand, having a great ability to communicate and master
the moment. My friends and family love my devotion and commitment while being light
hearted and funny. Everyone knows if they are in need they can always count on me.
My personal service goal is to ensure high-quality service is provided to all. I always feel my
job should be accomplished to the highest of standards. I am proud to be a graduate of the
Starkey International Institute for Household Management having earned the title of Certified
Household Manager in accordance with a curriculum approved by the State of Colorado. I
now understand what it means to be able to not only “Identify a Service Standard, or Vision,
but to use that information in the creation of a Customized Service Delivery Plan. Perhaps
this Customized Service Delivery System could serve your family.

My top four Service Standards are Administrative, Housekeeping, Culinary, Entertaining

Administrative:
● Certified Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt, Green Belt and Black Belt
● Agile Scrum Master
● Agile Project Manager
● Certified Technology Manager
● Intermediate Excel Professional
● Familiar with the use of PC operating systems – Microsoft Systems
● Experience managing and leading staff
● Manages schedules, calendars, household budgets, and vendors
● Creating menus, tasks sheets, and end-of-week reports through word and excel.
● Create and implement a service management plan and housekeeping plan
● Trained in the patented Starkey Service Management model

Housekeeping:
● Capable of zoning a home for cleaning and creating task sheets
● Able to clean according to zoning and tasks sheets
● Cares for high-end antique furniture, and oriental style rugs
● Keeping high standards of home cleanliness; ensuring the home is always ready for guests
● Knowledgeable on the use of specific cleaning and laundry products and their appropriate use

Culinary:
● Trained culinary chef – Certified American Culinary Federation, C.E.C (Certified Executive
Chef) and Culinary Institute of America, PROCHEF 1
● Former Contracted Chef at the White House and British Embassy
● Awarded multiple Gold, Silver and Bronze medals in American Culinary Federation
Competitions
● Comfortable creating simple meals with everyday pantry items
● Familiar with vegetarian, vegan, diabetic, and low-carb diets
● Enjoys cooking any ethnic cuisines
● Capable of pairing food and wine

Entertaining:
● Trained in American plated, French, Russian, and English styles of service
● Cares for crystal, china, and silver
● Coordinates and executes formal and informal entertaining events
● High standards for entertaining; executed 100’s of formal events for distinguished civilian
government leaders, Admirals, and Generals.
● Working with many styles or themes; being able to take the principal’s ideas and turn them into
the perfect event.
● Creates a desired ambiance in the home, based on a Principal’s standards
Clothing & Valet:
● Launders and irons clothing and uniforms
● Specialty fabric, shoe, and leather care
● Capable of sewing buttons
● Able to rotate clothing for seasonal storage
● Organizes closets and packs for business and leisure travel

Maintenance:
● Basic preventative maintenance of HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and security/smart home
systems (i.e. changing filters, bulbs, etc.)
Property & Grounds:
● Maintenance of landscape – Able to manicure lawn, edging, and trim bushes
● Auto/Schedule or turn on outdoor irrigation, entry controls, lighting, sound systems
Travel & Transportation:
● Experience serving on military-style private planes, etc.
● Experienced driver; Driving official military vehicles to get my principal to appointments on
time and safely.
● Coordinates travel, international and domestic, including flights, hotels, ground transportation,
restaurant reservations, etc.
● Coordinates vehicle maintenance schedule, insurance, and registration schedules. Keeping
detailed records and being able to track on the calendar.

Safety and Protection:
● Established top-secret government security clearance. (TS/SCI)
● Walks property daily
● Personal protection training and abilities
● Concealed Carry Permit
● Relevant Military training

Child Care:
● Experience caring for children, new-born through teenager
● Coached multiple age groups for youth soccer teams
● Natural affinity and life experience with children

Pet Care:
● Knowledge and experience of regular health maintenance for dogs

Guest Care:
● Guest management for events – creating flavour profiles with likes/dislikes and allergies

Certified Household Manager

Personal Statement:

I was born in Amman, Jordan, and grew up in a large family. My parents worked very hard to raise us through hard times, but their patience, hard work, and discipline allowed them to succeed in their family life. They taught us all that if we want something in life, we would have to work hard to earn it. So, I remember most of my childhood was going to our farm and working on it. When I turned 13, my dad started to talk to me as a mature young man by giving me the opportunity to make decisions, lessons from his experiences in life, how to treat and deal with adults, and what to expect out of life when I grew up. As we lived under our parents’ roof, we were all taught to be respectful to others, honest, straightforward, and loyal. I must say they invested a lot of time teaching manners and ethics. Our house was always full of relatives and guests who came to visit us. So we had to socialize and entertain our guests and serve food and beverages to them. They also taught us how to be hospitable warm and welcoming to our guests and the people who knocked at our door. All this hard work paid off when all my parents started to see their children graduating from colleges and now with great jobs and all married to beautiful families

