Sunday, Jan. 29, 20178A

By STEVE BUCHIEREsbuchiere@fltimes.com

GENEVA — Geneva has benefitedfrom the rise of tourism-relatedbusiness over the past few years.Witness the snazzy wineries and aburgeoning restaurant scene.

However, Miranda Odell, execu-tive director of the Geneva AreaChamber of Commerce, pointed outthat manufacturing remains animportant part of the region’s econo-my.

That’s why she thinks it’s vital torecognize the contributions of com-panies like Zotos International, abusiness that is thriving in upstateNew York at a time when manufac-turing continues to decline.

Zotos’ dedication to creating jobsin Geneva and its long history hereare some of the main reasons thecompany was named the Chamber’sBusiness of the Year Thursday atthe organization’s 113th annual din-ner.

The company is a subsidiary ofShiseido, a Tokyo-based global beau-ty company, and has grown in theUnited States through organicexpansion and acquisitions. Its solefocus is high-end haircare products.

Customers won’t find their manybrands in the aisles of local pharma-cies or drug stores. Zotos merchan-dise is found in professional salonsacross the nation.

In short, this is the good stuff.Terry Lafferty, senior director of

manufacturing for Zotos, acceptedthe Business of the Year award fromFinger Lakes Times Publisher PaulBarrett. Barrett presented theaward as part of a new chamber tra-dition of having the previous year’sBusiness of the Year recipient handthe award to the following year’swinner.

The Finger Lakes Times was the2016 Business of the Year.

Lafferty accepted on behalf ofDoug Parkinson, vice president ofoperations at the Geneva Zotos com-plex. Parkinson was unable toattend.

“It’s exciting to be able to honorZotos,” Odell said. “It’s one of ourtop 10 employers in OntarioCounty.”

Zotos’ history in the region tracesback to Evans Chemetics inWaterloo, which was founded by Dr.Ralph L. Evans as ProprietaryProducts Laboratories in Hoboken,N.J. The name changed and opera-tions moved to Waterloo.

Evans and his co-worker, Dr.Everett McDonough, were the pio-neers of a chemical method for con-trolling heat to perm hair; theyintroduced the machine-less perma-nent wave. Prior to that, women hadto endure what Zotos called on theirwebsite “the slow and time-consum-ing instrument of semi-torture thatwas machine waving.”

In 1963, Zotos moved into the for-mer Geneva Forge building on ForgeAvenue. The business has expandedon the site a number of times.Lafferty said there are 385 employ-ees at the Geneva manufacturingsite, which is key to Zotos’ opera-tions.

“A large number of our product

offerings are made right here in theGeneva plant,” said Lafferty, whocame to the company about 2

1⁄2 years

ago after serving in a number ofleadership capacities for consumerproducts manufacturer SC Johnson,which is based in Racine, Wis.

One of the biggest growth areasfor Zotos: the hair-coloring craze. Anindustry once generally targeted forthose trying to hide the gray hasevolved into a place for women toexpress themselves through theirlocks with bright colors — some-times in multi-color schemes.

Zotos didn’t start the trend, but ithas embraced it as another prof-itable line of products, as well asaerosols, said Lafferty and Mary

Turcotte, the Geneva plant’s directorof human resources.

Turcotte came to the companyafter a career at Birdseye, whichwas based in Rochester before it waspurchased by a New Jersey companya few years back.

She’s only been at Zotos for about1

1⁄2 years, but loves the company’s

vibe.

“They’re a great family company,”she said. “There’s a lot of passion inthe organization.”

The company sees a bright futurein Geneva, said Lafferty.

“It is all about (the) growth ofZotos,” he said. “We continue toinvest in the plant.”

Chamber picks Zotos as Business of the Year

Submitted photo

Terry Lafferty, senior director of manufacturing at Zotos International, accepts congratulations from Finger LakesTimes Publisher Paul Barrett after Zotos was honored as the Geneva Area Chamber of Commerce’s Business of theYear Thursday. Looking on are other members of the Zotos team in attendance.

the veggies wouldbegin.

“I would watch themchop and flip pans [onTV],” Joe remembers,“so I would take all thevegetables in the houseat 1 o’clock in themorning and chop themall up and sauté them... and then throw themaway.

“My mom would getup and wonder whatthe heck happened, butthat’s how I learned touse a knife properlyand how to flip a pan.”

Joe Caratozzololaughed at the memorywhile relaxing in hisoffice at the new delLago Resort & CasinoTuesday. Workersbuzzed around seem-ingly everywhere, allgetting ready for thisweek’s opening.

Caratozzolo has beennamed the executivechef of The Sociale Café& Bar, the casinohotel’s main eatery. It’sa natural fit for the 34-year-old MynderseAcademy Class of 2001graduate who grew upsurrounded by greatcooks in his largeItalian- and Polish-American family.

He began his careerin the restaurant busi-ness at the area’s mosticonic diner, Connie’s inWaterloo, which justhappened to be namedfor his grandmotherand run by her and hisgrandfather Frankwhen he started thereas a young bus boy. Itwas a job that lastedall of two days, hejokes.

