Tony Baran is an acclaimed executive chef with 24 years of experience, recognized for creating innovative culinary experiences that enhance customer satisfaction and profitability across diverse venues worldwide. He has received numerous prestigious awards, managed high-profile events, and excelled in various culinary styles, while also contributing to arts and education in the culinary field. Currently serving as the executive chef for his catering business in Houston, he has a proven track record of operational excellence and customer-focused service.

1. TONY BARAN, MA
2170 Tree Lane • Kingwood, TX 77339-1768 • chefbaran@yahoo.com • 832.445.9871 (Cell)
#281-445-3490
www.linkedin.com/pub/tony-baran/19/516/9b4 Skype: tony.baran
Dynamic, Acclaimed Executive Chef
Award-winning master chef serves up world class culinary delights and innovative
cuisine that increases profits, elevates public image, and enhances customer
satisfaction while optimizing performance through seamless customer-centric multi-
venue operations to deliver organizational leadership and revenue results.
SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS
• Stellar 24-year record of culinary excellence, creating alluring contemporary and traditional cuisine for
premiere private dining clubs, restaurants, hotels, and catering operations worldwide, demonstrating
expertise not only in numerous cooking styles, creative flavor fusions, and international cuisine, but
mastery of performance optimization, operations, profitability, and powerful publicity.
• Proven performance concurrently directing all facets of multiple outlets and venues, blending business
acumen with creativity while effectively managing and mentoring 8 to 80 diverse professional staff.
• Mastery of full spectrum of cuisine styles, specializing in All-American cooking, Fusion-Pacific Rim, Nuevo
Latino, Mediterranean, international styles, and innovative blends of eastern and western fare,
prepared in compliance with HACCP standards.
• Highly acclaimed world-wide, earning numerous prestigious awards, including:
Ø Voted Best New Chef in Los Angeles, TravelWatch magazine, 2000
Ø 4-star rating, Northwest Florida Daily News, 1996
Ø Voted Best New Restaurant, “Unknown Eater,” San Diego CBS affiliate, 1994
Ø Grand Master Chefs’ Registry, 1987
Ø Chef of the Year, Club Corporation of America, 1987
Ø Lee Albert W. Memorial Award, 1985
Ø Rated Best Restaurant in Moscow by Condé Nast, 2006
Ø Countless rave national and international reviews
• Drives profitability and performance, adept in minimizing low food and labor costs without compromising
quality in various international locales.
• Professional talent to meet every need, capably executing small and large-scale banquets to
accommodate as many as 2000 covers per single event.
• Delivered award-winning restaurant concept for E Street Alley in San Diego, California, introducing
refreshing restaurant concept, including a 22-seat progressive sushi bar, completely redesigning the
menu and kitchen.
• Specialties include Asian culinary influences with contemporary Western techniques, including regional
Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, and Hawaiian dishes and ingredients to create a
singular cuisine.
• Authored A Brief Art History of the Western Culinary Avante-Guarde, (University of Houston Press, 1994),
demonstrating a global movement of culinary composition and structure; currently writing Zeus’ Tenth
Daughter, brilliant reflections on culinary arts from a cultural and historic perspective.
• Successfully executed high-profile celebrity dinners and events, including four guest chef dinners at the
Beverly Hills Tennis
Club; a series of cooking classes at Williams-Sonoma Beverly Hills; Bloomingdale’s Annual Concierge
Party for the Chef’s d’or;
Fred Hayman’s Retirement Celebration at the Beverly Hills City Hall; James Beard Dinner, HACCP;
Chaine des Rotisseurs
Dinner; and Stephen Spielberg’s annual Golden Globes Event at Trader Vic’s for 4 consecutive years.

