Grand Restaurant Group: Meet the Chefs
“I had the honor of meeting and writing about the Grand Restaurant Group’s extraordinary chefs. The following articles were used for email, web, and social, to shed light on the artists behind some of North County’s most cherished restaurants.”
CHEF LUCIO
Chef Lucio is a man driven by passion. After thirteen hours of working in a hot kitchen, he goes home and watches the Food Network. His daughter thinks he's crazy for spending his precious few moments of evening down time watching cooking programs, but Lucio doesn't see it that way. He has given his life to his career, and wants to be nothing short of the best.
To be great at something you have to be obsessive. Lucio keeps a pen and notepad on himself at all times so he can quickly jot down fresh ideas when inspiration strikes. After forty years in the industry, he still possesses the vigor and tenacity of a man less than half his age. His eyes light up when he talks about the evening special. He speaks melodically about braising, marinating, and sauteing with the same far away voice others use when they talk about making love. His commitment to his craft is nothing short of astounding.
Just as impressive as Lucio's love for cooking is his surprising success. Chef Lucio received virtually no formal education. He has no culinary certificates or fancy degrees. Lucio got most of the way through elementary school, before he needed to find work. He got his degree from the school of hard knocks.
Lucio began his culinary career at the prestigious Rancho Bernardo Inn. Over several decades, Lucio worked his way up from dishwasher to banquet chef, a department which pulled in over fifteen million dollars a year. For his largest event, Lucio plated over 1,100 entrees!
Today, Lucio is a cherished member of the GRG family. He feels a strong loyalty to his restaurant and its ownership, and he works tirelessly to do right by them. Lucio loves when Chief Executive Officer Sandy DiCicco and her husband Brian stop in for a meal. "I've never worked for such nice people. Sometimes, it almost feels like we're related."
CHEF DONA
Born and raised in Southern Mexico, Donaciano Valdovinos came to San Diego at just fourteen years old. His first industry job came at the Rancho Bernardo Inn, when he was sixteen. The future chef discovered at a very early age that quality ingredients were at the heart of great cooking. Dona would eventually make his way into Rancho Bernardo's kitchen, where he worked for years alongside fellow RB alumnus, and current head chef at Bellamy's Restaurant, Lucio Valle.
Over the years Chef Dona has honed his skills preparing the finest coastal and seasonal dishes. After exiting the Rancho Bernardo Inn, Dona attended culinary school, before becoming the evening chef for the legendary Humphrey's by the Bay, where he worked for nearly two decades.
Today, Chef Dona is a celebrated member of the GRG family, where he crafts elegantly designed Italian dishes, with a California-modern flair. As the head chef for beautiful Nick & G's, Dona relishes in his freedom to craft unique seasonal menus and pursue his own insights.
Chef Dona's creations can be best described as temples to his ingredients, built to venerate their august flavors. To him, the materials used to construct his masterpieces aren't simply decorative accents, but rather the heart and soul of his extraordinary cuisine. When Donacino's guests bite into one of his meticulously prepared dishes, he wants them to taste the freshness of its ingredients, and witness the seasonal beauty showcased by their vibrant colors.
CHEF PETER
For Chef Peter, cuisine is an expression of culture. As a Louisiana native, Peter's love for food stems from an early infatuation with Creole cuisine — a vibrant food culture which dominates Louisiana's culinary landscape.
The word creole describes the mixing of languages, traditions, and cultures into something new. In Louisiana, Creole refers to a distinct culture — a product of the colonial era which blends African, French, Spanish, and Native American influences into something richly unique.
Peter's experience in the culinary arts is just as diverse as his Louisiana roots. He has worked in kitchens for French, Italian, Vietnamese, and Creole restaurants. With each style of cooking comes a new set of skills and techniques for Peter to master. The breadth of his experiences has left Peter with an intimate knowledge of culinary traditions spanning the globe.
Chef Peter brings his decades of culinary expertise to his new role as head chef of DiCicco's Escondido, where he's working hard to refine existing processes for an even fresher, more delicious final product. Quality control is at the center of Peter's crusade for freshness. He insists that everything be prepped fresh daily, believing it's the only way to craft fresh, wholesome, comfort food.
CHEF FERNANDO
Chef Fernando has had a lot of jobs. He's tried his hand at everything from construction to landscaping, but has always found his way back to his first love; cooking. When asked what keeps him coming back, Fernando simply stated, "the rush."
