Louie Herrera

3661 Bisbee, El Paso, TX 79903 • • 915-355-1670

OBJECTIVE

Highly professional chef seeking a Managerial opportunity where I can apply my vast experience and skills.

SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS

Bringing 16 years of Professional Experience in Culinary Arts & Training as Follows:

Menu Planning/ Design / Bilingual / Special Events
Catering & Planning / Inventory Control / Kitchen Management
Staff Management / Project Management / Customer Service
Purchasing / Business/Revenue Growth / Team Building
Training / Cost Reduction / Food Safety
Food Storage /  New recipes adaptations / Quality Control

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

Line/Prep Cook 2008-Present

Butterfield Trail Golf Club, El Paso, TX

  • Experience in Culinary Arts & Training working in many different culinary roles and settings.
  • Competent to effectively handle multi-task levels of responsibility with minimal direction from superiors while supervising personnel, providing team leadership, motivation and development.
  • Check the quality of raw or cooked food products to ensure that standards are met.
  • Monitor sanitation practices to ensure that employees follow standards and regulations.
  • Check the quantity and quality of received products.
  • Prepared and/or cooked menu items listed on the production schedule.
  • Experienced in baking, frying, braised, boiled, simmered, steamed and sautéed as prescribed recipes.
  • Set up serving lines, garnished food items.
  • Operated, maintained, and cleaned field kitchen equipment.

Line/Prep Cook/Trainer 2008-Present

Chili’s Bar & Grill, El Paso, TX

  • Solid organizational, communication, and team building skills as team leader and trainer training kitchen staff on food preparation, plating and presentation.
  • Competent to effectively handle multi-task levels of responsibility with minimal direction from superiors while supervising personnel, providing team leadership, motivation and development.
  • Performed all station duties including Fry, Griddle, Salad Nacho Station, and Flat Top.
  • Team trainer able to effectively communicate with the manager at all times as well as the on – duty servers to make sure that the processing of customer orders are going smoothly.
  • Proven ability to effectively lead multi-outlet fine dining, and high volume operations

Sous Chef 2007-2008

Hotel Encanto, Las Cruces, NM

  • Adept at conveying complex menu concepts in a simple and compelling manner.
  • Expertise in Culinary Arts trends, such as food preparation, menu development, event planning/catering, and inventory purchasing/control.
  • Filled in for the executive chef when needed and assisted them in resolving any problems that may arise on the job.
  • Quickly and authoritatively delegated job tasks to a large staff
  • Responsible for planning and directing food preparation in a kitchen.
  • Effectively disciplined underperforming staff members, as well as provide incentives for staff members to go above and beyond the expectations of their particular chef roles.
  • Responsible for staff scheduling and, additional administrative duties as needed.
  • Determined kinds and amounts of food necessary to prepare items listed on menus.
  • Estimated amounts and costs of required supplies, such as food and ingredients.
  • Planned sequence and time of cooking operations to meet meal-serving hours.
  • Determined size of food portions and observes workers serving food.
  • Evaluated and solved problems encountered, such as substituting items on menus, reusing cooked food, and reducing excess waste and spoilage.
  • Possessed an in-depth knowledge of the marketplace and the competitor landscape to significantly increase revenue and operational efficiency

Line/Prep/Banquet Cook 2005-2007

Camino Real Hotel, El Paso, TX

  • Thorough knowledge of menus and the preparation required, according to hotel standards.
  • Prepared the food items as directed in a timely manner following the authentic recipes, with controls, portion, and presentation specifications as set by the restaurant.
  • Prepare dishes for costumers with food allergies or intolerances.
  • Assisted in directing and correcting the presentation and portioning of food for all banquet functions. .
  • Proficiency displayed in the following cooking techniques: charbroiling, poaching, deep-frying, sauté, braising, roasting and par-cooking.
  • Recognized quality standards in fresh vegetables, fish, dairy, and meat products.
  • Kept track and reported any food waste and also handled, stored and rotated all the products properly.
  • Maintained cleanliness and organization of all storage areas.Adhered to policies and procedures regarding sanitation and sanitary food handling.

Line/Prep Cook 2001-2005

Café Central El Paso, TX

  • Ordered or requisitioned food or other supplies needed to ensure efficient operationInspected supplies, equipment, or work areas to ensure conformance to established standards.
  • Collaborated with other personnel to plan and develop recipes or menus, taking into account such factors as seasonal availability of ingredients.
  • In addition to completed a large number of smaller tasks; including ensuring that leftover food is stored properly, performed kitchen maintenance tasks such as emptying the trash and washing dishes, and testing the temperature of food at specified intervals.