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John Thompson, Executive Chef >
The Riverhouse at Goodspeed Station located in Haddam, Connecticut is proud to announce as the new Executive Chef, John Thompson. Chef, a long-time resident of Haddam, comes to the Riverhouse from the Simsbury Inn where he was the Executive Chef for the past 14 years. He has had the privilege to train under several well-accomplished chefs and has gained experience at various venues including the Sheraton Hotel-Boston, Holiday Inn/Crown Plaza Hotel-Hartford, and the Brazilian Court hotel in Palm Beach and The Montauk Yacht Club. As a chef for the past 25 years, he has been recognized for his work by the American Culinary Federation, Les Amis d’Escoffier Society and the James Beard Foundation to name a few. Because of his reputation, Chef Thompson has been invited to be part of several guest chef events, where the best-of-the-best are gathered, to create culinary presentations for organizations such as The March of Dimes, United States Department of Defense and The American Cancer Society.
Jim Bucko, general manager of The Riverhouse had to say, “I am extremely pleased that Chef Thompson is joining the team. Out of the six final candidates for the position from Miami, Chicago and Connecticut, Chef Thompson was always our first choice.” Bucko also added, “Chef Thompson’s experience with more than 1000 weddings, attention to detail, and a passion for creating from scratch, especially sauces and soups, put him at the top of the list.”
Chef Thompson says, “When I learned about the opportunity at The Riverhouse I saw immediate and long-term potential and wanted to be a part of it. Leaving the Simsbury Inn along with its great management and ownership group was, however, the toughest decision of my career.” Chef’s first tasks will be to finalize menus, personalize his kitchen, and hire the culinary team.
Libby Rutty, Sales and Event Coordinator >
The Riverhouse at Goodspeed Station is pleased to announce Mrs. Libby Rutty of Westbrook, CT as the new Sales & Event Coordinator. She is a graduate of Boston University and has called the East Coast home her entire life. Mrs. Rutty comes to The Riverhouse with several years of event planning experience. She served as Special Events Coordinator for the past year and also from 1996 to 2002 with Taylor Rental of Clinton, CT. She managed and coordinated rentals for business and social events including several weddings. Prior to Taylor Rental, Mrs. Rutty was the Event Coordinator at Gourmet Galley Catering in Quaker Hill, CT where she planned several hundred events a year. Her resume also includes an impressive 11 years with Seaflour Foods in Centerbrook, CT as the Event Coordinator and Pastry Chef.
She is proud to have catered events for President Fainstein of Connecticut College and at other institutions such as Wesleyan and UCONN. Mrs. Rutty has been involved in several high profile events including catering for the Doobie Brothers and dignitaries at the State Capital. She catered several events at Katherine Hepburn’s estate in Old Saybrook including the wedding of Cynthia McFadden for which she personally created the wedding cake.
Jim Bucko, General Manager of The Riverhouse said, “Libby and I met initially to discuss how Taylor Rental could work with us. My parting comments to her were to let me know if she knew of anyone interested in the Sales & Event Coordinator position. The next day Libby called to say that she had someone for me – her!” Mrs. Rutty went home the night of meeting at and told her husband Mike, “I really would like to be a part of The Riverhouse.”
Mrs. Rutty started with The Riverhouse on Wednesday, February 21 and is actively working with the brides and grooms of more than 60 weddings booked to date. She is also meeting with potential new clients for corporate and social events, Bar Mitzvahs and Bat Mitzvahs, wedding and baby showers, and special events.
Matthew Rutty, Banquet Manager >
Mr. Rutty has recently been offered and accepted a promotion for the Banquet Manager position at The Riverhouse at Goodspeed Station. Matt is one of the original employees of The Riverhouse. Matt worked on the original construction of The Riverhouse and continued as a key person to develop systems, processes and training. Matt’s background is in education at both Boston University and University of North Carolina, where he studied under the School of Management.
“I’d grown up in the catering business and have been involved with it in some way since I was 12. I would help my mother on weekends for big events, and her high standards helped me understand how to make events over the top.”
