Va.-based Guest Services, Inc., to become
executive chef of Bear Mountain Inn. It’s
his first position at this level, and the logical
next step in his career. “I was looking for my
own kitchen, and I was ready to have a place
where I could put my own twist on things
and become completely well-rounded in all
aspects of being a chef,” he says.
Currently undergoing extensive
renovation to bring it back to its original
1915 splendor, the inn offers a recently
renovated 24-room lodge, four stone
cottages and more than 5,000 square
feet of meeting and event space. At the
completion of renovations, the inn will sport
15 luxury suites, an additional 15,000
square feet of event space and new F&B
outlets including the elegant Vintage
Restaurant and the fast-casual Café 1915.
Matarazzo will oversee those menus as
well as the banquets, brunches and various
concessions he’s in charge of now.
Among everything Matarazzo has learned
on his journey so far, one skill stands out.
He’s learned to walk. It will serve him
well when he competes in the upcoming
semifinals for the chance to represent the
Americas at the Global Chefs Challenge
during the World Association of Chefs
Societies Congress in South Korea in 2012.
“I don’t mean that the way it sounds, like,
‘Walk before you run,’” Matarazzo says. “I
literally learned to walk. The main kitchen
at The Greenbrier has got to be about
12,000 square feet. It’s enormous. You
can’t move slowly at a place like that and
succeed. The biggest problem I have when
THANK YOU! The 2010 U.S.A.'s Chef of the Year™ award is sponsored by Unilever Foodsolutions.
hiring people is when they have the sense
of urgency of a toaster. They don’t move.
“Learning how to work best with my ethic
showed in the Chef of the Year competition
and every other competition I enter. When
they say I can start cooking, I move like I’m
already 10 minutes late. If you start that way,
you’ll always be on time.”
Brent Frei is principal of Frei & Associates,
Schaumburg, Ill., and a member of ACF
Windy City Professional Culinarians, Inc.
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