Sam Sheps Email & Phone Number

Barryville, Ny

Complete responsibility for running two summer-camp kitchens, including menu planning, production, inventory controls and staffing. Developed menus for gluten free and vegan customer. Mentor college-bound student staff as they transitioned from campers to motivated team-player employees able to work effective with their international colleagues. Provide on-going daily assistance to Food Service Director in the coordination of the two kitchens, streamlining production efforts to ensure the most cost effective and creative use of all resources.

Ridgewood, New Jersey

Responsible for on-site production at Ben Franklin Middle-School and satellite production for six elementary schools, feeding up to 1,000 students daily. Assist manager with monthly inventory.Accomplishments: reduced left-overs by implementing forecasting and batch cooking procedures. worked with faculty to improve faculty dining room offerings. assisted with the creation and implementation of a test project for serving buffet-stylemeals in a satellite location.

Milford, Pa.

Ran three different kitchens during eleven summer seasons, including upscale production and service at the Kislak Senior Adult Center (Lake Como, PA), camper-sensitive production at Round Camp (Lake Como, PA) and specialty Sephardic cooking at the Center Sleep Away (Milford, PA). Provided daily assistance to Food Service Manager (Director) with production, staffing issues, purchasing, inventory and the camp-wide distribution of food and non-food items.Accomplishments: Reorganized camp-wide storerooms at both Lake Como and Milford locations allowingfor an expedited inventory and purchasing process. Established strong working relationships with seasonal international staff members,including many with limited English skills, specifically ensuring their adherence to Kashrut requirements and generally promoting positive attitudes towards Jewish practices and customs. Integrated professional culinary training and industry-wide food service experience with life-long knowledge and observance of Kashrut allowing for the creation of higher quality products while meeting the standards of varying mashgiachs. Implemented and expanded gluten-free program reducing reliance on premade products as menu items.

Fairfield, New Jersey

Ran resident kitchen at home for senior citizen residents. Responsible for maintaining the budget, controlling inventory, purchasing food and non-food items and managing kitchen personnel.Accomplishments: Ran unit well within budgetary guidelines without sacrificing health or quality standards. Implemented better-controlled inventory procedures and staff practices.

New York, New York

Ran primary and largest campus kitchen serving quality breakfasts and dinners daily to 1,500 members of the college community, including students, faculty and staff. Created diverse seasonal, specialty and theme menus that allowed for high quality products at low cost. Supervised production by unionized kitchen staff in a friendly, but professional manner. Coordinated and supervised guest chef program.Accomplishments: Enhanced vegetarian and vegan menus. Instituted batch cooking, production sheets, and accurate forecasting based on customercounts, substantially reducing waste and keeping food costs to 27%. (Average plate cost$2.50). Improved overall customer satisfaction by requiring the use of standardized recipes andby maintaining a visible presence in the dining area during meal times in order to respondquickly to customer concerns. Reduced employee grievances by working effectively with union shop steward to ensurecooperative environment.

Teaneck, New Jersey

Ran student dinning facility, two cash operations and catering in a profitable manner while meeting the diverse needs of the university community. Supervised menus, food production, purchasing, budgets and personnel management.Accomplishments: Instituted personal-touch follow-up for all catered events on campus ensuring that customer needs and expectations were met, and very often exceeded. Strengthened the corporate relationship between Gourmet Dining and the university community by meeting regularly with university officials.

Hoboken, New Jersey

Manager of Dining Services and Center Operations (Board Plan Administrator/Client Liaison and Special Events Meeting Planner)Oversaw the food service vendor ensuring that high quality standards were maintained and that the student dining operation and the campus-wide catering operation were operated efficiently and economically. Planned, coordinated, and managed all special events on campus.Accomplishments: Outperformed budget revenue requirements for five straight years by more than 50% foreach of those years. Created Request For Proposal for dining services contract (first proposal request in morethan 15 years). Conducted first formal bid process for the dining services contract and oversaw change ofvendors. Oversaw three major renovation projects of dining rooms and conference areas whichwere completed on time and below budget. Forged new and improved relations between the university and the Hoboken community,civic groups and the corporate sector.

Drew University Madison Nj / Fairleigh Dickinson University Rutherford, Nj

Created and enhanced menus. Improved quality while controlling and reducing costs. Trained and supervised kitchen staff. Purchased all food and non-food items.Accomplishments: Maintained an overall plate cost of $1.32 Organized storerooms to coincide with inventory ordering guides that resulted inminimum inventory levels and expedited inventory and ordering procedures. Developed vegetarian and vegan menu items that later became the model for otherschools and universities within the corporation. Acted as successful mentor for members of the kitchen staff interested in advancementwithin the company. Implemented improved safety programs for kitchen and utility staff. Developed menu and production guides for the numerous events surrounding the April1990 inauguration of former NJ Governor Thomas Kean as the President of Drew University culminating with a post- inauguration reception for 6,000.

Providence, Rhode Island

Prepared all hot foods for banquets, oversaw cold production staff and ran kitchen in chef's absence. Assisted executive chef in kitchen management including payroll management. Purchased food items for restaurant, banquets and employee dining room. Controlled inventory and maintained food costs.

Bachelor'S Degree, Food Service Managment

Associate'S Degree, Culinary Arts/Chef Training