“My uncles yelled atme because I wasalways standing in thekitchen watching themcook the whole time,”he said. “They made me

a dishwasher so I couldbe in the kitchen.”

He moved his way upto prepping and thencooking at Connie’s andlater worked at otherarea hot spots, such asthe Deluxe in Geneva,Amandrea’s in Waterlooand The Gould andHenry B’s in SenecaFalls. It got him off andrunning on a whirlwindfood journey thatincluded stops inBiloxi, Miss.; NewOrleans; New YorkCity; and Italy.

He has worked at theBeau Rivage Resort &Casino in Biloxi, forcelebrity chef JohnBesh (at his flagshipRestaurant August inNew Orleans), and forJames Beard awardwinner Alon Shaya(helping open hisfamous Domenica, alsoin the Big Easy).

Along the way, hemet his wife Yuet, anative of Hong Kong —they now have two chil-dren, a 2 1/2-year-olddaughter and an 8-month-old son — andworked as a line chef, asous chef, a steakhousechef, a Japanese chef,an Italian chef ... andjust about else every-thing in between. Healso earned a degree atthe French CulinaryInstitute in Manhattan.

Joe returned to hishometown area a fewyears ago to be the per-sonal chef for BonaDentand former Henry B’sowner Bruce Bonafigliawith the idea of possi-bly opening a restau-rant someday. However,when he heard aboutplans for the LasVegas-style del Lago,he decided to “hang outand wait to see” if hecould land a job there

instead.Mission accom-

plished. Now, he findshimself working, as hesays, “four minutes”from where he grew up— something he neverenvisioned when hewas taking culinaryclasses at Wayne-Finger Lakes BOCESwhile in high school.

“I wake up every dayand I’m still kind ofshocked,” Caratozzolosaid. “I’ve been in thecasino business roughly10 years off and on,and to have somethinglike this open up in myhometown is amazing.”

He has a brother,Anthony, who alsoworks in the casinoindustry — for nearly20 years at MGM —and another brother,Patrick, who works atBonaDent. His mom,who passed away abouta year ago, was famousin Seneca Falls for herwedding cakes, and Joeadds, “all my unclescould cook, and all fourof my grandparentscould cook.”

“My grandmother(Faye Dombrowski)makes the best pies I’veever had in my life, tothis day,” he says.

When Joe heard thatanother celebrity chef,Fabio Viviani, wasgoing to be heading upPortico’s, del Lago’s pri-mary restaurant, he gotin touch with him themodern way — viasocial media and thenetworking siteLinkedIn — and landedan invite to do a tryouttasting.

The menu for thetasting was not onlymouth-watering butdrawn fromCaratozzolo’s variedexperiences: warm mus-

sel salad with citrusdressing; chickpea soup;yard egg raviolo (apotato pasta filled withricotta, egg yolk andbrown butter); halibutwith a tomatoagrodolce.

The result: He washired.

However, instead ofbeing placed inPortico’s, Caratozzolowas named executivechef of the hotel, whichin addition to Socialeincludes all banquetsand room service.

Because the hotelwon’t open until laterthis year, Joe has beenhelping to get theFarmers Market Buffetup and running alongwith a French Quarter-themed restaurant inThe Vine, the casino’sentertainment venue.

He has been writingand rewriting themenus for Sociale,which technically isbeing called a “gastro-spa” — patrons can get

a spa treatment andlight fare, though nei-ther the spa treatmentnor a hotel stay will benecessary to dine there.

“I’m more excitedabout this restaurantthan I have been withany restaurant thatI’ve ever been involvedwith,” Joe said. “Thiswill be the first timethat I actually get toshowcase my talentsfrom the start. I’vealways taken overrestaurants as an exec-utive chef, and once arestaurant is startedyou kind of have tostick to their guidelinesand what they’redoing.”

He says there will bea lot of seafood, a rawbar with oysters, alongwith “fresh, clean fla-vors, a lot of herbs,fresh vegetables.”

“I’m going to havesome Latin Americaninfluence, some Asianinfluences,” he said.“It’s going to be casual

but a little more refinedthan most casualrestaurants aroundhere. It won’t be stuffy— it’ll still be fun —and the plating will bevery artistic but not off-putting.”

In other words, it willbe a long way from theofferings at Connie’s.Then again, maybe itwon’t.

The influences ofworking at the familydiner still cling to himlike pancake batter. It’sbeen a long, circuitousroute, but JoeCaratozzolo has landedfour minutes from home— literally and figura-tively.

When Mike Cutillo isnot trying to figure outhow to make anagrodolce, he is theexecutive editor at theFinger Lakes Times.Contact him at mcutillo@fltimes.com or (315)789-3333, ext. 264.

CHEF� Continued from Page 1A

Spencer Tulis / Finger Lakes Times

Joe Caratozzolo is the executive chef of The Sociale Café & Bar, the del LagoResort & Casino hotel’s main eatery.

Humane Society honorsBesides the Business of the Year award, Bill McGuigan, chief education officer of the Ontario County Humane Society,

accepted the Geneva Chamber of Commerce’s Non Profit of the Year Award for service to encouraging the human treat-

ment of animals. The Ontario County Humane Society was formed in 1989.