Earl Justinian January
Goodwood
Summary
Dynamic Sous Chef with a proven track record at One and Only Resorts Cape Town, excelling in menu development and kitchen operations management. Recognized for enhancing customer satisfaction through innovative dish improvements and effective leadership. Committed to food safety compliance and fostering a culture of continuous improvement within high-volume environments.
Overview
17
17
years of professional experience
Work History
Sous Chef
One and Only Resorts Cape Town
2022.10 - Current
- In collaboration with Chef Karen Dudley since October 2022. Lead Chef Karen's Menus taking charge of consistency & maintaining quality of dishes whilst overseeing two high volume outlets namely Vista & In Room Dining.
- Ensure consistency & quality whilst supervising & monitoring Chefs performance in a fast paced high volume environment.
- Daily briefings; To discuss performance enhancements and maximise overall efficiency on a daily basis.
- Ensure food bibles are up to standard before going live with menu training.
- Lead, inspire & motivate the team to always strive for perfection even under demanding conditions & time constraints.
- Implement regular performance evaluations to provide constructive feedback to team members, recognize achievements, and identify areas for improvement.
- Encourage team members to contribute ideas and suggestions for menu improvements, operational efficiencies, and customer experience enhancements.
- Develop cross-training programs to diversify skill sets within the team, enabling flexibility in task assignments and enhancing overall operational resilience.
- Promote a culture of continuous improvement by actively seeking feedback from team members and implementing process enhancements based on best practices and industry trends.
- Strategically allocate resources, including ingredients, equipment, and manpower, to maximize efficiency and minimize waste while maintaining high standards of quality.
- Ordering of commodities and ensure proper par levels are maintained to stay in line with food cost.
- Keep a close eye on proteins to maximise profit & lower wastage.
- Ask for constructive feedback from guests to enhance flavour profiles of high selling dishes.
- Integrate sustainability practices into daily operations, such as reducing food waste, sourcing local and organic ingredients, and implementing energy-saving measures, to support environmental stewardship goals.
- Provide opportunities for professional growth and advancement through mentorship programs, workshops, and external training opportunities, fostering a supportive environment for career development within the team.
- Participate in community events or outreach programs to enhance the restaurant's visibility and build positive relationships with residents and businesses.
- Ensure M&P is fresh & adequately set up prior to service.
- Following HACCP policies to ensure food safety with strict hygiene practices.
- Roster & assign chefs to appropriate stations according to skill level and operational demands.
- Strategic planning with regards to leave planner keeping leave to a minimum as per organisation requirements to avoid leave pay liability & clashes throughout the year.
- Ensured every plate leaving the pass met superior quality standards for portion control, appearance, taste, and garnishing.
- Contact: (Collaboration Chef) Karen Dudley - 082 710 5824
- Contact: (CDC) Azania Mana - 076 338 7373
- Reason for leaving: Seeking Better Opportunity
Chef De Partie
Viking Ocean Cruises
2021.12 - 2022.02
- Ordered stock prior to menu service to ensure ingredient availability
- Discussed dish enhancements for menu and presentation to elevate guest experience
- Follow standardised recipes according to company protocol and report any discrepancies in ingredient ratios.
- Check all M&P for freshness, have correct labeling & dates per product specification
- Inspect overall cleanliness/hygiene of fridges & freezers including temperatures throughout the day to meet USPH standards & report any non-compliance
- Continuous training on a daily- basis/topic specific e.g Food safety, correct holding temps & identifying fault findings & establish proper SOP to be followed
- Liaise with reservations on dietary requirements/special needs commodities for certain guests
- Log faulty equipment timeously on mxp & report it to the Executive Chef
- Ensured correct equipment setup prior to service to optimize productivity and efficiency
Junior Sous Chef
Marriott Cape Town Hotel Crystal Towers
2019.08 - 2021.11
- Assign Commis, Demi, Demi Cdp Chefs to various sections according to skill set to meet demands of operations.
- Liaise with guest on a daily to meet guest satisfaction plus feedback & discuss dietary requirements
- Supervise all sections of food production to ensure the highest quality and standard is met consistently Regards to SOP'S
- Briefed staff daily on operations, including conferencing and banqueting, to align team efforts and enhance service delivery.
- Delegate tasks & distribution of workload evenly among team members as to achieve operational goals at
- Consistently following SOP'S of menus, to ensure superior end product
- Strategic planning with regards to time management; planning and achieving objectives
- Collaborated daily with Executive Chef to identify and address menu item faults, improving overall menu efficiency.
- Plan preparation for large scale items and correct storage & holding temperatures
- Monitored and documented temperatures of food samples to ensure safety standards.
- Weekly meetings with Events & Banqueting Coordinators to discuss functions and guest requirements
- Monitored quality, presentation, and taste of all products leaving the pass to uphold high culinary standards.
