Executive Chef Staff

Summary

A self-motivated professional with outstanding skills as both chef and manager, I possess superior leadership and interpersonal skills. I have an innate ability to build rapport with guests, colleagues, and vendors and interact effectively with people of various cultures and backgrounds. I thrive and excel in high-pressure, challenging and deadline-driven environments. I seek to bring strong supervisory, food prep and organizational skills to any corporate or chef-driven kitchen with a chance to showcase my talent and express my passion through the foods I prepare. I believe in leading by example and willing to get my hands dirty. I also have close ties to the agricultural community in Palm Beach County, especially in the Loxahatchee area.

Profile

Raised in the restaurant and hospitality business from a young age, the Liang family has owned and operated multiple restaurants in the South Florida dating back to the late 70’s, most notably opening the first Dim Sum (Chinese) restaurant in the area. After college, I was drawn back to my passion for the restaurant industry and pursued it with vigor. In addition to the culinary, I have forged strong management acumen from my tenures on the Loxahatchee Groves Town Council, sole operation of the family agricultural business and experience in multiple restaurants (both corporate and chef-driven).

Culinary Highlights

Over 3 years experience in managing kitchen operations and supervising staff in a high volume environment

Food safety and sanitation

Department of Health requirements/regulations

Regulatory compliance & documentation

Staff development and training

Labor & food cost control

Scheduling

Excellent butchery skills

Well versed in assigning responsibilities to ‘Back of House’ (BOH)

Able to create and maintain excellent rapport with patrons, co-workers, and vendors

Daily special rotations

Create, develop and execute seasonal menu changes

ServSafe valid until 2020

Knowledge of plumbing, carpentry, and other “handy-man” type skills

Education

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 1997 - 2000

Computer Science

Professional Experience

COOPER CRAFT KITCHEN & BAR May 2014 –Present

Executive Sous Chef

Execute Executive Chef’s and GM’s vision for the restaurant

Ensure guests are served on time and effectively

Help with planning of menus and specials

Supervise preparation and service of food

Maintain high food quality and presentation

Prepare and oversee county health inspections

Train and oversee kitchen workforce on recipe procedures, preparation and cleaning duties

Create and monitor weekly food purchase budget

Maintain and develop local vendor relationships

Direct and instruct BOH on their individual tasks

Maintained hygiene standards of kitchen and equipment

Prepare individual ad hoc orders

Ensure food preparation procedures for quality, uniformity and accurateness

Daily Purchases (proteins, produce, dry storage, etc.)

Create daily prep lists

Create weekly BOH schedule

Weekly inventory counts

Address weekly variances

Organize and maintain coolers and dry storage as menu mix changes

Conduct 1st and 2nd interviews for BOH staff

Keep Executive Chef and GM apprised of potential issues/problems that may present itself.

Notable Achievements

Addressed major variances issues and brought initial variance down 8% in less than a quarter (savings of $42,000). Food cost was originally at 38% and now consistanty 31.4%.

Improved Health inspection score from 72 to 96

Consistently kept labor under budget

TOWN OF LOXAHATCHEE GROVES Mar 2008 – Present

Councilman

Create policies, ordinances, and resolutions for the Town

Evaluate and create policy for Town Staff

Develop and maintain and relationships with residents, landowners, and businesses

Strengthen relationships with state and local representatives

Develop yearly town budget ($2M - 3M annually)

Set and adopt town millage rate

Notable Achievements

I was the youngest and first ethnic elected town council member in Loxahatchee Groves

Re-elected twice (2011, 2014) based on performance, town rapport and trust from the community

J ALEXANDERS

Line Cook (Palm Beach Gardens) Oct 2010 – May 2012

Worked Utility AM/PM, Assemble AM/PM, P3

Line Cook (Boca Raton/Plantation) 2002 - 2015

Worked Utility PM, Assemble PM, Salad PM, P3

PF CHANGS (Aventura, Falls, Boca Raton, Palm Beach Gardens) 2000 - 2015

Line Cook, Butcher, Corporate Trainer

Line Cook (Wok), Pantry, Vegetable Prep, Meat Prep, Pastry (Dumplings)

Notable Achievements

As corporate trainer, I was responsible for training all new management in South Florida in all BOH stations.

Opened Boca Raton location, trained wok and butcher.

Proficiencies

Excellent communicator – verbose written and oral communication skills. Consistently deliver clear, concise and useful information to facilitate sound decision making and actions

Team building – knows and understands challenges of teams of all diversities. Able to navigate with effective communication, attention to assemble and oversee large teams to maximize productivity

Foresight with attention to detail – able to see the “Big Picture” quickly, readily yet able to focus on the minutia equally to drive home quality

Excellent knife/butchery skills

Ability to resolve conflicts efficiently

Proficiency with computer (Windows), office tools (MS Office), Avero, When-To-Manage, Hot Schedules, POS

Excellent rapport with co-workers and staff

Attentive to personal hygiene and appearance

100% committed to my profession and establishment I am with (coming in early, staying late, “side projects”, etc.

Staff Development – Experience as a corporate trainer and swim/water polo coach (ages 5-18) has provided me with the skill set needed to train and develop staff from dishwasher up to management level.

Effective leadership – ability to motivate, encourage, and push others to achieve their best potential.

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