2. • Delighted high-profile clientele, corporate moguls, and celebrities, including Angelica Houston, Diane
Keaton, Francis Ford Coppola, Drew Barrymore, Debbie Reynolds, Mel Brooks, George Clooney,
Nancy Reagan, Tom Hanks, Rod Stewart, Jack Nicholson, Aaron and Tori Spelling, Sean Connery,
Roger Moore, and a multitude of others.
• Culinary artists and master chef for many exceptional charity and fundraising events, including high profile
functions for the Make-a-Wish Foundation; The Getty; Share Our Strength; Meals on Wheels; LACMA;
and the Wolfgang Puck Food and Wine Festival at Universal Studios.
• Highly celebrated as Chef de Cuisine of the Westin Century Plaza and as Executive Chef of Merv Griffin’s
Beverly Hilton.
• Trader Vic’s, specifically brought on board by The Griffin Group to totally revamp Trader Vic’s culinary
concept and menu.
• Featured on the Food Channel and numerous local television and media outlets; exceptional marketing
partner.
• Executed illustrious consultantships throughout Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Mexico, and the US in 2011.
• Solid analytical and quantitative aptitude; capacity to identify potential threats, recognize
opportunities, and maximize resources; adept and experienced in problem-solving and
providing strategic resolutions. • Increased food gross 10% over a one-year period,
maintaining a food cost between 29%-32%.
• Multi-lingual, fluent writing, reading, and speaking Spanish and English.
• Exceptional verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills with strong presentation and
negotiation capabilities; interfaces effectively with all levels of staff, management, and stakeholders in a
manner that promotes consensus building and teamwork in a creative atmosphere of collaboration.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Executive Chef
March 2012-present
Tony Baran's Intimate Catering and Events
Catering to indivituals and private events on a 5tar level in the Houston Metropolitan area.
Featuring European Classic, Asian, East meets West and Innovative indigenous American Cuisine,
such as, Southwestern and contempoary Louisiana cuisines.
June 2011 to January 2012
HARRAD’S HOTEL & RESORT Bali,
.
Luxuriously appointed, beautiful 4-star property offers exceptional accommodations as well as facilities
within the triangle of Kuta, Sanur and Denpasar, providing rooms and luxury suites featuring Balinese
interior designs with modish facilities as well as superb local and international cuisines served in the
Kamarhati restaurant and Amanda lounge hotel bar.
Delivered comprehensive culinary creativity and operational oversight, managing all facets of kitchen, front
house, à la carte food service, lounge, banquets, and room service to enhance customer satisfaction while
advancing organizational business development objectives and profitability.
• Revitalized menu to develop a Global Cuisine focus, introducing new food styles including indigenous
American Southwestern and Creole/ Cajun foods to produce innovative and classical culinary creations
that complimented resort’s luxurious and exotic ambience.
• Optimized performance, transforming all kitchen, dining, and food services to achieve highest industry
standards.
• Improved customer satisfaction initiating compelling culinary arts with unparalleled presentation and
service.
• Amplified profitability through cost reductions without quality comprises, lowering total gross of all food

3. and beverage.
EXECUTVE CHEF June 2008 to May 2011 THE COMMISARY, LLC, OLD WILL PRODUCTIONS
Palm Springs, CA
Pioneering 5-star on-site and off-site catering company offers customized services to accommodate full
spectrum of palates and event themes.
Directed all phases of new business development and creative culinary production and presentation for 3
outlets comprised of 8 employees each with 4 street turns of 6 staff.
• Managed inside outside functions to integrate operations, quality cuisine selections, and organizational
objectives.
• Developed strategic business plan for catering, engaged in all facets of pricing, event planning, and sales
functions.
• Drove production goal attainment, effectively introducing policy and process improvements, business
plans, and staff-development initiatives, capably resolving operational issues related to start-up to
negotiate productive outcomes.
• Generated publicity campaigns to accelerate start-up, engaging corps of PR experts to propel visibility
and marketing.
• Produced revenues through extraordinary event catering with remarkable, value-added culinary arts to
accommodate groups of 35-500 people, providing select cuisine at tailored price points ranging from
$25 to $100 per person.
EXECUTIVE CHEF October
2006 to May 2008
THE MERCANTILE ATHLETIC CLUB
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Jakarta, Indonesia
Elegant social club merges sophisticated city dining club and a chic athletic club into a single vibrant
location, offering an array of international cuisines in varied dining areas, featuring the Wimbledon Grill; the
Miyabi Japanese Dining Room; and the Bandahara Ballroom plus a number of private meeting rooms to
provide refined entertaining options for business and social guests as well as enjoyable informal lunches
and libations in a casual networking environment of The Shutters' Bar.
Concurrently oversaw operations for more than 4 different culinary venues, including fine dining, a 3-meals
per day restaurant, Japanese and Italian outlets, and worked a large multi-faceted international banquet
kitchen fusing eastern and western culinary arts while managing a professional staff of 85.
• Precisely accommodated broad scope of strict ethnic and religious dietary restrictions and customs, using
culinary mastery to meet specific needs of diverse guests simultaneously.
• Prepared cuisine to delight renowned club members from around the world, including the President of the
Republic of Indonesia and other high-profile guests.
• Expanded culinary options, introducing traditional and contemporary American menu to international
setting, including American Southwestern and classic and modern Creole and cajun fare
• Reduced food costs, strategically developing menu items for multiple venues, minimized waste through
operational excellence.
• Increased profits through the expansion of banquet service, executing and supervising myriad banquet
functions featuring various culinary themes.

