Upskilling, the Key to Addressing the Emerging Challenges and Dynamic Narratives in Food Services

Mauricio Jaramillo, Food Service Director, SAGE Dining Services

Being in the food service industry has been an amazing experience. I grew up around food; like most of us, my grandmother used to have big food gatherings every Sunday with the whole family. She had a catering business from home, very rustic. I remember an old notebook where she planned all preparations, shopping, quantities, and deadline.; that example is how I operate.

During my food career, I have encountered challenges, successes, and failures. Embracing my failures has encouraged me to make myself better. I decided to travel and take cooking classes with locals in Italy, Barcelona, and Paris, professional cooking classes in the US, and visit food courts in the Netherlands, just to name a few. 

It helped me grow professionally, and open my mind to new experiences, which is a plus in your resume.

In 2016 I had a part-time as a PM Executive Sous Chef where a great friend was the Executive Chef. We got invited to the White House with the Restaurant, which was a great success. Three years later, we were on different paths, he moved back home, and I was with my regular job but doing catering on the side. I asked my colleague to send an email to see if we could go back; they responded the next day to schedule the visit, it was beyond my dreams to go twice. I can keep going with amazing people I have met through the years and all the doors that have opened because of hard work.

“The food business keeps changing, improving, and becoming more challenging, and for me, these are new skills to my repertoire.”

Right now, I work as a Food Service Director with a private company where we serve 500 people for breakfast and about 950-1000 for lunch. I'm also a Private Chef with a retired NFL player and a private family. My morning job requires a lot of organizational and leadership skills. I have a staff of twelve amazing individuals who go above and beyond and show their passion and skills through cooking. 

We have meetings every morning where we eat together and go over food preparation, allergies, HACCP, catering, and so on. I am very active with them, receiving orders, going through the food preparation, catering, and other daily duties. They feel the support, and we have great communication, and that’s key.

My morning job usually finishes at 3:00 p.m. I still have a window to keep working. A friend and colleague asked me if I was interested in becoming a private chef. I knew he had been doing it for a long time, but I never gave it a thought until that phone call. He set up the interview in this beautiful Beach Mansion, did a food demo, and got the job. After a week, he called me again and asked if I was interested in taking a retired Football Player; took the job too. Being a private chef is so different. You work on their food needs, allergies, favorite meals, and organic fresh ingredients. I'm in full capacity with work, but it is great how the word spreads and your clients ask if you can take one more customer; I could, but I managed to work weekdays and spend time with my loved one during the weekends and Holidays.

The food business keeps changing, improving, and becoming more challenging, and for me, these are new skills to my repertoire.