Jim Bucko, Managing partner of The Riverhouse and The Society Room said “when we had the Banquet Manager position open, I interviewed 16 candidates over the course of 8 months but just couldn’t find the right person that the position demanded. Matt was given an agenda to accomplish in order to be evaluated as the right fit for the position. I was ecstatic to know our new banquet manager had been right in front of me all along! Matt has a way with clients that immediately puts them at ease. I usually see his type of demeanor only in people much older and in seasoned professionals. Matt, for a young man, is way ahead of his age in knowledge of the catering/customer service business as well as in his leadership skills and professionalism.”
Matt has had the opportunity to lead events for several high profile clients including the Kennedys, William Ivy Long, Lynn Redgrave, several NFL and NBA players, Michael Price/The Goodspeed Oprah House Gala Ball, and Yale University.
Kelley Smith, Corporate Sales & Event Coordinator >
The Riverhouse at Goodspeed Station is pleased to announce Mrs. Kelley Smith from Chester, CT as its corporate sales & event coordinator. Mrs. Smith comes to The Riverhouse with 20 years of event sales and planning experience. The previous 3 years Mrs. Smith was contracted by Pfizer to provide meeting support for offsite meetings and catering events. Prior to Pfizer Mrs. Smith worked with Water’s Edge resort and spa for 16 years mainly in a sales and event coordinating capacity.
Jim Bucko, General Manager of The Riverhouse said, “Kelley introduced herself early on in The Riverhouse project. With our management team already in place I filed her resume for future contact. Weeks after The Riverhouse opened its doors on June 22, 2007 I realized we needed a corporate sales and event coordinator to simply work with the corporate markets. Mrs. Smith’s background was very impressive, not only with the corporate markets but her experience with weddings and social events from her time at Water’s Edge. It was a natural fit and easy transition for her to make.”
“During the past three years, Kelley has assisted Pfizer meeting planners by traveling and providing support at off site meeting locations. Her knowledge of the hotel and hospitality industry along with her personable style ensured the Pfizer planners and meeting participants were always satisfied with each event’s outcome” said a member of the Meeting Development team at Pfizer.
Mrs. Smith started with The Riverhouse on Tuesday, September 4 and is actively working with local companies in an around Connecticut.
Ivy Mellow, Off site Catering Manager >
Ivy started her culinary career at a very young age in fine dining restaurants in the Westerly Rhode Island area. “As much as I loved the restaurant scene something was missing,” says Ivy. She then moved to Gourmet Galley Catering where she spent the past 10 years as the Head Chef and knew she had found her passion. “As the Chef I was able to use all those great tools I learned and was then able to add my own twist and flavors to them.” In those years Ms. Mellow, along with her culinary team created dinners for single events topping 500 guests and weekends where thousands were served. Ms. Mellow has catered to clients such as President Michael Roth of Wesleyan College and former Wesleyan President Mr. Doug Bennet. Ms. Mellow was so highly regarded by the Bennet’s that she personally catered their son’s wedding rehearsal dinner, Mr. Bennet’s formal retirement party and a small private retirement dinner amongst many others. Other clients of Ms. Mellow include New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick, automobile tycoon Herb Chambers, and Jim Parker, CEO of Southwest Airlines. Ms. Mellow had been running events from the kitchen but will now bring her experience and creativity to coordinate the clients entire event.
Jim Bucko, General Manager of The Riverhouse at Goodspeed Station says, “She is the perfect fit for our catering company. By combining her culinary knowledge as well as her attention to detail and service standards, Riverhouse Catering will be focusing on first-class catering events not only at established locations such as Wadsworth Mansion, Rocky Neck & Eagle Landing State Parks but at private residences, yachts and yacht clubs as well. Ms. Mellow and Riverhouse Event Coordinator Libby Rutty managed the first ever Mother’s Day brunch at The Wadsworth Mansion in Middletown, CT where they served over 350 people to rave reviews.
For information about Riverhouse Catering call the Riverhouse, 860-345-4100 or visit our website www.theriverhousecatering.com.
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