Chef Daniel Concepcion is the Executive Chef at Sam’s Club Home Office in Bentonville, Arkansas. He shared his way of running a high-volume operation where they serve thousands of people a day. Follow him on Instagram here.
As the Executive Chef at Sam’s Club Home Office, you oversee large-scale corporate dining. Can you describe your role and what a typical day looks like for you in this position?
In the Sam’s Club Home Office as the executive chef, together with a team of about 30 culinarians, I operate Table 29 in-house, no third party, we are Walmart/Sam’s Club associates. I create all the restaurant/catering/grab-n-go/child care facility menus, including all the recipes and handle custom requests. A typical day is walking the coolers, kitchen and prep areas with my sous chef, going over food regulations and health department requirements. Then I go over the catering orders and check on the food prep for the day. My menus are different each day, so each week I work with the team to set the level of expectation, then I check on any test kitchen projects. The test kitchen has new items not sold in stores yet. On occasion we test quality, flavor etc.. I also work with my boss on many of the private brand food items (Member’s Mark) sold in the clubs. I also work with the Walmart associate resource groups on any special menus or events. This is just a quick summary of what goes on daily.
What are some of the biggest logistical challenges you face when preparing meals for thousands of people on a daily basis?
When I first got recruited to the Sam’s Club Home Office, the café was pretty basic. Prior to coming in, my asks were to revamp the menus, the uniforms, change the name of the restaurant and create a buzz around great food. The biggest challenge was space and equipment. After only a week, the business levels exploded and we ran out of stove, oven and prep space. The business levels grew exponentially, but the space remained the same. After having to add equipment and even capacity to power it all, we were able to keep up with the demand. Now in year 6 of me being here, we have run into the same challenge- the demand has outgrown the space even more! I would say the biggest challenge is prep space and hot holding capacity to serve over 1,000 at a time, but we manage.
Can you walk us through how you manage to maintain high standards of quality and creativity, while serving such large numbers of people at Sam’s Club?
I am not a complacent chef, we do not cut corners or relax on my process. Every shift we work like it’s the first one. My concept is a living concept, meaning the menu changes daily– it grows weekly and we modify on the fly. We elevate our guest experience on a daily basis, we have popup menus and one of the most popular ones is called CORTÉ. It’s a steakhouse menu complete with prime streaks, lobster tails, high-end seafood and usually a special menu item for this day only. We have done emu steaks, tomahawk steaks, alligator bbq ribs etc…I am constantly working with my team – teaching and training where needed, getting input, feedback and getting to know them on a different level allows me to put people in positions to succeed. I practice CBWA…”coaching by walking around”. One of the things I preach is…I don’t have problems, I have solutions. Maintaining this mentality ensures the team never wavers on our standards.
You’ve talked about bringing awareness to the amazing things chefs like you are doing in the corporate environment. How do you feel about the role of corporate dining in the overall culinary landscape?
I don’t like the term “corporate dining”, it sounds stuffy and gives processed food vibes. One of the hashtags I created in 2018 was #changingthewayyoucorporatedine. All the corporate jobs I’ve had, I’ve always managed to have creative freedom of my menus. There are hundreds of corporate accounts that have amazing concepts and great looking food. I’ve managed to build a huge following here where even the general public stop me and say how amazing the food is – someone’s uncle, sister, brother, father…dines at Table 29 and they hear all the amazing stories. Before I stated working at Table 29, I began to use Instagram before Instagram was as popular as it is now. I remember my old leadership saying that Instagram is not a good way to showcase what we do…and look at us now, the world uses it for all the things.
How do you balance the corporate environment with the artistic and creative aspects of being a chef? Do you find it challenging to maintain creativity while working within corporate constraints?
The best way to challenge mundane food is to create on a daily basis, I use catering and daily specials to keep my creative mind going, I have a different menu everyday, every week, we are constantly creating, this keeps my team from getting bored as well as keeps the excitement for my guests, we are a scratch kitchen.
Corporate chefs don’t always get a lot of award recognition. What are your thoughts on that?
Around the end of 2018 I was asked to enter The Blended Burger competition that the James Beard Foundation was hosting. I asked about categories for corporate dining within the James Beard Awards and after several emails back and forth, I was told there just isn’t a category for what I do. That conversation pushed me to elevate my guest experience even more and maybe one day there will be a category…I’m still hopeful.
What initiatives have you implemented at Sam’s Club Home Office to elevate the dining experience for employees and guests? Are there any innovations you’re particularly proud of? your team, and how do you rely on them to help ensure success in your operations?
When I first came on board there were about 2-3 options for grab-n-go food and sold about 50 items a day, today we offer over 20 items and sell over 300 items on a daily basis, all made in my kitchen. I’ve added popup restaurant menus, theme week menus and recently implemented a new dessert program that goes in the grab-n-go cooler – all high-end style Chantilly cakes, brownies, butter cookies, flourless cookies, cakes, cheesecakes, assorted danish etc.
How do you stay current with food trends and incorporate them into a corporate setting, especially given the variety of tastes and dietary restrictions you must accommodate?
I am constantly doing a massive amount of R&D, it’s great to play at work, see what other talented chefs are doing via Instagram, dining or just catching up with some of my old co-workers. At times we have an astronomical amount of dietary restrictions. By the end of 2018 I made all sides vegetarian friendly when applicable, offered more gluten free, vegan and keto friendly options and even created my own plant-based burgers, meatballs etc. This enabled me to stay ahead of the restrictions and grew my client base as word got out. We had more guests coming in and stopped the majority from bringing their lunch to work and even had them buying extras to take home.
How do you see your work at Sam’s Club influencing the broader culinary world and the corporate dining sector?
The way I see it, if a guest asks for a recipe, I give it, if someone aske me how I made something they loved, I invite them into my kitchen so we can make it together, this lines up with the age old proverb, give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and he eats for life. I do as much as my time allows me to do, I mentor within my community, I teach train and develop as much as I can. Using my experience as a chef, but more importantly as a leader, I have been blessed to work with many schools to support our youth, bringing them into my kitchen and showing them what we do and how we do it. My next goal is to create space in my life to have a podcast to reach more people.
What are some of the unique challenges and opportunities you encounter in the corporate dining world that you think are often overlooked by those outside of it?
I can only speak for my concept, but what most outside don’t realize is the hard work, the early hours that my team puts in to ensure we maintain the elevated quality. We don’t waver, we don’t 86 anything, we work to make sure the guest that comes in when we close gets the same quality of food as the guest that comes in when we open. There is a very conscious effort to ensure the expectations are met, no one in my kitchen just mails it in…we work extremely hard to deliver an elevated experience.
Looking ahead, what are your goals for the future of corporate dining at Sam’s Club Home Office, and are there any projects you’re particularly excited about exploring?
In the kitchen we are working on a remodel to expand the space to be able to offer more to my guests in the near future, we are implementing more chef’s “table style” service every 2 weeks. I also have a goal to start a podcast, and a new popup restaurant concept that’s going to be the most amazing dining experience.
WANT TO GET FEATURED?
Fill out this form so we can get to know you!
