Victoria Kulinich has taken on the role of the Sommelier and Manager for the Gotham Bar and Grill in 2012. In this role, she is responsible for managing and representing the wine program that offers over 2,500 selections to the restaurant’s guests. Overseeing both the off¬site storage, and the in¬house cellar inventory, she is responsible for upholding quality and proper ageing conditions. As the Manager, Victoria is excited to offer support, guidance, and leadership to the staff, overseeing the daily operations and financial processes, while ensuring the high level of service standards is met and surpassed. An experienced educator, she is passionate about empowering the staff with knowledge of wine, beer, and spirits, and holds weekly tastings and classes to build and instill confidence in how the wine list’s selections are to be presented.Additionally, Victoria has joined the panel tasting board for Wine $ Spirits Magazine in 2013. In this role, she is entrusted with delivering a judgement during weekly region¬explorative tastings, and contributing to the publication’s decision of recommended selections. Prior, Victoria Kulinich was a Wine Educator for New York Vintners. In this role, she was responsible for teaching daily Wine and Beverage classes, and coordinating educational events, intended to help students achieve a better understanding of not only viticulture, viniculture, and the end product, but also aid in comprehension of personal preference and taste. Previously, Victoria led a Building Bridges to Success Grant for CUNY, and was the Executive Chef Instructor, as well as the Certified Instructor for Food Safety programs such as ServSafe, ManageFirst, and New York City Department of Health. In this role, Victoria was responsible for relaying her culinary arts knowledge to her students, while offering hands¬on training, and theory studies on the safe and proper handling of various foods, with the end goal for students attaining certifications through all three agencies.
Additionally, Victoria has worked as the Dining Room team, as well as the Kitchen Staff member in New York City’s award¬ winning restaurant Eleven Madison Park, and highly -acclaimed Thomas Keller Restaurant Group. Currently, Victoria is studying through the Wine and Spirits Education Trust’s Master of Wine Diploma courses, as well as the certifications offered by the Court of Master Sommeliers.
Prior to beginning her career in the Food, Beverage, and Hospitality Industry, Victoria has attained the Grand Diploma at the French Culinary Institute (New York Campus), and studied for the BS/Architecture and Building Construction at the City University of Technology, and was awarded a full¬time scholarship at the New York Institute of Technology.
Portofino Executive Chef – Richard Crespin
BALEEN kitchen, the Oceanfront restaurant at The Portofino Hotel & Marina, was recently awarded a Zagat rating as among the “Top 10 Best Restaurants for Waterside Dining in Los Angeles,” for the second consecutive year. Zagat, the world’s leading provider of consumer survey for restaurants, ranked the restaurant ‘extraordinary to perfect’ in all categories; food, décor, service and cost. Zagat described BALEENkitchen as, “A ‘lovely’, ‘soft’-lit dining room overlooking ‘beautiful’ King Harbor” and that “the marina sets a ‘cozy’ scene for ‘well-prepared,’ seafood- centric dishes."Heavily focused on seafood, Executive Chef Richard Crespin utilizes quality local ingredients to create authentically Californian cuisine served in a chic, welcoming atmosphere. Weekend guests and diners alike may spice-up their experience with the new ‘Make Your Own – Bloody Mary Bar,’ featuring 40 different satisfying ingredients to make each concoction tailored to specific tastes.
Executive Chef Richard Crespin is a graduate of the French Culinary Institute in New York and has over 19 years of various culinary experience. He has held leadership roles in New York working as Sous Chef for Jean Georges and also Gordon Ramsay at The London her in LA, as well as Executive Chef at Indochine in Beverly Hills.
ABC's of Being A New Mom with Melissa Rycroft
Television personality Melissa Rycroft is best known for appearing on “The Bachelor” and winning “Dancing with the Stars.” Now a correspondent for the upcoming season of DWTS, she is busy balancing life and work as a mother to two year-old Ava Grace Strickland, but she wouldn’t have it any other way!
Available for interviews, she can share her personal experiences and stories when it comes to the ABCs of being a new mom – from having a young toddler, to newborn babies and even trying to conceive.
When it comes to baby-making, there is no such thing as the perfect formula. But some say it’s all about the timing, and the timing can be tricky!