Blair Asbury

Oversees the dietary operations for the adult services division of a behavioral health residential and vocational program:

• Develops annual operating budget utilizing current dietary portion allowance, cost per meal adjusted for inflation based on the consumer price index (CPI), standing event historical average spent, determined labor matrices for each location and forecasted adjustments to both controllable and non-controllable expenses
• Records, allocates and reconciles, monthly, all dietary transactions outside of contracted meal service including but not limited to departmental supply requisitions, program grocery provisions, client dietary supplements & catered events (internal & external)
• Procures cost effectives quotes for capital expenditures on culinary equipment by maximizing negotiated GPO discounts with approved vendors
• Prepares and presents project scope analysis, for new business opportunities, offering several solutions with implementation plan, labor matrix and financial proforma, to provide feasible options within the client's intended budget
• Monitors and updates pricing for operating inventory monthly and finds suitable replacements to maintain budgeted cost per meal without compromising food quality or portion size
• Partners with other departments to meet the needs of the client, demonstrating effective cross team utilization, often resulting in cost savings due to maximizing existing resources

Achievements:

• Created and Implemented the Grocery Distribution Project, that insured 76 residential programs housing approximately 300 individuals received provisions during the Covid-19 Pandemic
• On a weekly basis, orders were submitted, processed to determine purchasing needs, fulfilled and delivered according to mandatory safety guidelines, tallied & allocated accordingly and submitted for monthly reconciliation
• The project included creation of the project scope, supervision of additional staff, adherence to dietary portioning and allergy restrictions, development of core necessities ordering guide with auto-ship delivery default and later the addition of a Specialty Request offerings & holiday inspired meal kits and at the core, effective collaboration with Devereux transportation and maintenance, as a result creating a year long success
• Maintained food cost and overall operating costs post Covid (2021-present), while increasing volume and scope of business, despite a record 11% increase in food prices (triple it's typical amount) in 2022 and forecasted 5% for 2023
• Selected by Food Management Magazine to be featured in their annual recognition article as one of the Top 16 Healthcare Food Service Worker Heroes for 2021.

Oversaw the operations of 8 retail outlets that contributed over 65% of the revenue to an annual operating budget of $20 million:

• Reviewed financial deliverables for accuracy, trends, reforecast adjustments and necessary variance explanations
• Established mark-up pricing in accordance with corporate & brand guidelines, budgeted food cost and expected profit margin
• Adhered to National Brand compliance and commission reporting for Starbucks, Subway, AFC Sushi and Chick-fil-A
• Collaborated with the leadership team to insure menu variety while creating the static menu for the academic year, the monthly Limited time Offers (LTO), the weekly schedule for the Pop-Up Restaurant Rotation and both the retail bundled meal options and meal exchange equivalency
• Maintained vendor relationships to update menu mix in market and to recognize purchasing compliance & discounts, contract specifications, financial accountability, prescribed marketing initiatives and potential guest engagement opportunities

Achievements:

• Attained 125% of projected retail revenue in 1st year of operations due to introducing retail bundled meal exchange programs, offering promotions on trending convenience store items based on geographical and demographic sales reports, participating in National Brand promotions open to both students and public and taking advantage of discount pricing from vendors
• Developed, reviewed and forecasted operating budgets for 7 different retail locations and maintained National Brand compliance for sales and commission reporting
• Achieved the #1 ranking in sales for Greater Philadelphia Starbucks in the Higher Education market for two sequential years, attributed to increased compliance in the Starbucks playbook, participating in seasonal promotions and accepting Dragon Dollars as form of payment
• Project Lead for the Chick-fil-A refresh renovation in June 2018. Responsible for the creation and submission of business license applications to the city of Philadelphia, communication of timeline updates between local & regional brand partners, CFA Corporate, Drexel and Aramark. Department of health progress and opening inspections and associate brand training prior to open in Fall 2018.

Provided operational oversight of the Residential Dining program and the 120 associates (hourly & student workers) that contributed $3.85 million to the overall annual sales:

• Prepared necessary data for applicable parts of the budget; projects annual food, labor and other costs and monitors actual financial results; took corrective action as necessary to assure that financial goals were met
• Contributed to procuring new lines of business through the Bid Proposal Process which included RFP meetings, budget development, proposal development, sales pitch, sight visits and transition support
• Facilitated the training of new management to the company and assists existing management with continuing education for new corporate initiatives & administrative reporting systems by creating user friendly training job aides and presentations available on the company intranet for self-learning and/or on location by request

Achievements:

• Boosted the LVC board program profitability by implementing a food sustainability program, which reduced food cost $0.12 per meal to $2.40 cost per meal, $0.08 less than the national average for higher education.
• Created the 1st corporate wide recipe database used to compile nutrition information for the national menu labeling regulations, the Live Well & FUEL Student Athlete program.
• Developed and established the Metz Student Manager role, open to existing qualified student workers to apply for consideration. The newly implemented, paid position, offered FT summer/PT academic year employment with free dorm accommodation for the selected candidate. The position included a rotation in each leadership position, supervisory duties for a set number of shifts, leadership seat as the acting representative & liaison for all food service student workers and upon successful completion and graduation, an entry level salaried opportunity to join Metz Culinary Management.
• Contributed to the E.A.T Project partnership between Metz and LVC, which won LVC's Student Affair's Program of the Year 2013, , Student projects were presented at the ASFA/AFHVS Conference, featured in industry publications and highlighted on NBC with Lester Holtz.

Provided operation management services to country club contracts:

• Analyzed monthly financial statements to monitor profit after controllables, annual budget, P&L statements for events and variances
• Responsible for alcohol purchases, costing and pricing
• Created banquet standard operating procedures, expectations, training and employee evaluation program

Achievements:

• Restructured the consumption sheets and liquors offered for catered events to maintain an average 17% Beverage Cost.
• Contributed to the team responsible for reducing debt for a newly owned club by $400K and executed approximately $410K banquet revenue from April 2010 thru December 2010.