- Contact: Executive Chef-Raynor +27715487487
Sous Chef
De Zalze Lodge
2018.11 - 2019.05
- Ensure quality and productivity in all sections
- Strategic planning with regards to time management; planning and achieving objectives
- Liaise with conference group organisers assisting with menu selection
- Assign tasks to employees, as per skill level and competency
- Implement quality improvement strategies; new cooking techniques, menu creativity
- Improvise and substitute ingredients to achieve approximate end product
- Monitor fridges and freezers temperatures and keeping record thereof
- Ensuring hygiene and food safety standards are maintained throughout production
- Daily briefing with team members outlining any issues that can arise; planning and delegating duties according to what needs to be carried out for the day
- Order supplies accordingly ticking off on order sheet
- Date and labelling products with clear manufactured and expiry dates
- Modifying certain items on the menu; Taste, texture, smell as well as enhance presentation thereof
- Contact: General Manager- Melvin De Cock - 021 880 0740
Chef de partie
The Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa
2016.05 - 2018.10
- Discussing in season availability of commodities and cost effectiveness thereof
- Weighing ingredients and following standardised recipes to ensure consistency
- Run trails of recipes and demonstrate techniques executing them
- Discuss variants and engage with team members with regards to compilation of menus and breakdown of recipes
- Date and labelling products with clear manufactured and expiry dates
- Enhance flavour of certain dishes by demonstrating new techniques on flavour development training and record keeping
- Stock take and spot checks to ensure stock was correctly counted; ensuring (FIFO) is implemented
- Discussing improvements and suitability of menu items to meet the standard of the establishments clientele
- Supervising correct storage of materials and ingredients; Identifying potential contamination hazards and prevention thereof.
- Consulting with pre wedding clients listening to their needs and suggesting menu items according to their taste
- Consistently following SOP'S of menus, to ensure superior end product
- Ensure guest dietary requirements are always met; strict control of allergens
- Report any fault finding and short coming when doing trail runs; keeping record thereof to improve and communicate alterations of menu compilations throughout the department
- Sections: Hot, Cold, Breakfast, Banqueting, grilling, supervising section.
- Contact: Executive Chef Christo Pretorius- 074 730 1986
- Reason for leaving: Better job opportunity
Chef de partie
Shimmy Beach Club, Waterfront, Cape Town
2014.01 - 2016.04
- Ensure levels of stock are always on par.
- Check the quality of ingredients on a regular basis.
- Plan preparation for large scale items and correct storage & holding temperatures.
- Monitoring hygiene throughout production process
- Inform team members of what is running low and identifying critical and semi critical items.
- Date and labelling products with clear manufactured and expiry dates
- Date & labelling of commodities to ensure product quality.
- Record keeping of wastage and date of item when it's discarded.
- Conduct monthly stock takes handing over to Sous Chefs to do spot checks when complete
- Contact: Group Executive Adrian Cook- 082 5626 322
- Reason for leaving- Better Job opportunity
Demi Chef de Partie
One & Only Hotel, Waterfront, Cape Town
2013.01 - 2013.12
- Preparation of à la carte ingredients
- Set up mise en place in an organized manner to provide a productive and efficient service
- Communicate stock that is running low- potential out of stock item
- Rotate stock items to prevent deterioration.
- Check the function sheet and plan ahead to prevent shortages.
- Record wastage and date thereof
- Communicated with Executive Chef Jason Muller regarding kitchen operations.
- Reason for leaving: Better Job opportunity
Kitchen Manager
Vibe Events & Catering
2011.01 - 2012.12
- Supervise operation; quality control, inspect walk in fridge and freezers
- Identifying contamination in walk in fridges and providing training sessions to prevent it from happening again
- Experiment with new dishes; get client feedback and improve constantly
- Engage in monthly creativity; invent new dishes and enhancements
- Menu tastings for new clients and inventing new possible enhancements to suit their palate
- Discussing menu items and suitability of items regarding event taking place
- Reason for leaving: Better job opportunity
Trainee
Westin Grand Hotel
2009.05 - 2010.03
- Collaborated with executive chef Grant Cullingworth to address culinary requirements.
- Initiated discussions to resolve issues and enhance operational clarity.
- Attend daily kitchen meetings with brigade to gather information and to stay up to date of what is happening
- Moving through different departments to grasp full understanding of how outlets work
- Report to chef on duty when commencing shift to discuss tasks for the day
- Daily cleaning of walk-in fridges; wiping shelves and check for any foods potentially being off
Education
Management Development Programme -
Stellenbosch University Executive Development (USB-ED)
2025-03
Grade 12 -
Kasselsvlei Comprehensive High School
2008-01
Some College (No Degree) - Culinary Arts
Capsicum Culinary Studio & Hospitality Management
Cape TownSkills
- menu development
- food safety compliance
- kitchen operations management
- stock management
- performance evaluations
- inventory control
- time management
- quality assurance
- customer satisfaction
- leadership skills
- Leadership qualities
Languages
- English
- Afrikaans
- English
Dependants
1
Personal Information
- ID Number: 9003105062082
- Age: 36
- Ethnicity: Coloured
- Date of Birth: 03/10/90
- Gender: Male
- Nationality: South African
- Marital Status: Married
Languages
English
Upper Intermediate (B2)
B2
Timeline
Sous Chef
One and Only Resorts Cape Town
2022.10 - Current
Chef De Partie
Viking Ocean Cruises
2021.12 - 2022.02
Junior Sous Chef
Marriott Cape Town Hotel Crystal Towers
2019.08 - 2021.11
Sous Chef
De Zalze Lodge
2018.11 - 2019.05
Chef de partie
The Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa
2016.05 - 2018.10
Chef de partie
Shimmy Beach Club, Waterfront, Cape Town
2014.01 - 2016.04
Demi Chef de Partie
One & Only Hotel, Waterfront, Cape Town
2013.01 - 2013.12
Kitchen Manager
Vibe Events & Catering
2011.01 - 2012.12
Trainee
Westin Grand Hotel
2009.05 - 2010.03
Management Development Programme -
Stellenbosch University Executive Development (USB-ED)
Grade 12 -
Kasselsvlei Comprehensive High School
Some College (No Degree) - Culinary Arts
Capsicum Culinary Studio & Hospitality Management