Camille Fontaine

Lead a 22-person kitchen brigade across dinner service, tasting menus, and private dining for a 96-seat Creole-French restaurant averaging $4.2M annual F&B. Redesigned prep and station maps that cut ticket times 18% during peak weekends while holding 96%+ dish consistency scores on mystery-diner reviews. Built a seasonal Gulf seafood program with three local fisheries; reduced protein waste 22% and lifted seafood contribution margin 3.4 pts YoY. Hire, schedule, and coach line cooks and demi-chefs; promoted 5 internal candidates to lead cook in 24 months with documented station SOPs. Partner with pastry and front-of-house on 40–60 cover private events monthly; maintain allergen protocols with zero critical health-department findings in last 3 inspections.

Ran AM/PM production for a 180-room hotel restaurant and banquet kitchen serving 250–400 covers on event nights. Standardized recipes for 85+ menu and banquet items; lowered food cost from 33.1% to 29.6% without guest-satisfaction dips. Led cross-training so every hot-line cook could cover two stations; reduced overtime 14% during festival season. Managed inventory, ordering, and vendor relationships for produce, dairy, and dry goods ($1.1M annual spend).

Owned sauté and fish stations for a busy Uptown bistro; plated 80–120 covers per service with strict timing for tableside finishes. Developed three signature Gulf fish preparations that stayed on the menu for 2+ years and became top sellers. Mentored two externs per semester from local culinary programs; wrote station checklists still used by the kitchen.

Supported off-site weddings and corporate events (50–400 guests): cold prep, plating lines, and transport logistics. Improved cold-station mise labeling that cut wrong-allergen near-misses during large plated dinners.