Josh Keating - from chef to culinary instructor

Josh Keating has always been in the restaurant industry. An executive chef of 10 years, Josh made the switch from the kitchen to the sales floor. Now, he’s giving back to the industry in a big way.? ?

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Tell us about your career in the foodservice industry.??

I grew up watching my grandpa cook and helping him get veggies from his garden. It was fun to watch him work. When I was finishing high school, I considered doing it as a career and ended up graduating top of my class at the Culinary Institute of America. Then, I worked in a lot of different places, including hotels, country clubs, grills and casinos. I eventually became the executive chef for a casino for ten years, and then I started looking for a career change. That’s when I decided to join The Restaurant Store.?

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What do you do in your current role??

I spend half my time as a culinary instructor at the Salem County Vocational Technical School, and the other half as a Sales Specialist at The Restaurant Store. I graduated from the culinary school I teach at and spent my entire career in the Delaware area because of the lack of opportunities in Salem County. Because of that, my goal is to work with the school, county and local businesses to build them up and have more opportunities for the kids.?As a Sales Specialist, I help show other business owners what we can offer them and how much they can save with us.??

Why did you decide to join The Restaurant Store??

I was spending 60 or 70 hours a week as an executive chef, and I had about 200 employees to look after. It was a lot to manage. I was unsure about the move at first. It was completely foreign to me. When I joined the team, I saw how supportive the company was, how much training they do, and how much they invest in their employees. It almost made me wish I made the change sooner.??

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What’s one of the main challenges in the foodservice industry today??

The skill level of employees. There aren’t as many schools that go in-depth on how to become great in the culinary world, so every owner has to develop their own way of doing that. That’s one of the big things that brought me back to teaching. I wanted to teach these kids everything I know and give them an opportunity to get a little bit further ahead. ?