Stella Artuso

As a Pre-opening Manager (Acting Restaurant Director for 4 months due to Director unexpected departure) I have developed and implemented SOPs across departments, designed the service flow and guest journey strategy and recruited and onboarded 35+ team members.

Designed an effective training program for Assistant Managers, Supervisors and line staff along with service manuals.

Conducted competitor analysis, managed pre-opening tastings and soft launch.

Increased the average check by 15% by the end of our 9 months' benchmark.

The restaurant has been awarded a Gault & Millau Toque for 2026 and has been mentioned in the 2025 Michelin Guide within one year since opening.

As a General Restaurant Manager I was in charge of the main all-day dining outlet of the resort: Café Nikki.

I have effectively led the team achieving 100% in our last GDI (Mystery shopper) audit received.

Consistently reached our monthly budget and increased the revenue by 17% with an average profit of more than 200,000 AED in over 5 months.

I have programmed and led a Food and Beverage course for the entire F&B department with attendance certification covering wines, spirits and food knowledge along with practical prompts and hotel etiquette which has resulted in a considerable increase in sales and guest engagement and has brought us to No.1 Resort on TripAdvisor reviews.

As a Restaurant Manager I have liaised with chef and team to define menu for the fine dining restaurant (1 Michelin star) Il Ristorante - Niko Romito and actively worked alongside Food and Beverage Director in a new market for three months (three months were remote).

As a multi-outlet manager I was in charge of budgeting and forecasting for the all dining restaurant and the retail shop within the property (Il Caffè and Il Cioccolato) and I have been working as supporting Outlet Manager for Hoseki (Japanese 1 Michelin Starred Restaurant).

I have increased the outlet revenue by +5% in less than 6 months, kept track of cost and inventory management.

Worked with Executive chef for menu engineering and have been taking care of payrolls procedures for the outlets.

After training staff and leading the team, we have achieved in 2 months 94% during the LQA audit for both dinner and breakfast service after receiving 65% for dinner service.

I have started my career in Bulgari being in charge of hiring and training staff in different departments of the property (La Spiaggia, Pool and Beach) and then got promoted to Multi-outlet manager within the year.

Succeeded in being the only non-Japanese national to work and support operations in HOSEKI (1 Michelin Starred restaurant) with Omakase experience.

My experience in the UAE started managing floor when manager or assistant manager were not present during operations with me handling floor plans, assigning weekly and monthly duties to line staff, taking reservations and answering guests' queries promptly and efficiently.

First stand-alone restaurant experience where I have interacted with guests and handled complaints resolving any issue with customers and started effectively managing a weekly schedule for staff.

I was also in charge of the wine cellar and its inventory decreasing wastage by almost 20% by rearranging the wine list and optimizing a rotation system that had not been in place.

As a Sommelier I have supervised 350+ people wine service for several events throughout the year.

I was in charge of ordering wines and of monthly inventory for designated outlets and I have prepared wine pairings for multi-course holidays and special occasions menus.

As a junior sommelier I have been tasked with maintaining daily and monthly inventories minimizing wastage and upselling items.

I have successfully worked the floor 6 days per week (double shifts) selling wines and managing customer relations providing me with a better understanding of resilience and ability to withstand physical exertion and pressure handling.