Fernando loves the intensity of working in a bustling kitchen. The flood of tickets, the loud clanging of steel, and the powerful smell of so many rich flavors create an intoxicating blend of sensations, similar to the chef's signature cioppino. This chaotic backdrop serves as the fountainhead of Fernando's creative energy.
Fernando's culinary career began in 1995, in the town of Columbus, Ohio. After three months of working as a dishwasher, his attention to detail and willingness to learn earned him a spot as a line cook. Fernando was still in his early teens at the time and, though excited, Fernando had no idea just how far he'd go. He had just embarked on a lifetime pursuit in the culinary arts.
Fernando considers his time at Prep Kitchen to be his proving grounds, when he became a culinary artist in his own right.
"I thought I knew how to cook, but Prep Kitchen is where I took my skills to the next level."
Under the tutelage of legendary local chef Ryan Johnston, Fernando elevated his understanding of the culinary arts to a whole new level. Johnston had traveled the world in search of the freshest, boldest ingredients. He had garnered national headlines for his seasonal, scratch cooking. Fernando spent his years under Johnston eagerly honing his skills, until it was time for him to go off and make it on his own.
Fernando's time at Prep Kitchen had been a lesson in humility, one which he hasn't forgotten. The young chef sees great value in remaining humble, and believes that you can learn from anyone. He has taken this philosophy with him on each successive step in his culinary journey, and today it serves as a guiding principle at Giaola Italian Kitchen, where Fernando currently serves as head chef.
Innoworks: Employee Spotlight
“Below is a ‘Employee Spotlight’ article that I wrote for Innoworks’ newsletter.”
Rachel Henton
Human Resources is like a box of chocolates — you never know what you’re gonna get! Some days might begin with something as benign as filling out W-2s, and then quickly escalate into full blown crisis management. And that’s what HR is like at any given company. When you manage human resources for a PEO servicing hundreds of clients, the stakes increase exponentially.
Rachel Henton specializes in creating order from chaos. Her ability to keep cool under pressure makes her an indispensable asset to Innoworks’ human resources department. As the new Director of Human Resources, Rachel has taken it upon herself to revamp existing processes into scalable solutions for future growth.
The philosophy underpinning Rachel’s career is simple — HR works best when you don’t know it’s there. With the right processes in place, the day to day operations of human resources are virtually undetectable; employees get paid, recruits get hired, and a cheery company culture suffuses the workspace like the burning of a pine scented candle. What you don’t see is audits, lawsuits, angry op-eds, and plummeting stock prices. In other words — everybody can appreciate a well managed disaster, but nobody recognizes a disaster which never happened. Rachel Henton is the queen of averting disaster.
A Master of Business Administration with a background in human resources for casinos and commercial real estate, Rachel has seen it all. She has been to court more times than she can count, serving as the primary witness in numerous work-related lawsuits. Rachel’s meticulous record keeping and eye for detail makes her an indispensable advocate to the organizations she works with. Rachel often likens herself to the Wizard of Oz. She is the woman behind the curtain, transforming controlled chaos into an organized, systematized process.
If Rachel’s number one priority can be summed up in a single word, it’s safety. She believes wholeheartedly in the importance of creating a safe work environment, where every employee feels valued. To accomplish this, Rachel works hard day in and day out to make sure that the guidance Innoworks provides clients is detailed, well informed, and comprehensive.
Services Rachel Henton Wants You to Know About
One of Rachel’s goals as HR Director is to make sure that each client is aware of all the services available to them. In particular she wants to stress the importance of updating employee handbooks — an essential process that Innoworks can help with!
Between all the changes to federal, state, and local employment laws, plus industry specific legislation, it’s possible that you could be affected by as many as fifty legislative changes a year! To mitigate the risk of noncompliance, it’s essential that you regularly update your employee handbook.
Rachel’s team is ready and willing to help with updates to your employee handbook! For more information, contact info@innoworksemployment.com.
Rachel’s Advice for Businesses
After decades in human resources, Rachel’s number one piece of advice for businesses is this: document, document, document! Proper documentation allows you to quickly identify and correct small issues before they metastasize into larger problems.
Example: For any sort of employee discipline, even if it’s just a verbal warning, it’s essential that you document the event. It could even be as simple as sending an email recapping your conversation. Once you have something in your records noting that the event took place, you’ll have a foundation to build on if that employee slips up again. You can then easily reference the previous infraction in determining the correct course of action, or to prove that the event took place, should the employee in question challenge your claim. This sort of documentation is vital for managing employee turnover and souring relationships.