Rachel L. Soto
Valhalla
Summary
Results oriented food service professional seeking challenging opportunity to use culinary and analytical skills to enhance customer experience through product quality and aesthetics.
Professional with strong background in food service management. Skilled in optimizing operations, enhancing customer satisfaction, and maintaining high standards of quality and safety. Strong focus on team collaboration and adaptability to changing needs. Proven ability to lead teams, manage inventory, and ensure efficient service delivery. Reliable and results-driven with passion for achieving organizational goals.
Overview
21
21
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Food Service Manager
SchoolFood/ OFNS
05.2008 - Current
- Maintain 5 school kitchens that feed 200 to 1,200 students daily, directing a team of up to 12 employees at each location.
- Ordered and provided reliable service for breakfast, lunch, and after-school programs in each school, as well as serving and monitoring off-site locations.
- Maintain a budget, cost control, and manage daily inventory (1.30 CPM).
- Create employee schedules, and file payroll for each location.
- Lead monthly meetings with students and staff to identify and optimize service needs, such as adding requested items to the salad bar, and organizing workstations.
- Supervised food service operations, ensuring compliance with health and safety, HACCP regulations, as well as strict Nutritional Guidelines.
- Trained and mentored staff on best practices in food preparation and service efficiency.
- Assessed the effectiveness of implemented changes periodically, adjusting strategies as needed based on performance metrics and feedback from staff members.
- Created templates for payroll, and enhanced existing templates for inventory, schedules, and kitchen safety.
- Trained staff and co-workers in computer literacy.
- Analyzed and restructured kitchens to enhance workflow and efficiency.
Food Service Associate
Dunkin’ Donuts/ Baskin Robbins
01.2013 - 02.2022
- Opener, baker, and front of the house, such as brewing hot and iced beverages, donut display, cashier, server, and sandwich prep.
- Multi-task at multiple food and beverage stations to ensure efficiency and maintain prompt customer service.
- I made and decorated numerous cakes to order.
- Prepared and served food and beverages to customers in fast-paced environment.
- Operated point-of-sale system for accurate order processing and cash handling.
- Perform a monthly inventory and FIFO.
- Assisted in training new staff on operational procedures and customer service standards.
- Greeted customers at counter to fulfill requests and answer questions.
Pastry Chef
Mara's Homemade Cajun Kitchen
09.2008 - 01.2013
- Collaborated with culinary team to design visually appealing dessert displays for events and catering services.
- Followed trademarked family recipes, scaled and measured ingredients, and operated the mixer.
- Consistently met tight deadlines for special orders, ensuring client satisfaction and repeat business.
- Coordinated with kitchen staff to guarantee timely delivery of all pastries, cakes and desserts.
- Contributed to successful catering events by preparing, transporting, promoting and serving desserts in various venus.
Food Service Associate
The Esplanade Senior Living
01.2005 - 01.2008
- Worked various shifts to meet the needs of a kosher kitchen, including opening or closing.
- Performed duties such as kitchen setup, dishwashing, salads and sandwiches, sous chef, delivery acceptance and FIFO, bussing tables, raw prep, pastries twice daily, soup of the day, vegetable prep, and cleanup.
- Assisted with language translation.
- Catered monthly birthday parties for residents.
- Prepared employees’ meals and room deliveries for guests.
- Maintained cleanliness and organization of workstations and dining areas.
- Monitored inventory levels to ensure adequate supply of products available for service.
Pastry Chef Internship
The Esplanade Senior Living
02.2005 - 05.2005
- Prepared desserts twice daily for 200 residents.
- Created new recipes for future implementation.
- Worked closely with the Executive Chef to learn restaurant management skills.
- Assisted with scheduling and menu management.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Food Service Management
Johnson & Wales University
Providence, RI01.2007
Associate of Science - Baking & Pastry
Johnson & Wales University
Providence, RI01.2005
Skills
- Staff leadership
- Task Prioritization
- Team Management
- Work Flow and Efficiency Organization
- Food storage
- Cross-training staff
- Portion control
- Resource allocation
- Attention to Detail
- Pastry and Cake Decorating
- Recipe and Menu Planning
- Customer service
Certification
NYC DOH Food Handling Certificate
Languages
English
Native or Bilingual
Spanish
Limited Working
Timeline
Food Service Associate
Dunkin’ Donuts/ Baskin Robbins
01.2013 - 02.2022
Pastry Chef
Mara's Homemade Cajun Kitchen
09.2008 - 01.2013
Food Service Manager
SchoolFood/ OFNS
05.2008 - Current
Pastry Chef Internship
The Esplanade Senior Living
02.2005 - 05.2005
Food Service Associate
The Esplanade Senior Living
01.2005 - 01.2008
Associate of Science - Baking & Pastry
Johnson & Wales University
Bachelor of Science - Food Service Management
Johnson & Wales University