Grant Parry
Calgary,AB
Summary
High-performing Chef offering 25 plus years of hospitality experience. Excellent communication, leadership and problem-solving skills. Talent for building streamlined, cohesive teams. A true passion for seasonally crafted cuisine inspired by global flavours.
Overview
23
23
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Chef Supervisor
Blue Flame Kitchen
01.2018 - Current
- Currently overseeing a busy and robust Cafe, Banqueting & Events Space, Holiday Meal production and development of Grab & Go meals.
- Strategic growth of sales and Holiday Meal Programs. Inclusive of, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter STIM sales
- Coordinated with vendors to order supplies and maintain high quality standards.
- Initiated training for new team members on culinary techniques to improve productivity and increase kitchen workflows.
- Led daily staff meetings to communicate expectations and review safety procedures.
- Maintained up-to-date knowledge of current culinary trends and techniques.
- Collaborated with staff members to create meals for large banquets.
- Monitored food and labor costs to verify budget targets were met.
- Developed full, tasting and special events menus to meet establishment needs and maintain strong customer levels.
- Trained kitchen staff to perform various preparation tasks under pressure.
Chef Consultant
Bridgeland Market
03.2018 - Current
- Development of menu strategy to improve customer retention and food quality.
- Development of food programs to reflect business needs and strategy.
- Implementation of cost saving measures by training culinary team with appropriate production practices and routines.
- Trained kitchen staff to perform various preparation tasks under pressure.
- Placed orders to restock items before supplies ran out.
- Maintained well-organized mise en place to keep work consistent.
- Oversaw scheduling, inventory management, and supply ordering to maintain fully stocked kitchen.
- Developed close relationships with suppliers to source best ingredients.
Exeutive Chef
Pulcinella
01.2017 - 01.2018
- Trained kitchen staff to perform various preparation tasks under pressure.
- Placed orders to restock items before supplies ran out.
- Maintained well-organized mise en place to keep work consistent.
- Oversaw grill, stove, and oven, and cleaned equipment after every shift.
- Inventoried food, ingredient, and supply stock to prepare and plan vendor orders.
- Prepared meals from scratch using authentic, popular recipes to generate repeat business.
- Interacted with guests to obtain feedback on product quality and service levels.
- Responded to dietary concerns and food allergies, creating dishes to meet customer needs and palates.
- Worked closely with front-of-house staff to facilitate excellent customer service.
- Trained and mentored new staff members in kitchen safety, sanitation and cooking techniques.
- Assisted with menu development and planning.
- Disciplined and dedicated to meeting high-quality standards.
- Implemented food cost and waste reduction initiatives to save money.
- Developed new recipes and flavor combinations to enhance customer dining experience.
- Participated in food tastings and taste tests.
- Oversaw scheduling, inventory management, and supply ordering to maintain fully stocked kitchen.
Executive Chef
Bocce c/o Mercato Group
04.2014 - 10.2016
- Opening Chef, designed kitchen, hired and trained all kitchen staff, wrote all menus and collaborated with restaurant team to create daily features.
- Successfully created a restaurant theme around Western Canada's largest pizza oven.
- Developed menus, controlled food costs and oversaw quality, sanitation, and safety processes.
- Obtained fresh, local ingredients to improve dish flavors and limit grocery costs.
- Requisitioned food, selected and developed recipes and standardized production recipes for consistent quality.
- Planned promotional menu additions based on seasonal pricing and product availability.
Executive Chef
WURST c/o Mercato Group
02.2011 - 04.2014
- Developed menus, controlled food costs and oversaw quality, sanitation, and safety processes.
- Obtained fresh, local ingredients to improve dish flavors and limit grocery costs.
- Requisitioned food, selected and developed recipes and standardized production recipes for consistent quality.
- Planned promotional menu additions based on seasonal pricing and product availability.
- Oversaw business operations, inventory control, and customer service for restaurant.
- Inventoried food, ingredient, and supply stock to prepare and plan vendor orders.
