Henry Street Settlement

Chef Scott has spent more than 42 years in the culinary industry, beginning his career at age 15 and eventually serving as executive chef at the Jacob Javits Convention Center for 18 years. In 2015, he joined Hornblower, where he oversees high-volume, seasonal food operations.

Henry Street first partnered with Chef Hauser and his longtime colleague Steve Hill to support their culinary training and hiring needs. Chef Hauser works closely with partners to review candidates, participate in screening, and bring trainees into Hornblower’s seasonal workforce. He values Henry Street’s organization and communication, noting that the partnership has streamlined hiring and helped build a reliable pipeline of motivated talent.

How did you get started in the culinary field?

I began working in restaurants at 15 and later attended Paul Smith’s College for culinary school. A major early break was being selected to work the Kentucky Derby with Harry M. Stevens—we were feeding about 40,000 people a day. That experience set me on a path of large-volume operations.

Can you describe your career path leading to your current role?

After school, I moved to Miami with Harry M. Stevens and worked at several venues, then spent nearly a decade at the Meadowlands. I later joined Centerplate at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, where I eventually became executive chef and stayed 18 years. In 2015, I transitioned to Hornblower after a lengthy interview process, and I’ve been here ever since—over 42 years in the industry overall.

How long have you been involved in workforce training programs?

Steve Hill and I have been collaborating on training programs for 15–20 years. We started working together at the Javits Center and continued at Hornblower. The partnership has been successful because we refine the process each year and focus on candidates with the right attitude and willingness to learn.

What challenges do you face in staffing your team?

Seasonality is our biggest challenge—about 75% of our business happens between Memorial Day and Labor Day. We get very busy in the summer but slower the rest of the year, so building a reliable seasonal team takes effort. Many of our staff now hold other jobs during the year and return to us each summer.

How has partnering with community-based organizations supported your hiring efforts?

Partnerships help us reach motivated jobseekers who want to work in the community. Training programs have been excellent for building a pipeline—if we hired two or three people from a class of eight, that was a success. Paid internships also matter; most people can’t train for free.

What makes a workforce partnership successful?

Strong communication, good candidate screening, and a shared focus on finding people who want to learn. Over the years, we’ve streamlined the process so we’re bringing in the right trainees from the start. The organization we worked with, like Henry Street, was extremely organized, which made everything smoother.

Any final thoughts on working together?

It’s been a great experience—you were very organized and easy to work with, much more than some groups we’ve partnered with in the past. As we approach the spring and assess our seasonal hiring needs, we look forward to continuing the partnership.