Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Timeline
Generic

John Brunjes III

Wayne

Summary

Dynamic Head Cook with a proven track record at Fresh Ideas Food Service Management, enhancing meal quality and reducing waste through innovative food preparation and training. Recognized for exceptional communication and cost control skills, I transformed kitchen operations, fostering a culture of pride and excellence among staff while delivering culinary masterpieces.

Overview

5
5
years of professional experience

Work History

Head Cook

Fresh Ideas Food Service Management
08.2020 - Current

Started as pitmaster for the Barbeque concept "Smoked". Within 2 months of arrival, I improved the quality of the product put out immensely. Before I took over the duties of preparing all of the food (all of the smoked barbeque and all of the sides), the concept was averaging 125 customers a week. By the end of the semester, we were averaging 200 plus just through our lunch rush. Gained recognition within the company and got the attention of the founding chef with how I treated the concept he got up and running in the company.

The concept was so successful, that our company integrated a supplementary kitchen concept alongside the barbeque one. I was running both concepts simultaneously, Smoked and Melt Lab. Doing so increased our popularity, increased the sales, and increased the overall satisfaction of the student and community served.

The college decided to swap concepts suddenly, and I rose to the occasion. Total switch to producing Chinese cuisine. Once the school year was up and the contract changed, Qdoba was brought in and I was tasked with helping build that from the ground up. During its start up, I was handling everything. I was the grill cook, I was the prep cook, I was the supervisor of the whole concept(which Qdoba reps said was impossible). I took the full weight of it on my shoulders. Afterwards, I requested a transfer to main dining. My skills weren't utilized correctly, and I knew that I was capable of much more. Upon transfer, as head cook for the lunch menu, that's when I proved my worth. Within the first week of my arrival, I was able to reduce over production completely, I eliminated all waste, the quality of the meals provided were exponentially increased. I made our kitchen a point of pride within the company and within the community. I held the staff working with me to the highest of standards and got their skills sharpened. Across the board, everyone began to want to give more effort, take more pride, and see that they were capable of crafting not only better meals, but works of culinary art.

Education

High School Diploma -

Winter Park High School
Winter Park, FL

Skills

  • Meal preparation - held myself to the absolute highest standard I always stood by the food I put out and always approached it with the philosophy "I would pay money for this"
  • Food preparation - ensured that I prepared enough food to feed all that came through the dining hall, while keeping over production and waste to practically nothing
  • Food safety - made sure that there was no risk of cross contamination, made sure that known food allergies were taken into consideration when preparing food for our allergen line
  • Verbal and written communication - communicated effectively with all of my coworkers Instruction, advise, and direction were easy to understand
  • Cost control - within first week I eliminated all over production that had been an issue in the past Reduced waste amounts to that of only trim and bones
  • Recipe development - worked with executive chef on recipe improvements to our current catalog of recipes and as a result, our meals were met with great praise among the students and faculty
  • Garnishing techniques - prior to my arrival, garnishing was something that was overlooked I instilled in each and every single worker that until you taste the food, what you see sets the tone Simple things make a world of difference
  • Food spoilage prevention - under my guidance, we controlled our output to the point of eliminating spoilage Helped the executive chef keep our inventory to amounts that allowed a constant rotation of fresh products coming in I also required higher levels of scrutiny when it came to our products
  • Training and mentoring - I have been described as "the heart and soul of the kitchen" by many No matter how busy I was, I made myself very approachable when it came to any questions No matter how big or small, when any of my workers came to me, helping them to create better meals was always priority As a result, every single worker who was tasked with cooking has improved tremendously
  • Waste reduction - as previously stated, I was able to reduce waste considerably by controlling amounts, eliminating over production, and teaching the concept of batch cooking The kitchen had a habit of producing everything right up front I taught how to stagger the amounts To produce enough to allow for us to adjust and cook additional as it was needed This also kept the quality of foods provided at a much higher level
  • Performance improvement - I expected the staff to hold themselves to higher standards, to take pride in the food they made, and to push the boundaries of what they made I gave them the desire to want to take chances and want to attempt more difficult recipes
  • Sauce making - my current executive chef stated that if he were to open his own business, he would take me as his professional saucier

Timeline

Head Cook

Fresh Ideas Food Service Management
08.2020 - Current

High School Diploma -

Winter Park High School

Similar Profiles

CREATE PROFILE
John Brunjes III