Schenectady, New York, United States
Bootstrapped part of the kitchen menu for opening preparations.
I was the one tossing Pizza dough to entertain the kids and still getting perfect circles. I met the strictest of corporate standards and integrated various improvements that increased efficiency, cleanliness, and food quality. During my ten months at Bertuccis I first circulated through all four stations: Pizza, Pasta, Grill, and Salad. I trained both new and old cooks on Italian cooing standards and on ways to perfect presentation and quality in many areas that I felt the corporate atmosphere had passed over. I also supported management and attempted to enforce strict adherence to corporate guidelines and food standards. I learned much about corporate cooking and the limitations and benefits of standardization in the chain restaurant business.
I helped with bootstrapping this establishment. I added much to the ambiance of the establishment, being the only member of the opening team with any German background; I infused this Bar/Biergarten with the German authenticity which it maintains to this day. I designed the menu and all the menu items still used on their menu-board. I managed all ordering aside from their beer and wine, and I was responsible for the management and structuring of back of house operations. The kitchen saw profits on initial investment and maintained a food cost of 20%.
Filled in for all aspects of a large company. I Interned at Peikko Deutschland GmbH in Waldeck, Hessen, Germany. I began work in the mail room and quickly moved up through vasrious departments of the company. After putting in a month of filing, moving things for departments, and ordering office supplies and lunch for the entire staff, I moved on to more important tasks that they felt i could be trusted with. I worked translating important engineering documents for various sister companies. I learned the basics of engineering documents and the components of project folders for large scale projects scaling as large as reactor facilities we were delivering to. I was co-responsible for all orders coming in and out of Slovakia and maintained Logistics for transport of goods between the two countries. I also worked with the rest of the sales team taking orders and making sales all around the various German cities and districts. I worked for a short time with accounting, backlogging book-keeping and filtering errors necessary before tax season. I sat in on finance meetings and met with the owner on multiple occasions to discuss operations management and the oversight of the company. Nights and weekends I volunteered working in the factory meeting with the blue collar workers, cutting steel, manufacturing steel support beams and steel support columns for concrete construction. I also worked first hand with the annual inventory committee in all aspects. I was hand counting steel products in the warehouse, updating warehouse records, and then working in the office compiling the necessary government paperwork accounting for all inventory as is necessary by German code and for accounting purposes. This Nine month internship prepared me for large scale operations and gave me an eagle eye view on the intricacies of operations management.