- Maintained high food quality standards by checking delivery contents to verify product quality and quantity.
- Generated employee schedules and work assignments and determined appropriate compensation rates.
- Developed kitchen staff through training, disciplinary action, and performance reviews.
- Interacted with guests to obtain feedback on product quality and service levels.
- Scheduled and received food and beverage deliveries, adhering to food cost and budget.
- Handled and stored food to eliminate illness and prevent cross-contamination.
- Coordinated employee schedules and developed staff teams to boost productivity.
- Initiated training for new team members on culinary techniques to improve productivity and increase kitchen workflows.
- Implemented food cost and waste reduction initiatives to save money.
- Modified recipes to accommodate dietary restrictions and allergies.
- Participated in food tastings and taste tests.
- Coordinated with team members to prepare orders on time.
- Assisted with menu development and planning.
- Set up and broke down kitchen for service.
- Disciplined and dedicated to meeting high-quality standards.
- Implemented successful cross-marketing strategies such as food and wine pairings.
- Evaluated food products to verify freshness and quality.
- Utilized culinary techniques to create visually appealing dishes.
- Trained and managed kitchen personnel and supervised related culinary activity.
- Monitored food production to verify quality and consistency.
- Worked closely with front-of-house staff to facilitate excellent customer service.
- Oversaw scheduling, inventory management, and supply ordering to maintain fully stocked kitchen.
Executive Chef
Bison Mountain Bistro
12.2005 - 02.2011
- Opening Executive Chef, (Returning Executive Chef after service break)
- Menu creation featuring Canadian Rocky Mountain Cuisine.
- Fostered strong relationship with regional suppliers to curate seasonal produce and game.
- Seasonal menu creation featuring the best of Alberta and B.C. local and wild foraged ingredients.
- Oversaw business operations, inventory control, and customer service for restaurant.
- Generated employee schedules and work assignments and determined appropriate compensation rates.
- Maintained high food quality standards by checking delivery contents to verify product quality and quantity.
- Developed kitchen staff through training, disciplinary action, and performance reviews.
- Interacted with guests to obtain feedback on product quality and service levels.
- Scheduled and received food and beverage deliveries, adhering to food cost and budget.
- Handled and stored food to eliminate illness and prevent cross-contamination.
- Coordinated employee schedules and developed staff teams to boost productivity.
- Oversaw scheduling, inventory management, and supply ordering to maintain fully stocked kitchen.
- Worked closely with front-of-house staff to facilitate excellent customer service.
- Utilized culinary techniques to create visually appealing dishes.
- Developed menus, controlled food costs and oversaw quality, sanitation, and safety processes.
- Obtained fresh, local ingredients to improve dish flavors and limit grocery costs.
- Requisitioned food, selected and developed recipes and standardized production recipes for consistent quality.
- Planned promotional menu additions based on seasonal pricing and product availability.
Wine Cellar Chef
Calgary Petroleum Club
12.2009 - 09.2010
- Weekly creation of fine dining, multi-course menus.
- Creating menus featuring local and foraged produce.
- Created menus with creative menu approach to reflect the changing seasons
- Hosted wine maker's dinners with specialty menus.
- Food pairings to create exceptional guest experiences.
- Monitored conditions of wine cellar, keeping all bottles stored at appropriate temperature.
- Set up wine tastings to bring in business and promote special offerings.
- Engaged in friendly conversation with customer to better uncover individual needs.
- Listened to customer needs and desires to identify and recommend optimal products.
Executive Sous Chef, Executive Chef
Drake Hotel
12.2002 - 12.2005
- Opening Executive Sous Chef, later promoted to Executive Chef.
- Opening experience to help create Toronto's "Hotbed for Culture"
- Developed and maintained uniquely different food venues within this artistically driven property.
- Creation of unique food culture including a sushi bar component.
- Plated every dish with attractive flair to meet strict restaurant standards and maintain stellar business reputation.
- Verified compliance in preparation of menu items and customer special requests.
