Jared Bonke

Currently the BOH closing manager and lead cook. I have worked every station in the Kitchen but have focused most of my attention on the sauté station.

• Supervised a team of about 20 cooks in a high-volume kitchen, ensuring efficient operations and timely delivery of food orders

• Trained new cooks on proper food preparation, cooking methods, and safety procedures, resulting in improved productivity and adherence to health regulations

• Monitored kitchen equipment performance and coordinated repairs or maintenance as needed to minimize downtime

• Ensured compliance with health department regulations regarding food handling, storage temperatures, cleanliness, and hygiene practices

• Oversaw the plating presentation of dishes to ensure they met aesthetic standards before being served to customers

• Collaborated with the manufacturer front-of-house staff to address customer feedback or special requests regarding menu items

• Got my ServSafe Manager certification in Sept. 2025

• Currently spend most of my nights overseeing the kitchen and working expo during dinner service.

Started as a line cook but got moved up to Kitchen Supervisor after a year. I got my ServeSafe certification through here in 2021.

I was required to know the kitchen inside and out and was responsible for ordering and truck deliveries. I was also in charge of managing the kitchen staff and often was the last manager to leave the building with the staff when the night was over. I trained about 20 staff members during my time here and helped bring our restaurant to the highest grossing Red Lobster in our region.

Another job I picked up before moving to La Crosse permanently. While not in line with restaurant work, it did help me build core fundamentals and the ability to work alone and find my own answers as all of my work was independent. I learned a lot about teamwork and how to follow instructions carefully.

I started in dish but quickly moved to omelettes and eventually head brunch cook. I worked with my boss alone during brunch shifts where I learned how to compose a menu, how to manage inventory and how to treat customers as I spent a lot of time cooking in front of our customers. This job was very fundamental to my career onwards.