Renan Lopes

• Promoted to Executive Sous-Chef position in November 2021. • Manages daily Back-of-House (BOH) operations and shifts, including supervision of all BOH teams, the preparation and presentation of menu items, and immediate issues or emergencies in the restaurant. • Monitors and ensures the restaurant’s compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, including safety and sanitation regulations, and represents the company in interactions with legal and regulatory authorities. • Despite average inflationary pressures of 50% on wholesale food items, lowered food cost from 35% to 26.5%.

• Developed menu with Executive Chef, including market and food research & development and pricing forecast. • Conducted quarterly audits of BOH systems, such as inventory sheets, purchase orders, and daily labor sheets.

• Improved department operations by reducing combined labor and food cost from an average of 75% of allotted budget to 49% and conducting a series of trainings for a team of 25 employees. • Supported resident care through observing specific dietary needs, monitoring and recording resident behavior and food intake, and collaborating with Head Physician and Director of Nursing.

• Created the culinary concept, researched food trends, developed the menu, and established BOH processes, for the first elevated plant-based restaurant on Chicago’s North Shore; maintained zero-waste practices. • Planned, coordinated, and executed full staff training and mentoring on menu and BOH responsibilities for a new BOH team prior to and following restaurant’s opening in January 2020. • Prepared and executed COVID-19 contingency plan, including labor reductions and kitchen health and safety.

• Managed sauté as Lead Line Cook at one of Baltimore’s most historic and celebrated restaurants. • Participated in and led full staff training cycles. • Developed a variety of menu items on the winter seasonal menu.

• Managed kitchen operations in the absence of the Executive Chef in an exclusive French-American fusion bistro in the heart of Paris, France.

Special certification on the intersection of chemical and physical scientific principles and haute cuisine technique, as well as applying food engineering to culinary arts.

In-depth study of the full methodology of concept and technique of traditional French bread baking.