Director Food and Beverage
Warwick INternational Hotels
Total years of experience :15 years, 5 Months
Highlights:
Played an essential role in the opening of several hotel properties to expand the international hotel chain. Established the restaurants/outlets/food services within these hotels, recruited staff, planned interiors and set-up all functions to make the restaurants operational.
Warwick Dubai Hotel, Dubai, UAE: The hotel comprised 375 rooms, 6 outlets (Steak House, All Day Dining, Fusion Asian, Roof Top, Sports Bar, Lobby Café, Room Service) and 6 meeting rooms.
Warwick Doha Hotel, Doha, Qatar: The hotel comprised 164 rooms, 4 outlets (Italian Fine Dining Restaurant, All Day Dining, Moon Deck terrace, Lobby Café, Room Service) and a banquet facility.
Warwick Babylon Hotel, Baghdad, Iraq: The hotel comprised 300 rooms, 8 outlets (Fusion Asian, Lebanese Traditional, All Day Dining Buffet, Steak House, Pool Terrace, Arabic Café, Lobby Lounge and Room Service), a banquet facility that could house 600 guests, and 3 meeting rooms.
Warwick Pangea Beach Resort and Spa, Lebanon, Jiyeh Coast: The hotel consisted of 74 rooms, with 22 Bungalows, 4 Food and Beverage Outlets (Japanese, All Day Dining, Seafood and Lebanese, Terrace Pool, Room Service) and an outdoor wedding venue.
Additionally established 2 new F&B outlets at the Warwick Stone 55 Zalka (Lebanon) in 2015, and a restaurant with 135 seat capacity at the 6th floor of the Warwick Palm Beach Hotel (Lebanon) in 2014.
Key Responsibilities:
Operations
Establish operational budgets for all the departments, monitor expenditure and control costs to achieve revenue targets and maintain profitability.
Set up operational standards and procedures and establish quality parameters, review operations and task execution by team members, and improve productivity and efficiency by utilizing management manuals and checklists.
Review daily performance of the Restaurant Manager, Bar Manager, Store Manager, and Executive Chef and ensure operations managed by them meet performance metrics, and that costs are controlled within budgets.
Manage purchasing of perishable and non-perishable items, negotiate periodic supply contracts with suppliers and avail of bulk discounts to reduce purchase costs; ensure adherence to standard procedure including rules for way port purchasing.
Plan and organize staff training and professional development activities, allocate appropriate resources for operations to run smoothly, and monitor and review staff scheduling.
Conduct service and quality audits in hotel restaurants to verify that customer service and quality standards are being met consistently; work on improving services and food items to enhance guest satisfaction.
Participate in marketing, business development and promotional initiatives; provide inputs to the marketing and sales team to improve revenue.
Administration & Team Management
Ensure that staff across all departments follows policy and procedures, and they execute their daily work in accordance with defined job descriptions.
Maintain a transparent and effective communication with the staff, relay clear instructions, handle problems faced by the staff in daily operations, and resolve interpersonal conflicts.
Enforce compliance with regional regulations and laws applicable to wage settlement, safety and hygiene; maintain records of personnel in F&B department.
Highlights:
Directed highly successful operations and created a constructive image of that led to restaurant being ranked among the top 10 restaurants in Malaysia and the Best Middle Easter Restaurant.
Key Responsibilities:
Managed business operations of restaurants under the brand Al Amar Lebanese Cuisine, focused on maximizing occupancy to achieve targeted revenue and profits.
Assessed the market and competition in the region, created and executed focused marketing and promotional programs that brought in more patrons to the outlets.
Developed and implemented effective cost reduction measures that targeted reducing costs related to food and beverage stock, manpower and operational overheads.
Maintained high standards of food and services, controlled quality at supplier end through supply inspections, and ensured high level of guest satisfaction.
Monitored staff performance at outlets, organized training to further develop their skills and enable high levels of performance to achieve sales targets.
Consistently improved the quality of services, food and beverage, introduced new items on the menu, created a pleasing ambience inside the restaurant and enhanced the image of the restaurant.
Prepared operational budgets and plans, allocated funds to specific programs, monitored program execution within budget and in-time.
Coordinated with entertainers and performers and finalized contracts with them to perform at the outlets during specific events and functions.
Enabled a work environment that valued team work and professional excellence, that led to high levels of performance from the staff.
Key Responsibilities:
Supervised the daily catering operations by allocating resources, ensured supplies and equipment were adequate and directed the catering staff.
Hired specialized staff and other employees in line with requirements, provided skills specific training so that the staff could execute assigned tasks properly; provided motivation and coaching to staff to enable them to consistently achieve goals.
Enforced workplace safety and health regulations, educated staff and carried out inspections to verify whether health and safety norms were met.
Participated in operational planning and developing the budget, in line with forecasts; assigned monthly, quarterly and annual targets and goals to the team.
Focused on maintaining consistently high standards of food and service quality by coordinating with suppliers, and inculcating a culture of quality within the team.
Monitored financial performance and maintained financial records, updated personnel records of staff members.
Greeted and communicated with customers, gathered feedback on the quality of food and service and initiated improvement measures based on feedback.
Supervised facilities and services during special events and functions, ensured that events were conducted smoothly; generated significant business for the company thorough event bookings.
Developed and organized innovative promotional campaigns and initiatives to gather publicity for the organization; identified business opportunities and converted these to revenue.
Managed all HR and personnel issues related to the staff; reviewed staff performance and provided effective feedback along with recommendations to improve performance.
Designed the menu in accordance with popular food preferences in the region, monitored market trends and made changes to processes/services to match trends and market demand.