The Extra Mile - Spring 2009 - SNHU Academic Archive - Southern ...

London, then back to Boston, all the whileworking for prestigious chefs at top-ratedrestaurants, such as chef/owner Traci DesJardins at Jardinier in San Francisco, chefSylvan Portay at The Dining Room/RitzCarlton in San Francisco, chef/ownerMichael Schlow at Radius in Boston andat Orrery in London.Kovel now works for the Four SeasonsHotel in Boston as the chef de cuisineat Aujourd’hui, the hotel’s fine-diningrestaurant. He is amazed every day thathe gets to cook great food and work withtrue professionals. He also enjoys teachingnew chefs and watching them moveon to do great things with their careers.Kovel’s advice: “Knowledge is power;there are no shortcuts to experience.Take your time and learn slowly. Workand surround yourself with positivepeople that will help you grow.”David Warshaw ’07NANA ServicesHospitality administrationDavid Warshaw ’07worked severaljobs after graduation,but was notsatisfied with hisexperiences.While job searching, he came acrossan ad promising “the experience of alifetime: Come work in Antarctica as asous chef.” A month after sending hisresume on a whim, he was on his wayto the South Pole to work for NANAServices, which is contracted by thefederal government to oversee quality-of-life issues for employees stationed inthe South Pole.“I stepped off the plane to realize what a(minus) 60-degree wind chill feels like,”he said. “My executive chef greeted mewith a ‘Welcome to the South Pole!’ Ihave had plenty of great moments workinghere, but stepping off that plane wasliterally breathtaking.”Warshaw is a morning sous chef whosupervises breakfast and lunch servicessix days a week. He loves the people heworks with and the people he serves, andhas learned three important lessons whilesurviving in the one of the harshest environmentsin the world: work hard, haverespect for yourself and never be tooscared or too shy to take responsibility.His advice for job-seekers: “Never thinkthat you have to find a shirt-and-tie jobright out of the starting gate. As I havefound, there are great experiences outthere, if you want them, with great pay,both monetarily and experientially.”Anthony Mazzotta ’00SassoHospitality administrationAnthony Mazzotta’00 can’t imaginebeing anythingother than a chef.From his collegeexternship workingat the upscale American eatery EVOOin Somerville, Mass., to working at theworld-renowned French Laundry inNapa Valley, Calif., Mazzotta has madeit a point to learn from some of the bestin the industry.While working in pastry for FrenchLaundry owner/chef Thomas Keller,he worked more than 70 hours a weekfor little pay. The real payoff was thateveryone who worked at French Laundrywas a superstar and he made great contacts,he said. After two years at FrenchLaundry, he helped Keller open Per Sein Manhattan, where he worked as a chefde partie, or station chef. Eventually hewas ready to be a little closer to home,and helped Chef Ken Oringer open Torroin Boston.Today Mazzotta is the executive chef atSasso in Boston, where he has been ableto hire the staff that he wants and designa dramatic menu, reinventing Italiandishes from his childhood.Mazzotta’s advice for aspiring chefs:“Work at the best restaurants that youcan regardless of the pay. You will keeplearning and the contacts you receivefrom those restaurants will stay withyou throughout your career.”Where areyou now?Let us know:E-mail updates andClass Notes to alumni@snhu.eduor visit www.snhu.edu/alumni toupdate your profile.The Extra Mile | Spring 2009 | 33