Our current Chef Spotlight highlights the accomplishments of Raul Martinez, Food Service Director for Clare Bridge in Sun City West, Arizona. Clare Bridge is a Brookdale Senior Living Facility, a collection of facilities renowned for their quality and attention to detail, where management expects no less than perfection from their staff.
A love of fine food drew Raul to attend culinary classes in his native Orange County, California and in Pomona. His first position was as Catering and Dining Service Manager for Cal Poly University. While there, he received additional training in Calgary, Canada. This training gave him experience in preparing unusual dishes such as roasted ox.
When he joined San Bernardino Valley College as Restaurant Manager, Raul was assigned the task of developing the menu for students. The menus developed by Raul are still being used today.
Raul relocated to Arizona and worked for Arizona State University as Dining Service Manager, serving over 3000 students per day. Before joining Brookdale, he also spent time working both the front and back of the house at Nordstrom’s. There he learned many skills needed to become a phenomenal chef and learned to prepare scores of mouthwatering creations by hand.
Raul brings 10 years of cooking and 15 years of food service experience to his current position as Food Service Director at Clare Bridge, where he recently participated in a regional contest among some of Brookdale’s top chefs. A field of 60 applicants competed for the 8 chefs chosen to participate in the cooking competition. Raul’s entry was a pork recipe along with a side dish and instructions for presentation. After being selected as one of the eight finalists, Raul’s team trained for a month, meeting on Tuesdays to perfect their meal. The contest was judged on Presentation, Creativity, and Overall Best Taste. Raul and his team won two of the three categories: Creativity and Overall Best Taste. The event was covered by local television, giving Raul and Brookdale some much deserved recognition.
“I take personal responsibility for my meals and am dedicated to ensuring our food is always prepared to specifications and the quality and taste is always good for our customers and residents.
“Using American Quality Foods’ desserts for our residents has been wonderful. I know we are giving them a product that is nutritious and perfect for their diets. I keep telling other accounts about your products, how easy they are to prepare and how much time I save. Our residents are very happy. They enjoy the products and not once have I heard a negative comment. Thank you.”