4. EXECUTIVE CHEF December 2002
to August 2006
SIMPLE PLEASURES
Moscow, Russia
Top-tier cosmopolitan multi-outlet venue offers dynamic fusion of modern and traditional cuisine, libations,
and entertainment to achieve a unique level of sophisticated simplicity that appeals to both locals and
tourists.
Introduced dynamic, expansive menu concept to launch much heralded start-up, propelling multi-venued
business with global cuisine, featuring American classics infused with a Mediterranean twist.
American classics included Southestern and Louisiana cuisines.
• Prepared exquisite catering for high volume of banquets to meet preferences of upscale clientele
banquets as well as a broad spectrum of ethnic and religious dietary restrictions.
• Provided exquisite culinary experiences presented with top-tier service to accommodate multi-cultural
international dignitaries, including Russian elites and western notables.
• Earned “Best Restaurant in Moscow” distinction by Condé Nast, 2006, and ranked in the top 10 chefs in
Moscow by both the Russian and Western press.
• Generated $2.5 in annual revenue through à la carte dining, expanding client base to upwards of 2 million
per year.
ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE
• Chef de Cuisine; Executive Sous Chef, The Beverly Hilton, Beverly Hills, CA, December 1997-November
2002
• Website: www.hilton.com
• Chef de Cuisine, Westin Century Plaza Hotel, Los Angeles, CA, August 1996-December 1997
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• Executive Chef; General Manager, Borago Restaurant, Grayton Beach, FL, January 1996-July 1996
• Executive Chef; Restaurant Manager, E Street Alley, San Diego, CA, August 1992-December 1995
• Executive Chef, 8.0 Restaurant, Dallas, TX, August 1990-August 1992
• Executive Chef, Palacio TzinTzunTzan, Houston, TX, September 1988-September 1989
• Executive Chef, Century Club; Sous Chef, Plaza Club, Club Corporation of America, Houston, TX,
February 1986-August 1988
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
MASTERS OF ARTS DEGREE: PUBLIC HISTORY OF WESTERN CUISINE 1994 UNIVERSITY OF
HOUSTON Houston, TX 3.98 G.P.A.
BACHELOR OF ARTS DEGREE: HISTORY
1985 UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON Houston, TX
3.7 G.P.A.
Del Barto Scholarship as Most Accomplished Student in History Department

5. TECHNICAL SKILLS
• Computer skills include proficiency using Microsoft Office (Word and Excel) as well as Outlook and other
Internet browsers.
PROFESSIONAL & CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS
• Member, Hong Kong Chefs Association, HKCA, Kowloon, Hong Kong
• Member, James Beard Association, New York, NY
• Member, Chaine des Rotisseurs International, Madison, NJ
• Member, Matanzas Creek, Santa Rosa, CA
• Member, American Academy of Chefs, AAC, St. Augustine, FL
REVIEWS AND FEATURES
Beverly Courier LA Weekly
Beverly Hill 213-- Los Angeles Times
Beverly Press, Beverly Hills, Ca. Mediterranean Flavors (Cookbook), Westin Corp., Seattle Brentwood
Magazine, LA May 1998
Brentwood Media Group, Los Angeles, Ca. Nation's Restaurant News Chain
de Rotissiers Dinners Northwest Florida Daily News
Concierge Pacific Palasades, Santa Monica Dallas Morning News Park La Brea
Press, Los Angeles, Ca. D Magazine, Dallas San Diego Union Tribune
Destin Log, Florida SOMA Magazine, San Francisco
expat.ru/restaurantreviews.php?cid=342 The Food Channel
go-magazine.ru/venues/show/1433 Texas Monthly, Texas Publication
Houston Chronicle traveltraveltravel.com/wbconde1restaurant.htm Houston Metropolitan Ultra
Magazine, Texas Publication
Houston Post Unknown Eater, CBS Affiliate, San Diego L.A. Magazine Where
Magazine, LA
La Prensa, Tijuana
References available upon request