EATERTAINMENT CATERING - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Executive Chef
• Executive Chef, Catering

Inspired by great art and architectural design, Christopher Matthews' approach to cuisine is all about balance. Christopher creates food, which, in addition to being presented in a contemporary fashion, harmonizes the relationship between great taste, perfect texture and bold colour, while being grounded in the core concepts of Local Food Plus (LFP) and slow food. Christopher is an industry veteran, having helmed the kitchens of two of Toronto's largest catering companies for over five years each before joining Eatertainment in 2009. Since his arrival Chris has overseen the development of a new kitchen facility and helped create many of the systems that ensure we can flawlessly execute over 800 events each year. Chris is instrumental in the development of new projects and concepts as he leads the culinary team towards new innovations and cutting-edge cuisine.

Job Titles:

• Manager Corporate Catering

Job Titles:

• Director of Operations
• Manager
• Operations Director

We have a saying in the hospitality business and that is "Plan everything in advance down to the smallest detail. Absolutely everything!Because something will still surprise you and when it does, with everything else done, you will be able to deal with it." No one person in our organization better exemplifies this than Jackie. Jackie has been in the hospitality industry for over twenty five years and has worked with Eatertainment for most of her career. Jackie originally joined the company as a manager at one of our restaurant locations, but quickly made the transition to our head office and has grown over the years thanks to her expertise and ability to manage large-scale hospitality operations.

Job Titles:

• Accounts Payable & Reconciliations

When it comes to managing the accounts, suppliers and billings for over 1000 events each year plus our restaurant The One Eighty, it takes someone very organized and Julianna has proven over the past 13 years to be the woman for the job! Julianna manages accounts payable and reconciliations for our group of companies.

Job Titles:

• Catering & Event Administrator

After spending his career in many different restaurant settings, we were happy to welcome Ken into our kitchen - where he started his career with Eatertainment. Over the past 10 years he has taken on various different roles throughout the back of the house. Wanting to venture out and try something new, Ken is bringing his kitchen knowledge, experience, and organization to the front of house in our office. Not to mention early morning smiles with his signature "GOOD MORNING"!

Job Titles:

• Director of Events & Catering

Kori brings to Eatertainment Events & Catering a wealth of experience as she takes on the role of Director of Events and Catering, a natural progression of her remarkable career in the event industry. Her expertise in catering, as well as event production and large scale logistics serves her well as she leads Eatertainment's talented team of event managers who make each of their 1,000 events per year run smoothly. Originally from the East Coast, Kori's background in theatre led her into events where she found her true passion. In addition to the hundreds of events she has managed for clients ranging from Audi to Xerox (and everyone in-between), her proudest moments include her work on the Much Music Video Awards, The Globe and Mail's 125th Anniversary Bash and the Opening and Closing Galas for the Toronto International Film Festival. When Kori is not busy running Eatertainment you can usually find her jamming-out on one of her antique guitars!

Job Titles:

• Sous Chef, Catering

Kris Rushton is our Catering Sous Chef, a position which supports the Executive Chef in planning, prepping and executing over 1000 events annually. Kris spent most of his childhood alongside his mother and grandmother making wine and cooking with his Italian babysitters. Kris' culinary education took him across Europe, apprenticing in kitchen in Italy and France while also learning butchery and fish mongering. Returning to Toronto, Kris worked at Le Select Bistro where he honed his skills in French cuisine, then Crush Wine Bar and Scaramouche under the tutelage of renowned chef Keith Froggett. It wasn't until Kris spent a few years in Costa Rica catering for a crowd of Hollywood elite that he truly fell in love with the catering aspect of the culinary craft. Developing menus for broad ranges of palettes and working through the logistics of managing varied budgets for events as large as 4,000 guests, was where Kris eventually found his ‘forever home' with Eatertainment.

