Restaurant-Hospitality

Paul Bartolotta
Executive Chef
BARTOLOTTA Ristorante di Mare

Biography:
Paul Bartolotta is one of a small number of chefs recognized as an “authentic ambassador” of Italian cuisine outside of Italy.  In 1997 he earned the prestigious Insegna del Ristorante Italiano del Mondo, an award that was personally presented to him by Italian President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro. Bartolotta has developed his culinary style in some of Europe’s most distinguished restaurants and brings his simple yet refined approach to Italian cuisine to Wynn Las Vegas at BARTOLOTTA, Ristorante di Mare. It is here that Bartolotta has realized his goal to redefine Italian cuisine and to set a new standard for Italian dining through his philosophy of combining a few essential ingredients in perfect balance—courageously simple but with tremendous impact. more

Video clips:
Paul Bartolotta as guest judge on Bravo TV’s Top Chef
Paul Bartolotta cooks with Jimmy Kimmel & Dax Shepard (part 1)
Paul Bartolotta cooks with Jimmy Kimmel & Dax Shepard (part 2)

Rick Bayless
Owner/Executive Chef
Frontera Grill, Topolobampo, XOCO

Biography:
Most people know him from winning the title of Bravo’s Top Chef Master beating out the French and Italian with his authentic Mexican cuisine.  His highly rated on-going Public Television Series, Mexico—One Plate at a Time can be found on television sets coast to coast, and his award-winning, six cookbooks.  Rick’s second book, Mexican Kitchen, won the Julia Childs IACP cookbook of the year award in 1996, and his fourth book, Mexico—One Plate at a Time won James Beard Best International Cookbook of the Year award in 2001. more

Video clips:
Rick Bayless winning Bravo TV’s Top Chef Masters
Rick Bayless on WGN discusses his XOCO concept
Rick Bayless on his TV show, Mexico-One Plate at a Time, grills Carne Asada Brava

Lane Cardwell
President & CEO
Boston Market Corporation

Biography:
Lane is a 31-year veteran of the restaurant industry, and is the President and CEO of Boston Market, the 500+ unit originator and leader of the home meal replacement segment.  Prior to his appointment to Boston Market he served on several restaurant and restaurant technology corporate boards, including P.F. Chang’s China Bistro and Famous Dave’s, where he was acting-CEO during early 2008.  He eats in 600 restaurants per year. more

Phil Costner
COO
La Madeleine Country French Cafe

Biography:
Phil has 30 plus years of experience in the Food & Beverage Industry and is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. In his current role as Chief Operating Officer for Dallas based la Madeleine Country French Café, he is responsible for Operations, Marketing, Menu/Product Development, Purchasing, Communications, Facility Development/Design and Training. more

Robert DelGrande
Executive Chef/Partner, RDG & Bar Annie
President & COO, Schiller Del Grande Restaurant Group

Biography:
For the better part of three decades, Robert Del Grande served as executive chef and partner of Houston’s nationally acclaimed Cafe Annie, widely regarded as the city’s premier fine dining establishment. In July 2009, Del Grande closed Cafe Annie and opened his new signature restaurant, RDG + Bar Annie.  Self taught in his profession, Del Grande received his B.S. in Chemistry and Biology from the University of San Francisco and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of California at Riverside. more

Jonathan Eismann
Owner/Executive Chef
Pacific Time

Video clip:
Jonathan Eismann’s Pacific Time

Biography:
When Jonathan Eismann was voted most likely to succeed upon his graduation from the Culinary Institute of America he knew he had the cooking chops, attitude, and spirit that would take him places in the culinary world. Over the years he has received countless accolades for his skills and entrepreneurial spirit, but Jonathan continues to see himself as a young prep cook in the kitchen pushing to be the best. more

Jose Garces
Owner/Executive Chef
Garces Restaurant Group

Biography:
Since opening his first restaurant, Amada, in 2005, Chef Jose Garces has emerged as an enormous talent and one of the nation’s most gifted young chefs. He has opened five additional restaurants, in both Philadelphia and Chicago; authored a stunning cookbook, Latin Evolution (Lake Isle Press, September 2008); won the James Beard Foundation’s prestigious “Best Chef Mid-Atlantic” award 2009; appeared on Food Network’s Iron Chef America; and won the most recent season of The Next Iron Chef, making him one of just six chefs in the country to hold the prestigious title of Iron Chef America. more

Video clips:
Jose Garces winning the Food Network’s Next Iron Chef
Jose Garces Bio

Patrick Henry
President & CEO
Patrick Henry Creative Promotions

Biography:
Patrick Henry is President & CEO of Patrick Henry Creative Promotions, Inc.; a full-service food and beverage agency based in Houston, Texas that began in 1987. The company specializes in extensive beverage training, drink development, menu design and creating revenue generating promotional programming for national hotels and restaurants. more 

Paul Kahan
Executive Chef / Partner
Blackbird, avec, The Publican

Biography:
Executive Chef Paul Kahan has become the nationally recognizable face for a new guard of Chicago chefs. With an ever-growing list of international accolades for Blackbird, The Publican and avec, Kahan was honored by his selection as a James Beard nominee for Outstanding Chef in 2007 and again in 2009. He also earned the title of James Beard Best Chef of the Midwest in 2004. more

