Joaquin Menendez

Develop and teach Culinary Arts and foodservice industry clases to young aspiring professionals to achieve employment opportunities for students

• Responsible for all culinary activity front and back of the house for 100 permanent residents. Budgeting, hiring, business development. As well as employee training, maintaining sanitary standards, facility maintenance, dietary needs and especial events planning.

• Responsible for planning and executing events for ranch family, catering events and guest houses guest.
• Created agricultural plan to produce vegetables and honey.
• Implemented agricultural programs to increase the cattle production.
• Responsible for growing produce and herbs to create farm to table meal experience.
• Manage the supply chain and purchasing.
• Ensure customer satisfaction and table service excellence
• Manage reservations for lodging, special events and catering sales

• Coordinate daily Front of the House and Back of the House restaurant operations. Regularly review product quality and vendor relationships. Appraise staff performance and provide feedback to improve productivity. Responsible for recruiting and hiring across all departments creating a funnel for interested applicants to apply. Budgeting and Marketing on social media. Ensure compliance with sanitation and safety regulations. Catered events in both the Cellar Room and Wine Bar including sign off on execution plan and set up as well as staffing. Control operational costs. Scheduling and Pay roll. Train new and current employees on proper customer service practices.

• Oversaw the restaurant operations for the J&G Grill fine dining restaurant and St. Regis bar. Responsibilities included staff management and financial reporting of P&L financial statements related to the dining room operations. Supported the sommelier and servers in the sales of very extensive wine menu. Motivated and implemented hiring and retention strategies for front of the house staff. Participated in sales and F&B committee to develop strategies for internal and external marketing, as well as all other F&B logistics and strategy development to ensure customer satisfaction. Supported staff members with POS solution and training. Implemented hiring and training strategies to optimize the hiring and retention of front of the house and back of the house staff members. Coordinated with the back of the house to market events and special chef creations. Coordinated with the sales department to ensure customer satisfaction for special events. Implemented recovery strategies for customer failure and created customer satisfaction opportunities. Maintained the etiquette required for a 5-star and 4-diamond resort.

• Duties included purchasing all foods and supplies for 4 different outlets. Responsible for coordination with other departments to schedule maintenance of facilities and operating restaurant equipment. Oversaw the temporal labor cost, and coordinate food and good distribution among the different departments in the resort.

• Developed course syllabus that align with curriculum goals and student learning outcomes in Culinary Arts. Trained students in proper food handling techniques, equipment usage, sanitation and safety, menu planning and execution, dining service, and other lab activities. Assessed course outcomes; student satisfaction, student retention and utilized results to improve program quality. Courses taught included:
• World Cuisine, Classical European Cuisine, American Regional Cuisine, Latin Cuisine, Concepts and Theories of Culinary Arts, Food and Beverages Operation Management, Leadership and Organizational Behavior, Marketing for Hospitality Management, Managing by Menu, Cost Control in Food and Beverages Management, IT Solutions Implementation, Capstone Business Plans Development, Legal Issues and Ethics for Food Service, Food Service Financial Management, Wine Services, Sustainable Purchasing and Cost-Control, Catering and Event Management, Casinos and Institutional Food Service Operations, and Facilities Management and Design.

• Managed day to day activities of employees and assigned responsibilities to ensure inventory levels were appropriate. Guaranteed exceptional level of food, service, ambiance, and overall customer and associate satisfaction. Assured that all products were prepared and presented following high company standards. Monitored activities, duties, and responsibilities of employees on the management team to ensure they were performing exceptional-level work daily.
• Oversaw all business operations for restaurant, including customer service, sales, strategic planning, policy development and supply chain. Secured desired recipe ingredients while maintaining tight cost controls through efficient procurement.
• Developed menus and oversaw quality, sanitation, and safety processes.
• Generated employee schedules, work assignments and determined appropriate compensation rates.
• Design and oversaw remodeling project of $1M for kitchen, dining room, bar, office and exterior for a restaurant for 120 guests. Responsible for all food production for the restaurant and catering operation

• Ensured culinary production met highest industry standards, including production, presentation, and service standards. Coached 40 kitchen staff at all levels to prepare each for demanding roles in seasonal cafe of 120 seats. Controlled food cost and menu design, menu cost, and recipe standardization. Oversaw all business operations for restaurant, including customer service, sales, strategic planning, policy development and receiving and supply chain.
• Implemented project management system for seasonal cycles of operations to optimize revenue and minimize cost, improved revenues by 38%.
• Ensured excellent food quality and maximized customer satisfaction while preparing meals according to customer requests.
• Improved productivity and increased kitchen workflow through leadership of training for all kitchen positions.
• Conducted construction work and supervised purchasing and installation of kitchen equipment with a capital $300K.
• Conducted and manage sales for banquets and especial events.