My interview with Raun, the head chef of the Double Tree Hotel.
1.) How long have you worked for Durango?
4 years
2.) What do you enjoy about working here?
The kitchen works real well to make sure things are always running smoothly and effectively. People get along and cooperate well which ensures the customers are kept happy and that makes our job so much easier.
3.) What would you suggest for someone wanting to go into the restaurant business?
You need to always know how much your food will cost you, you also want to monitor what you put your food prices at because you want to remain competitive with other businesses and not be overcharging or undercharging.
4.) What changes have you made to the hotel restaurant to improve the place?
I changed the restaurant on the river trail a ton. When I got here, we barely made 3,000$ profit for the entire season it was open and everyone wanted it closed. The fire marshal refused to let us run it unless we spent 40,000$ on a new smoke ventilator. That would put us deep into debt. I proposed to instead cook food in the restaurant and bring it out to customers which saves lots of money, we also changed the entire menu and lowered the prices which has increased our revenue by 130%. We also had a contest for a new name to the cafe and changed it from the River rat to the Animas River Cafe. We also put in a fireplace so it's well lit up from far away so people can see it and we have jazz music which is very popular here. We also put in homemade chips so people can have a snack while they wait for their meal.
5.) What experience do you have as a chef?
I managed a restaurant kitchen in Portland when I was senior in high school and got cooking experience over my 11th and 12th grade year. It closed one day after they stopped paying the rent. I went to cooking school and because of my 2 years of cooking experience and training, I graduated in 6 months. I worked at a Hilton for a while and then my mentor who taught me everything there was to know asked if I wanted to join him in running our own restaurant. We were running it well until I found he was taking money for his own use out of the direct funds of the restaurant. I decided I had enough and wanted change, so I sold my half of the restaurant and went on vacation for 3 months. I then went back to Hilton and because of all my experience, they offered me a job in Louisiana or Durango so that's how I came here and was given the position I have now.
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