Carmen Quagliata has been named Vice President of Business Development at Select Restaurants, said John Quagliata, Chairman of Select Restaurants, Inc.
He comes to Select from Union Square Cafe in New York City, where he was Executive Chef. During his 15 years there, Carmen Quagliata led the successful evolution of the restaurant, including the colossal task of moving the operation to a new location in 2016. As Executive Chef, Carmen directed the culinary operations, garnering a coveted 3-star review from the New York Times. Recognizing Carmen’s innovative talent and operational skills, Danny Meyer and Union Square Hospitality Group included Carmen in the development of the new, fine-casual concept Daily Provisions, which also received critical acclaim.
“Carmen is an outstanding chef and restaurateur and has worked with many notable talents and top restaurants,’’ John Quagliata said. “I’m confident his outstanding culinary and business skills will be a great asset to our restaurant company.” For more than 30 years and with extensive experience in hotels, restaurants and catering, Carmen has been a leader in the hospitality industry. Graduating with honors from the Culinary Institute of America in 1988, Carmen served an externship with Ritz Carlton Hotels. He continued on to graduate from the apprenticeship program, at the historic Greenbrier Hotel in Sulphur Springs, W. Va.
In 1990, Carmen moved to California, where he continued developing his passion for food at Tra Vigne in Napa Valley. Following his 10-year tenure at Tra Vigne, Carmen, his wife Palma and young family relocated to the East Coast, where he joined Chef Lidia Bastianich’s team at Felidia in New York City. In 2002, Carmen was responsible for creating and implementing the culinary concept for The Vault Restaurant in Boston, Mass. This effort resulted in 3-star reviews from the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald, acknowledging the success of both Carmen and his team.
In 2005, Carmen accepted the opportunity to return to New York City, joining the Union Square Hospitality Group at the legendary Union Square Cafe.
“For 14 years Carmen has led Union Square Cafe’s kitchen with passion, hard work, consistency, and ultimate professionalism. He is beloved by the community of greenmarket farmers, has mentored hundreds of cooks, and delighted thousands and thousands of guests with his Italian inflected cooking,” noted Danny Meyer.
John Quagliata, who has led the company for more than 40 years said of his nephew, “Carmen’s work ethic, talent and passion for his career provided him the opportunity to refine his attention to detail for excellence in food, service, operations and marketing. His keen eye for quality and positive energy will continue to inspire future teams and bring about success in all aspects of business development. With a thorough knowledge and experience in profit and loss evaluation, creation and implementation of profit generating plans, employee recruitment, human resource development, concept enrichment, kitchen design and purveyor partnerships, Carmen is well -prepared for his new responsibility as Vice President of Business Development.”