- Developed menus, controlled food costs and oversaw quality, sanitation, and safety processes.
- Delivered excellent food quality and maximized customer satisfaction by preparing meals according to customer requests.
Banquet Chef, Pasrty Chef
Royal Canadian Yacht Club
04.2001 - 10.2003
- Oversaw culinary team for banquets and then the culinary team for the pastry department.
- Prepared and plated foods for banquets, weddings, meetings, BBQs and sailing regattas.
- Prepared assorted pastries for banquets, fine dinning, and casual dinning areas.
- Actively participated in all multi-venue areas within the high paced kitchen.
- Analyzed banquet event orders and planned and coordinated functions with catering staff to meet or exceed customer expectations.
- Grilled, roasted, baked and performed other cooking techniques to produce high volume meals.
- Recognized quality standards in vegetables, fish, dairy and meat products and selected and used freshest ingredients to prepare menu items.
- Managed production by adhering to preparation, plating and presentation standards and following safety regulations to deliver top quality food.
- Learned menu items produced by assigned station to achieve proper quantities.
- Maintained kitchen equipment in optimal working condition and requested repairs when needed.
- Participated in food tastings and taste tests.
- Trained and managed kitchen personnel and supervised related culinary activity.
- Worked closely with front-of-house staff to facilitate excellent customer service.
- Set up and broke down kitchen for service.
- Assisted with menu development and planning.
- Utilized culinary techniques to create visually appealing dishes.
Education
Culinary Management Diploma - Culinary Management
George Brown College
Toronto, ONHigh School Diploma -
Brock High School
Cannington, ON07.1999
Skills
- New Hire Training
- Food Plating and Presentation
- Verbal and Written Communication
- Menu Planning
- Vendor Relationships
- Collaborative Relationships
- Fine Dining Expertise
- Kitchen Management
- Food Allergies
- Banquets and Catering
- Chef Consultations
Accomplishments
- Awarded Best New Restaurant in 2007 for Bison Mountain Bistro.
- Winner of the CBC Best Corndog, 2012
- Strategic Growth of STIM production by 43% for Autumn 2023
- Member of Employee Culture Network
- Development of Charity programs for WINS
Certification
- Red Seal Chef, Certification - 2001
- Food Handlers Certification - 2023
- First AID Training - 2021
- WSET Level 1 Wines - 2008
Hobbies & Interests
I love working with my hands and realizing that hard work drives very rewarding results. I have been restoring my 110 year old home. In doing so, I have recreated trims, crown molding, and cabinet doors. I have also restored all original hardwood fir flooring and doors. Its truly a labour of love considering the dedication and research required to stay historically correct.
Classic cars are my other passion. I am lucky enough to own a class car which I have learned how to restore to bodywork and paint. So much to learn when tackling these big and small projects!
I love cooking seasonal inspired cuisine. Although farmer's market are a great source of inspiration, I would love to learn more learn more about wild foraging. I feel that nature has many ingredients to draw from and I really enjoy the complexity of new flavour combinations.
Timeline
Chef Consultant
Bridgeland Market
03.2018 - Current
Chef Supervisor
Blue Flame Kitchen
01.2018 - Current
Exeutive Chef
Pulcinella
01.2017 - 01.2018
Executive Chef
Bocce c/o Mercato Group
04.2014 - 10.2016
Executive Chef
WURST c/o Mercato Group
02.2011 - 04.2014
Wine Cellar Chef
Calgary Petroleum Club
12.2009 - 09.2010
Executive Chef
Bison Mountain Bistro
12.2005 - 02.2011
Executive Sous Chef, Executive Chef
Drake Hotel
12.2002 - 12.2005
Banquet Chef, Pasrty Chef
Royal Canadian Yacht Club
04.2001 - 10.2003
Culinary Management Diploma - Culinary Management
George Brown College
High School Diploma -
Brock High School
- Red Seal Chef, Certification - 2001
- Food Handlers Certification - 2023
- First AID Training - 2021
- WSET Level 1 Wines - 2008
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