Randall Toenges

Experience

• 

  Various

  Jan 1991 - Jan 2004

  Collective Culinary Leadership & Kitchen Management Experience

  Forecasted expected sales and delegated daily production requirements to kitchen staff in stand-alone restaurants and multi-unit foodservice operations with staffing levels ranging from 5 to 80 employees.Prepared and supervised overall production of food in high volume, fine dining, and contract foodservice institutions serving 120 covers to 1,500 meals a day. Successfully applied creative thinking skills, trouble shooting, and comprehension of food ingredients to deliver innovated menu solutions consistently and on time. Established team-oriented working relationships through mentoring, training, and leading by example. Performed personnel duties such as: writing job descriptions, establishing staffing levels, scheduling, recruiting, interviewing, hiring, periodic reviews, discipline and termination.Conducted periodic kitchen safety and sanitation inspections and training in compliance with Federal and State health codes, standards, and company policies.Met and exceeded budgeted food costs through negotiating competitive pricing, using volume discounts, and taking advantage of manufacturer rebate programs when deemed frugal. Monitored and controlled food costs to determined actual usage and exposed potential theft/waste/misuse of food product when compared to Point of Sale (POS) backend data reports. Created MS Excel spreadsheets and inventory management systems using proprietary POS/Vendor software to determined menu item costs and actual food and labor cost percentages.Achieved positive critical evaluations, financial bonuses, and advancements in employment via hitting projected labor and food cost targets while adhering to operational financial goals and expectations.Developed a variety of menus for high volume, fine dining, and contract foodservice operations in accordance to the overall concept of the operation including facility restrictions, seasonality, availability of ingredients, price point, competition, and profitability. Show less

• 

  R&R Distributors

  Jul 2003 - Oct 2009

  Sales and Marketing Manager

  Built an entrepreneurial family business from the ground up into a retail ecommerce site with exponential monthly sales growth of 25% in the first year. Designed and maintained a proprietary ecommerce website using server side scripting to dynamically load inventory, product information, pricing, record sales transactions and collect customer data for shipping and shopping preferences.Coordination of product lines, promotional strategies, pricing, and brand messaging for imported French handbags and accessories.Conducted market research and competitive analysis to established wholesale and retail market penetration strategiesCreated print and electronic press packets, product catalogs and promotional advertisement materials utilizing professional design and layout software such as Adobe Creative Suite. Show less

• 

  Baker Sales Company

  Jun 2004 - Sept 2005

  Business Development Manager

  Empowered category sales associates to pursue new sales leads by piloting customer research and vendor usage reports to determine purchasing patterns and identify the purpose of products used. Conducted food and menu item testing (cuttings) and utilized culinary background to create customized recipes and menu concepts while employing cross merchandizing of existing brand portfolios.Collaborated with corporate chefs and culinary directors to increased sales and leverage penetration of products by providing recipe innovation and culinary expertise. Show less

• 

  Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts

  Oct 2005 - Aug 2013

  Chef Instructor

  Provided culinary leadership, mentoring and training to a revolving set of new students every 28 days annually with an 90% average approval rating on student surveys.Ordered food and supplies for daily lessons, special events and demonstrations.Taught Catering & Buffets, Kitchen Management, Food & Beverage Cost Control, Nutrition and Food Science classes.Received James Beard Certificate in participation of fundraising event.Represented the school with demonstrations, cooking competitions, and appearances on television. Provided professional development training and continuing education to other instructors. Show less

• 

  Square One Kitchens

  Jul 2014 - Sept 2024

  Culinary Director and Chef Instructor

  Create and deliver a variety of cooking classes designed for adult cooking enthusiasts in consideration of difficulty, price point, current food interests, tools, and trends. Write menus, develop recipes, and create a cookbook (database) for cooking classes, team building events, catering, and special events such as popup restaurant concepts. Current in the process of delivering culinary based training for area foodservice workers to increase proficiencies in knife skills, kitchen math, and basic nutrition.Experiencing exponential growth of 50% annually in the number of classes offered with fill rates of over 95%.Consistently receive a minimum of 80% and higher approval rating in post class surveys.Collaborate and co-market with local food related businesses, growers, and non-profit organizations. Show less

• 

  Minnesota State Community and Technical College (M State)

  Aug 2014 - Mar 2018

  Culinary Instructor

  Provide apprentice style culinary training and leadership to a variety of adult learners in a working kitchen facility serving approximately 200 covers per day four days a week.Established separate cost centers to distinguish program verses retail revenue and expenses.Maintained MS Excel spreadsheets to track program and retail purchases, revenue, and inventories.Created purchase orders, zero-based budgets, equipment requests, and maintenance schedules.Managed all purchasing and worked with second year students to write menus, research and/or write recipes, determine ingredient needs, develop production sheets, receive deliveries, take inventory, cost recipes, establish retail menu pricing, and evaluate food sales to food cost. Taught traditional culinary based classroom courses such as Kitchen Math, Culinary Nutrition, Stocks/Soups/Sauces, Menu Development, Meats, Cost Control, Kitchen Supervision and Management, Advanced Baking and Pastry.Created the Maynard Hemma Scholarship and Annual Fundraiser raising over $35,000 in the previous three years from private donors and attendees. Recruited key individuals to participate on our advisory board representing a variety of foodservice businesses, health care and other organizations. Reinvigorated the curriculum to reflect the needs of the community and advisory board recommendations, providing relevant and marketable skills, achieve better paying jobs, and increase the reputation of the program as a whole.Created a 1-Year Culinary Arts program and increased graduation rates by 50%.Increased program awareness through participating in career fairs, TV, Radio, and other public events to represent the college and the culinary arts program. Reduced expenses by 45% due to program changes, streamlined level of service, and delivery of education. Show less

• 

  US Foods

  Aug 2018 - Mar 2019

  • COP Specialist

    Jan 2019 - Mar 2019

  • Produce Specialist

    Aug 2018 - Feb 2019
• 

  US Foods

  May 2019 - Sept 2022

  • Territory Sales Manager

    Aug 2021 - Sept 2022

  • Area Chef

    May 2019 - Aug 2021
• 

  Cash-Wa Distributing

  Sept 2022 - Sept 2024

  Business Development Culinary Advisor
• 

  Lower Family Foods, Inc.

  Aug 2024 - now

  Regional Sales Director

  Delivering quality fully cooked meat and poultry products to a variety of foodservice establishments North & South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska.