Executive Chef Food Service

Donnel Freeman

Las Vegas, NV ***** • 909-***-**** • ****************@*****.***

EXECUTIVE CHEF

SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS

•Forward thinking leader to plan and direct food preparation culinary activities in multiple environments.

•Innovative and creative to modify menus or create new ones that meet facility quality standards.

•Estimate food requirements and budgeted food/labor costs; execute equipment purchases and repairs.

•Recruit, hire, train, motivate, develop and supervise kitchen staff activities with proven ability to lead, manage, coach, and motivate people creating an inspired, productive team.

•Meticulous accuracy in recipe costing, monitoring overall food cost, and maintaining inventory.

•Rectify arising problems or complaints quickly; identify and resolve problems efficiently.

•Perform operations and administrative duties including time, payroll and staff scheduling.

•Comply with nutrition and sanitation regulations and safety standards.

•Exceptional organizational and time management skills to plan, work efficiently and meet deadlines.

•Effective, articulate interpersonal, oral and written communications skills at all levels of an organization.

•Professional demeanor and conduct, motivated and reliable with honesty and integrity.

•Adept at executing multiple, complex projects concurrently with attention to detail and a sense of urgency.

•Demonstrated record of high performance standards; attention to schedules, deadlines and quality of work.

•Maintain current knowledge of cooking trends and best kitchen practices.

•Knowledge of various computer software programs (MS Office, restaurant management software, POS).

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

MAMA’S KITCHEN Las Vegas, NV 06/2020 to Present

Southern, southwestern style and soul food restaurant.

OWNER / EXECUTIVE CHEF

•Specializing in homestyle foods made from scratch and special orders cooked per request.

•Employ, schedule, and supervise 14+ staff and execute payroll.

•Provide catered dinners for various organizations and banquets for different agencies.

•Create specialized events for dinner parties and for companies throughout the Las Vegas valley.

•Have created ice sculptures for dinners and banquets upon request.

SOUTHWEST SOUTHERN GRILL Las Vegas, NV 01/2017 to 04/2020

EXECUTIVE CHEF / GENERAL MANAGER

•Oversaw front and back of the house, staffing with managers and employees.

•Controlled food cost at 25% menu planning, quality control, and service excellence.

ARAMARK (Contracted to Multiple Locations) 10/2009 to 01/2017

RADY'S CHILDREN HOSPITAL San Diego, CA 10/2015 to 01/2017

EXECUTIVE CHEF

•Oversaw all food operations for a 500-bed hospital. Supervised 75 direct report employees.

•Performed menu planning, food cost control; reduced waste by 30%.

•Hired, managed, and trained staff; implemented room service for the entire hospital.

•Appeared on ABC news for creating an Ice Sculpture of a DNA Strand.

CLEVELAND CLINIC Cleveland, OH 11/2013 to 10/2015

SENIOR EXECUTIVE CHEF

•Oversaw all food operations for 1,500 bed hospital and 200+ employees, multi units and nine cotes.

•In charge of $20M retail operation increasing sales over the last 17 months of tenure.

•Executed company policies, guidelines, and procedures for all food and supplies budget to objectives.

•Developed recipes and revised special duties.

CHRISTUS SPOHN HEALTH SYSTEMS Corpus Christie, TX 11/2009 to 11/2013

EXECUTIVE CHEF

•Oversaw all food operations including menu planning and food preparation for special events and catering.

•Executed purchasing, inventory control, and projected and maintained food and labor costs.

FREEMANS CATERING Scottsdale, AZ 03/2006 to 10/2009

OWNER / CHEF

•Owned and operated full-service catering business producing $1M in annual revenue.

•Oversaw operations in menu and banquet planning, costs, and food preparation for special events.

• Planned and executed functions ranging in size from 20 to 1500 plus people.

• Negotiated with outside vendors; reduced cost by 11% through vendor negotiations.

• Boosted profits through maintaining food costs 38-42%; exceeded budget goal of 47% in 2007 and 2008.

• Highly proficient knowledge of computer programs, especially in creating menus, analyzing recipes to determine food, labor, and overhead costs; and calculating prices for various dishes.

BOULDER RESORT Scottsdale, AZ 06/2004 to 03/2006

AM CHEF

•Oversaw all food-service operations for this five-star resort.

•Managed 3 kitchens and 20+ staff, including food prep cooks, cooks, and fryers.

•Directed kitchen operations, purchasing budget, inventory planning, menu development, pricing, staff scheduling, vendor contracts, regulatory compliance, and food and labor cost and control.

•Trained, and motivated and developed new and existing staff members; achieved less than 25% turnover.

•Ensured resort's high standards were being met or exceeded.

•Monitored employees to ensure health and safety standards were maintained.

•Implemented operational changes to reduce and waste resulting in significant improvements to bottom line.

•Accountable for all ordering, inventory, and costing.

HOLIDAY RETIREMENT CORPORATION Salem, OR 08/1997 to 06/2004

SENIOR CORPORATE EXECUTIVE CHEF

•Directed food service operations for all community locations for one of the largest retirement corporations with over 300 properties worldwide.

•Maintained high food quality and implemented state mandated sanitation and safety standards.

•Executed price structuring, special event planning, labor, and control of a $6M food budget.

•Negotiated with outside vendors, conducted monthly staff meetings, determined food pricing, provided sales/profit analysis, and conducted food reviews.

•Maintained 100% rating on state/county health inspections and corporate safety and health inspections.

•Recognized by senior management; received annual bonuses for achieving corporate budget expectations.

•Instrumental in community grand-openings and planning; led team in charge of designing functional kitchen floor plans and menu development.

Personnel Management: Hired, maintained, trained, and delegated to corporate, regional, and executive chefs within the retirement communities. Developed staffing guidelines for back/front house functions. Determined labor needed for each community.

Menu Planning / Research Development: Created prototypes in accordance with consumer feedback and established target product profiles. Provided innovative menu development by standardizing and establishing portion control.

Sanitation and Safety: Ensured cleanliness, quality, and food service standards and procedures.

Performed periodic checks and audits of community locations. Developed a monthly community report, personally investigated, and resolved any complaints within the community.

SENIOR RETIREMENT Redlands, CA 05/1995 to 08/1997

EXECUTIVE CHEF

•Senior Retirement 300 bed retirement facility, managed 25 employees cooked 3 meals per day.

•Maintained a $3 per person food cost and developed menus.

EDUCATION: Courses: The Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, NY (No Degree) 1999 and 2001

Contact this candidate