Job Titles:

• Catering & Event Planner

Lisa completed her degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management from the University of Guelph. Lisa has had a passion for all aspects of the food industry since she was a little girl. After working for her family owned restaurant for several years and eventually opening her own pizzeria and catering company, she decided her true passion was in events and bringing other people's visions to life. The variety of being immersed in planning a black tie wedding one day and the ultimate kids birthday the next, helps fuel her creativity and keep things interesting and fun!

Job Titles:

• Controller
• Event & Catering Operations Manager

A determination to succeed in the industry - not to mention a love of food and cooking - brought MeeLee to the fast-paced world of Events & Catering with Eatertainment. She has over a decade of hospitality expertise to bring to our team, which is what originally landed her this specially tailored role. With an impeccable ability to follow-through on every detail of an event agenda, schedule multiple events simultaneously, and oversee various facets of operations of Eatertainment, MeeLee is the glue that holds our daily operations together. You might say she gets such discipline and focus from her study of mixed martial arts, golf, and snowboarding. One thing is for sure, MeeLee doesn't mess around when it comes to spread sheets or sports!

Job Titles:

• Creative Director
• Founder
• Creative Director of Eatertainment Hospitality & Eatertainment Special Events & Catering

Sebastien Centner is the Creative Director of Eatertainment Hospitality & Eatertainment Special Events & Catering. Eatertainment has created and continues to operate some of Toronto's most celebrated (and celebrity-frequented) restaurants including The One Eighty. Sebastien launched Eatertainment Special Events & Catering, which has grown to be one of Canada's top event planning and catering companies and was awarded ‘Best Caterer in Canada' by the Canadian Event Industry Association. Currently Eatertainment hosts over 900 events each year in Canada and the US. Sebastien has spearheaded and seamlessly executed hundreds of events for high-profile clients including Red Bull, TIFF, Hugo Boss, BMW and Porsche. Sebastien has also had the privilege of hosting events for such public figures as Martha Stewart, President Bill Clinton and Brad Pitt, to name a few. Sebastien is also the founder of Jeckl Agency - an extension of Eatertainment that hosts events around the globe. Whether planning a fairytale million $ plus wedding (complete with 6 week structure build overlooking the lake), launching the new BMW M3 & M4 with a 10 week program including laps of the formula 1 track in Istanbul, hosting a corporate retreat complete with cage-diving with great whites in South Africa, or travelling with friends to Art Basel in Miami or Art Friese in New York, Sebastien has seen it all and managed every aspect of the logistics to pull of the most complex of events anywhere in the world. Recognized as an ‘Entertaining Expert' and media personality, Sebastien's concepts, recipes and lavish events have been featured in Hello! Magazine, EnRoute, Style at Home, Toronto Fashion, The National Post, The Globe & Mail, Toronto Sun, House & Home, among others. He currently is a contributing editor to Homefront Magazine. Additionally, Sebastien appears regularly on The Marilyn Denis Show sharing his entertaining tips & tricks and has also been seen on The Morning Show, ET Canada and Canada AM.

Job Titles:

• Vice President of Creative for Eatertainment

Sheila Centner is the Vice President of Creative for Eatertainment and its related companies, spearheading the drive to keep our brands and content at the forefront of creating new and exciting trends in dining, culinary and entertaining. Sheila's role with Eatertainment has always been to push forward new initiatives that make their way into our award winning events. In addition Sheila shares the spotlight with Sebastien with their work on tv, on-line, in-print and through their various social media channels as they share their tips, tricks and recipes around entertaining. Most recently Sheila took on the role of Executive Producer of our newest brand ‘Seb & Sheila' which focuses on couples entertaining through on-line videos, social media posts and an upcoming entertaining guide and cookbook with Penguin Random House.

Job Titles:

• Social Media Manager
• Marketing & Media Manager
• MARKETING, SOCIAL MEDIA, & PR

Victoria comes from an Events background and found herself drawn to Social Media through her creative side. She manages the content creation and execution of all social accounts under the Eatertainment umbrella. She has developed this position to also assist with the production of TV segments, developing content for print, and producing photography/videography needed for social & web. Her ability to adapt and innovate make her feel right at home in this ever changing role.