Rafael Valdez
Cha Cha Cha Miami
Miami
2
Languages
8
years of professional experience
Experienced Sous Chef with over 10 years in professional kitchens, including the past three years specializing in seafood cuisine at a high-volume Los Angeles restaurant, where I developed advanced fish butchery and seafood preparation skills. I am passionate about continuous learning, refining my craft, and working alongside talented chefs who challenge and inspire me. My goal is to join a collaborative kitchen where I can contribute my experience while continuing to master new techniques and grow as a culinary professional.
Work History
Executive Sous Chef
11 Months- Assisted with opening, training, menu development, creating of SOP of Cha Cha Cha Miami Location,
- Managed daily produce, meat and fish orders
- Managed recipe book/ Food bible and made edits for all recipes of the restaurant
- Managed prep list, led prep team daily and directed team on how to execute daily tasks
- Tracked and logged weekly inventory, made sure weekly spending didn't exceed food cost percentage
- Managed and logged weekly produce invoices
- Conducted daily line checks, sauce checks, produce checks
- Managed all protein breakdown (meat, fish) alongside executive chef
- Managed kitchen organization, walk-in organization.
- Conducted daily Line up with FOH staff to inform of any new menu items, menu changes or 86s
- Conducted End of day walk-through and checklist after service is done
Executive Sous Chef
2 Years 8 Months- Assisted in Opening Loreto/Mariscos Zazaza alongside Executive Chef and opening team.
- Conducted Line checks to make sure food is excellent quality
- Assisted Jr sous chefs on how to complete tasks(prep)
- Trained new team members across all stations
- Managed ordering produce, meat and fish products daily
- Managed weekly inventory and monthly equipment inventory
- Assisted executive chef with protein butchery
- Managed daily staff meal for entire BOH and FOH
Sous Chef
1 Year 10 Months- Supervised kitchen operations to ensure efficient food preparation and service delivery.
- Trained and mentored junior kitchen staff on culinary techniques and safety standards.
- Assisted Prep team in finishing daily prep lists
- Assisted with meat/fish butchery
- Managed overall cleanliness/organization of restaurant and restaurant stations
- Worked grill station, sauté station, cold stations whenever assistance was needed.
- Organized a daily family meal with other jr sous chefs
Sous Chef
3 Months- Led prep team and executed all prepped items.
- Managed flow of service, Expedited food, directed Foh servers and runners
- Managed the Meat and fish butchery
- Conducted daily line checks before service started
Line Cook
4 Months- Executed dishes from Gm/ pastry, Saute Station in a high-volume environment
- Prepped pastry dishes and maintained pars for the week
- Executed dishes from taco station, also assisted with plating of grill stations when needed
- Shared the responsibility of the Nixtamalization of Corn every night for Masa production in the morning
Chef De Partie
8 Months- Prepped, executed, plated, and served an 8-10 course tasting menu alongside 2 other chef de parties.
- Assisted chef and chef de parties in prepping all produce, garnishes, meat, fish
- assisted with running food, bussing, dishes in dining room
- Assisted with organization of restaurant and dining room.
Education
High School Diploma
Culinary Certificate - Culinary
Skills
Kitchen management
Menu development
Sanitation standards
Food Preparation
Fish butchery
Meat butchery
Waste reduction
Cost control
Inventory management
Decision-making
Staff training
Languages
Spanish
Native or Bilingual
English
Full Professional
Timeline
Executive Sous Chef
Cha Cha Cha Miami
09.2025 - CurrentRead More
Executive Sous Chef
Loreto, Mariscos Zazaza
02.2023 - 10.2025Read More
Sous Chef
LA Cha Cha Cha
04.2021 - 02.2023Read More
Sous Chef
Yours Truly Restaurant
11.2019 - 02.2020Read More
Line Cook
Oxomoco
06.2019 - 10.2019Read More
Chef De Partie
Gem
10.2018 - 06.2019Read More
Le Cordon Bleu
Culinary Certificate from Culinary
Read More
La Puente High School
High School Diploma
Read More