Last year, we shared our new mission, Unleash Joy through Genuine Hospitality. It’s at the heart of everything we do and encompasses the delicious food and impeccable service that we bring to every event we cater and every space we operate. At the core of this is our operations team, which I’ve been honored to lead for the past few years.

To kick off the spring season, we brought together the operational leaders at Great Performances to talk through the key aspects of our team dynamics. From Culinary to Pastry and Venues to Warehouse, we covered topics including collaboration guidelines, empowerment, questioning the status quo, and creating an inclusive and innovative environment.

One notable point of discussion centered around the concept of “unleashing human magic,” highlighting the importance of feeling valued and encouraged to be oneself at work.

The meeting also emphasized the importance of reframing challenges as opportunities and adopting a solution-driven mindset. Team members were encouraged to shift from a mindset of “I can’t” to “How can we?” to promote problem-solving and mutual support within the team.

With this team, leadership and moral authority are always key topics of discussion, with an emphasis on earning authority through actions and character rather than exerting power over others.

At the end of the event, we donned t-shirts spelling out Great Performances to represent that although we are all individual contributors, together, we become the whole of Great Performances.

Meet the team:

Culinary

Albert Bello – Executive Pastry Chef (2nd E)

Andrew Smith – Culinary Director (!)

Bridgid Randolph – Culinary Administrator (1st E)

Daniel Dougherty – Director of Beverage (3rd R)

Daniel Sokolov – Research & Development Chef (3rd E)

Geoff Koo – Research & Development Pastry Chef (O)

Javier Carrasquillo – Corporate Chef de Cuisine (2nd R)

Michael Steifman – Executive Sous of Catering Operations (M)

Mike Deuel – Executive Chef of Catering Operations (F)

Rachel Taffet – Food & Beverage Coordinator (1st R)

Stratos Georgedakis – Executive Production Chef (G)

Design

Micha Bentel – Creative Director (1st A)

Hospitality and Staffing

John Gargano – Director of Service (N)

Steven Moskos – Director of Staffing (S)

Logistics

Willie Carrasquillo – Director of Transportation (C)

Procurement

Vince Gubbins – Director of Purchasing (T)

Zach Mayer – Director of Fulfillment (P)

Venue Operations

Christina Macaluso – Executive Director of Venues (2nd A)