Video clips:
Paul Kahan’s award-winning Avec restaurant
Paul Kahan’s award-winning Blackbird restaurant

Biography:
Eugene Kornota is a principal of the Neighborhood Development Corporation, founded in 1988, and the first to introduce the boutique hotel concept to Chicago’s lakeshore neighborhoods with its collection of wildly popular Neighborhood Inns of Chicago. Neighborhood Development Corporation, led by Eugene Kornota, Bonnie Roberts-Kornota and Anthony Klok, established a name for itself renovating and developing architecturally significant buildings and creating multiple Chicago hotels and residential properties. This includes the dana hotel and spa, in partnership with Gold Coast Hotels, Inc., a boutique hotel which opened in Chicago’s River North neighborhood in June 2008. The hotel features aja, led by Chef Joshua Linton featuring modern, seasonal Asian cooking, and Vertigo Sky Lounge, the hotel’s posh rooftop lounge. The dana hotel and spa has amassed many accolades, including both the hotel and Vertigo Sky Lounge being named to Condé Nast Traveler’s 2009 Hot List. more

Kerry Kramp
President & CEO
Sizzler USA, Inc.

Biography:
Kerry Kramp was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Sizzler USA, Inc. in June 2008 after serving on the Sizzler USA Board. Sizzler has created its own unique niche where it operates in a fast casual restaurant format while maintaining a “full service” casual dining feel. Sizzler USA currently operates 33 company owned restaurants and franchises 167 restaurants domestically. Sizzler owns or franchises close to 300 restaurants worldwide. more

Fred LeFranc
Founding Partner, CEO & President
Results thru Strategy Inc.

Biography:
Fred LeFranc is president of Results thru Strategy, Inc., a consultancy that focuses on helping companies and C-level executives identify and implement strategies that deliver long term sustainable success for their companies. As a change agent, LeFranc aids executives in modifying their behavior to hone in on their natural strengths. This allows them to focus their efforts and achieve extraordinary results. more

Lee Maen
Partner
Innovative Dining Group

Biography:
Lee Maen, a founding member of Innovative Dining Group, has been instrumental in building and expanding the company. Entrepreneurism is also in his blood. “My dad was a serial entrepreneur,” he explains. “He was successful at developing things from scratch, so I learned by example early on you could do it yourself.”

A native of Los Angeles, Maen earned his undergraduate degree in economics from UCLA, and, after graduation, entered the real estate market as a commercial real estate broker. During that time, he entered the MBA program at UCLA’s Anderson School, and, while still a student, founded the Gem Bar & Lounge, one of Hollywood’s most popular nightspots—a career move that was jump started by a seemingly innocuous event. “I decided to throw a party at a nightclub for the thrill of it,” Maen recalls,” and it turned into a career.” Maen was intimately involved in all aspects of the Gem, including design and development, financing, marketing and promotions, and other day-to-day operational responsibilities. more

Video clip:
Lee Maen discusses Delphine Brasserie, W Hollywood's signature restaurant

Rich Melman
Founder & Chairman
Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises

Biography:
Richard Melman is Founder and Chairman of Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, a Chicago-based corporation that owns 80 restaurants nationwide.  more

Video clip:
Leadership Lessons from Richard Melman

Drew Nieporent
Owner
Myriad Restaurant Group

Biography:
Drew Nieporent, one of America's most respected and celebrated restaurateurs, is the founder and inspiration behind the Myriad Restaurant Group, which operates Tribeca Grill, Nobu New York City, Nobu London, Nobu Next Door, Nobu Fifty Seven, Centrico, Corton and Crush Wine & Spirits. Over the last 20 years, Myriad has consulted on restaurants in Seattle, Louisville, Providence, Boca Raton, Moscow and now Citi Field, home of the New York Mets in Flushing, New York. more

Video clips:
Drew Nieporent on CNBC
Drew Nieporent’s secrets of the trade

Jeff Sinelli
Founder, CEO & CVO (Chief Vibe Officer)
Which Wich Inc.

Biography:
Jeff Sinelli sums up his unique way of living life with the Wayne Gretsky quote, “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it’s been.” more

Darren Tristano
Executive Vice President
Technomic

Biography:
An Executive Vice President at Technomic, Darren has led the development and growth of Technomic’s Information Services division since 1993, while also serving in a strategic capacity directing multiple aspects of Technomic’s ongoing operations.

Darren is responsible for industry tracking services and reports that foodservice executives rely on for market intelligence. These “industry standard” sources include the Digital Resource Library, MenuMonitor, and PriceMonitor services. more

Michael Whiteman
President
Joseph Baum & Michael Whiteman Co.

Biography:
Michael Whiteman, president of the renowned Joseph Baum & Michael Whiteman Company, is considered this country's leading food and restaurant consultant.

With his partners of 37 years, he has forged a "world view" of an ever-changing industry. He is respected for a keen sense of architecture, design, social dynamics and consumer taste trends.

His company's best known projects include master planning and operation of the magical Rainbow Room atop Rockefeller Centers and all the restaurants in the New York World Trade Center. He also initiated the renewed Windows on the World project as served as design management and operations consultant there until 11 September 2001. more