Hello!
Allow me introduce myself. My name is Jeff White and I am a restaurant professional with nearly 20-years of experience in the industry. Growing up in a restaurant household, I had a very unique childhood. I was given a firsthand experience working alongside and learning alongside my parents as they transformed a failing restaurant into a wildly successful, local hang out. In the back of house I’ve done everything from wash dishes to run the kitchen. In the front of house I’ve worked every position, starting as a server assistant in fine dining all the up to the general manager at a couple of specialty coffee shops. I’ve been on the opening management team as the executive chef for a brunch restaurant called Blunch, as well as the bar manager at a two-story craft brewery, kitchen and cocktail lounge called Forbidden Root.
My expertise lies in problem identification and solving, kitchen and bar reorganization, menu curation and training, staff retention, and operational efficiency in both the front and back of house. I will help you create and use the systems needed to operate your restaurant efficiently and effectively.
PROJECTS
On the House Hospitality
Hospitality group based in Tempe, AZ . I consulted for them on and off over a year and a half time period. I helped them with their restaurants Silver King Smokehouse and Golden Pineapple.
SILVER KING SMOKEHOUSE
In 2022 I landed a job line cooking at Silver King Smokehouse in the small mining town of Superior, Arizona. Their kitchen was dysfunctional, and their chef/pit boss wasn’t the easiest person to get ahold of. A couple of weeks after I started, they parted ways with him and were debating on finding a replacement or closing the doors. I put together a list of areas of improvement and a plan, approached the owners with an offer, and they decided to give the smokehouse one last shot, so we went into business together.
I started immediately. In 60 days, I assisted them in hiring and firing staff, I created inventory management systems, costing and ordering systems, training guides, fucused on back of house cleanliness, pit master training, and menu modifications. I trained their sous-chef to be a head chef; teaching her how to utilize all the systems needed to run and operate a profitable kitchen. I trained her how to be a pit boss, an efficient line cook, and a leader. I assisted in training the new staff, one of which went on to be the pit boss and is running the kitchen to this day.
Since my contract ended with Silver King Smokehouse, they have continued to grow their business. This year they went on to open up their second location called Silver King Lodge.
GOLDEN PINEAPPLE
Roughly seven months after I completed my contract with Silver King, I got a phone call from the owners of On the House asking if I would be willing to fly down to Phoenix and help with their restaurant in Tempe, Golden Pineapple. They had hired a new chef who was over ordering, had no cost management skills, and was inconsistent in quality control—I agreed to fly down and see what was going on.
I spent an afternoon in the kitchen and identified areas of improvement, sat down with the owners, and agreed to help. This time I was hired to train their new chef on how to run and operate an efficient kitchen. We focused on creating and using proper ordering and inventory systems, hiring and training systems, menu prep management systems, menu creation and modification, build sheets and recipes, waste management, and cleaning systems. I taught the chef and owners how to utilize all the systems, so that if anything happened, the owners would have an understanding of how to keep the business operational. I worked on and off with Golden Pineapple for a couple of months in the fall of 2022.
In the spring of 2023, I was called again to help with Golden Pineapple. This time, their chef had left, and they needed someone to fill the slot and help them hire the right chef for the job. I agreed and went back to Tempe on a full-time, three-month contract.
I reapplied the systems I had previously created, recreated the entire menu, assisted in hiring and training, and I began working one-on-one with their lead line cook to train him to be the chef. We started getting more and more business, and people had faith in the food again, but for some reason we couldn’t get out of the red. Throughout my contract, I had learned that there was a deeper reasoning, and, at the end of the day, it required a change in ownership. Unfortunately, Golden Pineapple had to close a few months after my contract ended, but On the House Hospitality made some changes and has been growing ever since.
Forbidden Root
Hired on as the opening team’s Bar Manager for their second location. I assisted in hiring and training the opening bar staff, created all ordering, inventory, cleaning, hiring and training systems for the bar, and operational management for the front of house. I created the craft cocktail menus and recipes for the opening as well as the menus that followed throughout business. When covid came and lock-down happened, I was part of the idea meetings on how we could stay open and continue operations.
Blunch
Hired as the opening Chef for a new brunch restaurant in Clintonville, Ohio. I was hired to create the opening menu, recipes and build sheets, hire and train the staff, assist in kitchen layout design, create all ordering, inventory and hiring systems. I operated the kitchen five to six days per week. The menu received local acknowledgment in the paper and magazines.
Boston Stoker Coffee Co.
Hired as a barista as the general manager was leaving, and I was quickly promoted to her position. Trained and certified level two specialty coffee cupper. I assisted in daily operations, seasonal menu curation, hiring, training, and firing of staff, all coffee and product ordering, and I hosted cupping trainings for staff and the public. I created an elevated cafe menu to implement at all five locations, and traveled to each location to train the management and staff on how to execute the menu. I created company barista training guides and videos as well.
