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48 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2017 { corporate buyers } WHEN FORMER FEDERAL prosecutors ic osenfield and arry la opened the first California izza itchen C in Beerly ills in , they new riht away that they had created a reolution in pizza. Celebrities and others in the entertain - ent counity were early adopters of Cs innoatie, hearth-baed pizzas with ultra-fresh inredients. ery soon, the brand bean to epand. Today, there are close to 00 locations in countries worldwide. But een the ost successful restaurant brand needs refreshin after 0 years. hen current C . . art cae on board in 20, he enisioned a reiaination of C, fro reapin the aesthetic desin to 2st-century standards to brinin season - ality and the hihest uality inredients to the enu and rooin iportant details lie the wine list and coctail enu. nter shley Ceraolo. The aretin aor fro Cal tate ullertonand holder of a soelier certificate fro the Court of aster oeliersalready had etensie restaurant eperience and was happily eployed at another ery successful California-based chain when art offered her a ob at C fie years ao. fter ain a trip to Cs prototype restaurant in lorida, "I fell in loe with it," she says. "I wanted to brin that eperience to all of the uests who dine at C." Ceraolo has been in the food and beer - ae industry for 22 years now. It all started with her faily, who fostered seeral other children. "The faily dinner table was an eperience I loedthe different bacrounds, different stories," recalls Ceraolo. er first professional i was as "shae aster" at a 0s-theed diner chain. "I did what it too to et into the corporate office," says the ery deterined and directed pro. eeral industry obs later, as Cs of aretin and Beerae, Ceraolo sea - lessly elds the duties norally resered for two ery different eecs. "I hae a pas- sion for arryin food and beerae with aretin," she says. n the beerae side, she oerhauled the C beerae prora, "ebracin seasonal, inredient-drien coctails with fresh-cut arnishes and bou - tiue wine selectionsiproeents that resulted in a sinificant sales lift," she reports. "I reiained eery aspect of the bar." n the coctail front, that includes a uniue sanria prora. "e pride ourseles on our seasonal sanriasa top-perforin coctail thats ery eperiential. e offer sanrias ade with and ros." In the wine departent, it eans "lots of wine by the lass" in si- and nine-ounce pours. Ceraolos list, which is fairly unifor throuh - out C locations, is 0 percent does- tic and "super-heay California-focused," she says. "ince were called California izza itchen, our uests epect California aors. ery wine on our list is approachable and balanced and offers us ecellent pairin opportunities with the rane of California fresh inredients and lobal aors, fro our pizzas to our salads and ain plates. Top sellers include the Clos du Bois Chardonnay and the rancis ord Coppola inot riio also used in the sanria, and ros is trend - in, accordin to Ceraolo. erhaps surpris- inly, the bracin obilo auinon Blanc fro ew ealand is also a star perforer at C. n the aretin side, Ceraolo leeraes social edia with say capains such as Cs ational izza onth prootions in ctober, featurin uniue ieaways and user-enerated content-based contests where uests can receie "izza ouh" dough here referrin to an in-house cur - rency that can be used at C locations. "The diital eperience is a reat opportu- nity for two-way counications between C and our uests. Its ery shareable, ery oranic in reach," concludes Ceraolo. "These days, eeryone has their phone with theand we need to be there." Ceraolo is also leerain her cobined epertise in aretin and beerae to brin wine eploration and education to the fore durin California ine onth epteber with creatie diital proras, custo wine and sanria ihts and in- restaurant actiations. Ceraolos contributions hae been inaluable to the "polished casual" concept of C as it continues to row, but shes also uic to credit others "I hae an aaz - in tea of 2 that help in all aspects of the business, how to optiize and brin thins to the table for the uest and create an interated capain that resonates." lthouh shes ore than uent in ar - etin-spea, one siple word recurs oer and oer aain in Ceraolos conersation guest. hy "Thats why were all here" PHOTO COURTESY OF CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN Resonating with Guests ASHLEY CERAOLO, SVP OF MARKETING AND BEVERAGE AT CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN by David Gadd Ashley Ceraolo is a 22-year veteran of the food and beverage industry.