 As for my role, I went to a military high school where I learned more discipline and team loyalty as a young man. Upon graduation from high school, my parents helped me to get a college scholarship to either become an airline pilot or go to the United States and attend college. I chose to come to the US at the age of seventeen. I attended the Language Institute at Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C to improve my English. After a year, I was accepted to Daytona Beach Community College where I finished my two-year diploma in Hospitality. I decided to continue my education and was accepted to Florida International University which is known for its hospitality program being third in the world. Two years later, I received my BA in Hospitality Management. While in college, I got my first job working as a dishwasher to earn extra money. I also started to build up the technical skills and education needed to be successful in the hospitality field. I was well-recognized by the upper management at Marriott for my hard work which put me on their management career path program. They had me work just everywhere in the hotel which was a great experience to this day. I have worked with them for about 7 years and after that, I was recruited to open a multi-sport food and beverage club called Dune Club Amman-Jordan. This was my first large opening experience where I set up the food and beverage standards manual and policies for nine F&B outlets. After a successful opening of Dunes Club, and the opportunity of Planet Hollywood needing a GM and Area Assists Leader. We opened Planet Hollywood Amman, Sharm Al Sheik, Egypt, and Beirut, Lebanon. In 2001, I decided to go back into hotel operations, so I accepted a position as the Food and Beverage Outlets Manager at the Fairmont Southampton, Bermuda Island. A couple of years later, I was called by the Fairmont Human Resource Regional VP-Middle East and Africa offering me to re-join the Fairmont Hotels and Resort in the capacity of Food and

Beverage Director for the Fairmont Tower Cairo-Egypt. After five years of Fairmont experiences. I decided to take my knowledge and experience to a different level of service and that’s “Royal Service”. That’s where my true     Roya service began as I started my role as Deputy Director of Hospitality for King Abdullah of Jordan and the royal palaces and continued service for 10 exciting and tough years. I also must say during those years I was blessed with learning every day and developing operations when it comes to royals, head of state visits, protocols, airport welcome, accommodations, entertainment, reception, dinner arrangement, and many private programs. I describe myself as very hands-on employee.  My style as a leader is to work hard and smart, utilize the people whom I manage well, and look for ways to improve the daily tasks and project implementation. My people skills include being fair to all employees, but disciplined. I am a self-driven individual and have the capability to think outside of the box and master the moment. I have been described as formal yet friendly, professional, polished, detail-oriented, service-centered, international in style, and humble. Moving to my last employment, I was recruited to work as GM of Royal Service, for the Private Royal Affairs of Saudi Arabia. During the past three years, I was able to work on so many improvement projects but the main big one was to a replacement, and upgrade the food and beverage operation for more than 17 palaces across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. These projects wear replace most of the China, service equipment, uniform, table linen, buffet equipment, staff training, and uniform, and recruit additional 175 staff members. The results were amazing and satisfactory to the principal.

My top standards are Administrative, Housekeeping, Culinary, and Entertainment.

Administrative: My passion for administration came when I was a young kid; I always felt like taking the lead for a group of kids at the time. Nowadays, my strength has increased because of my work experiences where I learned how to communicate, supervise and delegate duties, conduct professional meetings, maintain daily tracking of tasks, negotiate with vendors, hire and counsel staff, keep clear records of all expenses and approve invoices, handle petty cash, and set up standards and policies for staff to follow. I have the ability to plan ahead for future events and projects, keep good records of inventories and purchases and handle multi-tasks. All these can be easily transferred to household management allowing Principals to be more comfortable and not have to deal with operational daily tasks. 

Personal Statement Continued:

Housekeeping: I always like to live and be around places where everything is just beautiful and clean. My five-star hotel experience has increased my knowledge in the housekeeping area where I learned how to be hands-on with the housekeeping team, coordinate the daily, weekly, and details cleaning tasks, how set high standards expected from the housekeepers, strong knowledge of what areas need to be cleaned on a rotation base like zoning the home. I have a deep appreciation for collectibles, fine china, and crystal.  I am experienced in spot-checking assigned tasks and cleaning programs and have knowledge of how to handle housekeeping stock items and inventories.  

Culinary: I have always enjoyed being in the kitchen since I was a little child when I used to sit next to my mother and watch her cook for us as a family. This passion continues to this day. I received culinary training at university and the places I worked such as Capital Grille, La Roaches School, Marriott, and Fairmont hotels. I have been in the food and beverage industry for 25 years and still enjoy it. I have planned and managed events from 20-to 5000 guests. I have planned events from royal weddings, large banquet events, and state dinners for heads of state. I am knowledgeable about food quality purchases and have the ability to produce high-end menus and recipes for any event theme. I am well-trained in Food Safety and Hygiene (HACCP) and can work with Principal’s flavor profiles to constantly exceed their expectations. I am also very knowledgeable about international cuisines.  

Entertaining: I came from a family where we had guests in our home at all times. I consider myself an outgoing person who always enjoys meeting new people from all over the world; I also majored in Hospitality Management at Florida International University- Miami, Florida. At the university, I learned all the technical skills needed to be successful in planning events. Forty percent of my current work is planning and entertainment events for the royal family from heads of state visits, entertaining his majesty’s private guests at the guest palace, coordinating large private events with party planners, equipment rental, caterers, floral designers, entertainers, training staff of the different serving styles

(French, Silver, Russian) and the ability to order, organize, and inventory housewares, fine China, silver flatware, service ware, crystal stemware & table linens.