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| Intro | Board of Directors | Management | ||
Management
Frank J. Ferrara
Director of Food Services
Camillus House
As Director of Food Service for Camillus House, Mr. Frank J. Ferrara oversees a food service operation that prepares more than 360,000 meals per year to poor and homeless men, women and children served by Camillus House.
Mr. Ferrara, a seasoned restaurant and hospitality professional, joined Camillus House as in January of 2005. His duties include menu development, management of kitchen staff, food and equipment, donations, warehouse operations, and conducting a twelve- week culinary course training persons in drug and alcohol recovery to assume entry-level positions in the restaurant industry as well. He is also Florida State appointed to certify students in food safety.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, Mr. Ferrara holds a degree in hotel and restaurant management from New York City Technical College. He attended classes while he worked as an officer with the New York City Police Department, where he had a broad range of assignments—from street patrol to undercover work, to conducting ethical awareness workshops for fellow officers—spanning 21 years.
In 1986, Mr. Ferrara transitioned successfully from police work to the restaurant business to further develop the culinary skills he learned from his mother, Helen. He ran a catering company and later managed several upscale restaurants and Big Apple hot spots like Studio 54 and Stringfellows. He moved to Miami Beach in 1998 and became general manager at South Beach Brasserie, actor Michael Caine’s trend-setting Lincoln Road eatery which has since become Touch. Consulting stints for several restaurant start-ups followed until 2001 when Mr. Ferrara, a certified tennis pro and part-time instructor since 1993, took a break from the restaurant business to teach tennis and run tournaments at Miami Beach’s Flamingo Park Tennis Center.
Mr. Ferrara’s responsibilities at Camillus House leave little time for tennis, though he still coordinates some programs and plays occasionally. Guided by fundamental principles of good service and hospitality, he aims to treat his “guests” with the same respect and dignity offered to customers in private clubs and restaurants.
On the home front, Mr. Ferrara is a dedicated father (and grandfather) who chronicled his challenges as a single parent in the 1985 Doubleday best-seller, “On Being Father.” He has lectured internationally on the subject of intra-family relationships and headed single father support groups for more than a decade. He resides in Miami Beach with his wife, Rosemary, a public relations executive.
