Meet the Eater Young Guns Semi-Finalists: Jen Davidson

By the looks of what the Eater Young Guns Committee members have said about her (see below), it seems that Jen Davidson, the general manager and personal assistant extraordinaire at Manhattan's Barbuto, has made a strong impression on pretty much every chef she's come into contact with. She began at the restaurant as a hostess and seven months later became a manager. In that capacity she handles payroll, scheduling, staffing, and reservations.

She coordinates and directs all in house and out of house events, charity dinners, and festival events and handles all press inquires (as the restaurant has no PR). She manages the dining room during lunch and dinner service and works closely with chef Jonathan Waxman on his day to day schedule and his personal PR. She also accompanies chef Waxman to food and wine festivals and charity events.

In case that wasn't enough, Davidson organizes, alongside chef Waxman, the annual New York City event for the Alex Lemonade Stand charity, coordinating everything from chef invites, to menus, hotels, equipment, selling tickets and tables, and the live and silent auction. Needless to say, she does a pretty impressive job, and that's why she's an Eater Young Gun semi-finalist.

Testimonials from Jonathan Waxman, Paul Kahan, Danny Meyer, more. >>>