Keith Droz
Crown Point,IN
Summary
· Top 100 Restaurants in the country for best night out – OpenTable
· Best American Cuisine 8 months straight – OpenTable
· Paired more than 50 - Wine, Bourbon and Craft Beer Dinners
· Top 12 best spots to celebrate right now in Nashville – OpenTable
· Diners Choice Award – OpenTable
· Hottest Restaurants in Nashville Right Now – Eater Nashville
· Top 10 Most Delicious Restaurants in Nashville You’ve Never Tried – Only in Your State
Overview
10
10
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Laborer
DONOVAN CONSTRUCTION
07.2024 - Current
- Started out part time and went to full time after leaving Quartino’s
- Help secure new clients and write detailed notes of what the client is looking for
- Help oversee crew members and keep them on daily tasks
- Do daily tasks assigned to me by the job Foreman
- Learned all types of new skills from hanging crown molding to drywall
- (Reason for leaving – Wanting to get back into the culinary industry)
Executive Chef
QUARTINO’S
07.2024 - 05.2025
- Hired as Executive Sous Chef and was promoted to Executive Chef
- Handled all Ordering of food, paper products, janitorial needs for entire restaurant
- In Charge of hiring all new kitchen staff
- Oversaw all daily prep and worked the line or expedited
- Entered all invoices into accounting software
- Responsible for monthly inventory
- Oversaw 60 + employees
- Restaurant revenue of over $18 million a year
- (Reason for leaving – The environment was no longer a good fit for me)
Executive Chef
SERRATO’S STEAK HOUSE
04.2023 - 06.2024
- Hired to consult and open second location
- In charge of hiring all employees for second location
- Oversee daily tasks for all employees
- Do weekly orders and help receiving all orders and verifying all product is the best quality
- Help develop systems for inventory, ordering, scheduling, costing out recipes for specials
- (Reason for Leaving – My father had a debilitating accident and I moved to help)
Corporate Chef
ICON ENTERTAINMENT GROUP
07.2018 - 04.2023
- In charge of all kitchens in the company and consulting in the development of Sinatra's menu and kitchen design
- Oversaw all hiring of Head Chefs, Executive Sous Chefs, and Sous Chefs
- Trained all new Chefs on their job duties
- Oversaw the development of all training material, new SOP’s, and all aspects of the culinary development
- Main trainer of the inventory, costing, and invoicing software
- Built the interior of the system for the company
- Oversaw all new menus and aided the head chefs in recipe development
- Executive Chef at House of Cards an ICON Restaurant
- Developed all new menus, special occasion menus and specials for the restaurant
- Developed all recipes and training material
- Built order guides prep lists and allergy lists
- Hired all cooks, prep cooks and kitchen management
- Maintained a food cost between 24% and 27%
- Created all par levels for ordering and prepping
- Set up relationships with all food providers
- Did weekly scheduling for all kitchen employees
- Did monthly inventory for the kitchen
- Maintained the Executive Chef role and Corporate Chef roll at the same time
- (Reason for Leaving – Had my first child and was ultimately working 100+ hours a week)
Executive Sous Chef
CHAUHAN ALE & MASALA HOUSE
08.2017 - 07.2018
- Aided the Corporate Chef in recipe development, menu item development and specials
- Did weekly and daily orderings for the restaurant
- Hired all cooks, prep cooks
- Did weekly scheduling for all kitchen employees
- Covered stations when short staffed
- Ran expo window
- Created prep lists and pars for the restaurant
- (Reason for Leaving – Recruited to ICON Group as Executive Chef)
Sous Chef
DELIRIO LATIN FUSION
10.2015 - 05.2017
- In charge of daily produce orders and twice weekly meat orders
- Aided the chef in recipe development and menu item development
- Worked the line during service and maintained the highest of food quality for the guests
- Collaborated on specials with the chef to maintain the farm to table aspect of the restaurant
- Aided the chef in hiring and scheduling of employees
- (Reason for Leaving – New Challenges and Opportunities at Chauhan Ale to grow my Culinary career)
Education
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Hart High School
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Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts
01.2012
Skills
Culinary management
Staff training
Menu development
Inventory control
Kitchen management
Staff recruitment
Food safety compliance
Food preparation techniques
Culinary techniques
Food and beverage pairing
Business operations oversight
Budgeting and cost control
Nutrition
Verbal and written communication
Decision-making
Delegating work
Signature dish creation
Purchasing
Staffing
Ingredients selection
Performance review
Kitchen equipment operation and maintenance
Presentation management
Sanitation guidelines
Meal preparation
Regulatory compliance
Productivity optimization
Performance improvement
Recipe management
Order delivery practices
Food spoilage prevention
Food stock and supply management
Plating and garnishing
Process improvements
Equipment maintenance
Problem and complaint resolution
BOH operations
Performance assessments
Purchasing management
Restaurant operations
Sanitation standards
Fine-dining expertise
Workflow optimization
Customer retention
Policy development
Recipe development
Waste reduction
Order management
Resource management
Allergy awareness
Forecasting and planning
Food service safety training
Menu supervision
Fine dining
Staff management
Recipes and menu planning
Recruitment and onboarding
Attention to detail
Recipe creation
Food plating and presentation
Food presentation
Dietary restrictions
Staff scheduling
Banquets and catering
Inventory management
Hygiene policy implementation
Food pairing
Creative thinking
Coaching and mentoring
Catering and events
Special events
Vendor relationship management
Food prep planning
Kitchen staff management
Kitchen operations oversight
Customer service
Operations management
Safe food handling
Hiring, training, and development
Team leadership
ServSafe certification
Hospitality service expertise
Strong work ethic
Cost control
Menu planning
Food safety
Event catering coordination
Cross-functional collaboration
Health department regulations
Labor cost optimization
Customer service excellence
Performance metrics analysis
Order processing systems
Recipe standardization
Culinary innovation
Scheduling staff
Budget management
Quality assurance
Training materials creation
Vendor relations
Costing recipes
AWARDS - ACCOLADES
Top 100 Restaurants in the country for best night out – OpenTable, Best American Cuisine 8 months straight – OpenTable, Paired more than 50 - Wine, Bourbon and Craft Beer Dinners, Top 12 best spots to celebrate right now in Nashville – OpenTable, Diners Choice Award – OpenTable, Hottest Restaurants in Nashville Right Now – Eater Nashville, Top 10 Most Delicious Restaurants in Nashville You’ve Never Tried – Only in Your State
Certification
Servsafe manager certification
Timeline
Laborer
DONOVAN CONSTRUCTION
07.2024 - Current
Executive Chef
QUARTINO’S
07.2024 - 05.2025
Executive Chef
SERRATO’S STEAK HOUSE
04.2023 - 06.2024
Corporate Chef
ICON ENTERTAINMENT GROUP
07.2018 - 04.2023
Executive Sous Chef
CHAUHAN ALE & MASALA HOUSE
08.2017 - 07.2018
Sous Chef
DELIRIO LATIN FUSION
10.2015 - 05.2017
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Hart High School
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Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts