• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
  • 1.800.253.2991
A.J. Antunes & Co.

Antunes

Because your success is our success.

  • Cooking Products
    • Toasters
    • Food Steamers
    • Countertop Grills
    • Condiments Dispensers
    • Kitchen Timing Products
    • Hot Food Merchandising & Display Cases
    • Water Bath Cooking
    • Restaurant Automation Equipment
  • Water Products
    • Commercial Water Products
    • Residential Water Products
  • About
    • About Antunes
    • Awards
    • Customers
    • Social Responsibility
  • Contact Us
    • Technical Service
    • Customer Service
    • Equipment Registration
    • Authorized Service Agencies
    • Representatives
    • Our Distributors
  • Careers
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • Residential FAQs
    • Videos
    • Technical Service Training

7 Things You May Not know About Antunes’ Corporate Executive Chef Joe Arvin

You are here: Home / Articles / 7 Things You May Not know About Antunes’ Corporate Executive Chef Joe Arvin
June 14, 2018

If you’ve recently watched our new demonstration videos or visited us at a trade show, you’re likely familiar with Chef Joe Arvin. Chef Arvin joined the Antunes team as corporate executive chef in March 2018 and has been bringing his culinary expertise, operational insights and big personality to work ever since. To help you get to know Chef Arvin a little better, here are seven pieces of trivia about the man behind the chef’s coat.

1. He Owes His Career Path to His Mother

Arvin started cooking at age 12. His mother was a caterer, and he grew up helping her cater the horse sales in Lexington, KY, each year. But, what really made him fall in love with cooking was watching her cook at holiday gatherings. He knew he wanted to be a part of making people happy with food, just like his mother did.

2. His Small Hometown Gave Him a Head Start on Global Cuisine

Arvin grew up in a small town in Kentucky that was home to a Christian college, and consequently, was full of missionaries. The missionaries came from different countries, giving him a diverse group of friends that each introduced him to his or her family’s cuisine. This exposure benefitted him, as any restaurant he visited or international trend he followed was already familiar to him. Now, this knowledge allows him to be a better consultant, expanding his mind to meet the needs of any customer.

3. He Has “Madlove” for Cooking and Sticks to His Roots

Chef Arvin describes his style as a little bit of “everything goes,” but over the years, he’s become known for “madlove” cooking. People have commented that he has so much passion for food that they didn’t know if he was mad or just showing love — leading to his friends calling him “madlove.” It’s even the vanity license plate on his car!

When it comes to his approach to cooking, Arvin grew up with “homestyle cast-iron skillet cooking,” and he never really goes away from that; it just comes alongside other types of cuisine. Mediterranean and Italian are his current favorites, and he finds ways to infuse old country recipes and the use of high heat into that style of cooking.

4. The Corporate Chef Role is a Culmination of All of His Experience

From attending culinary school to traveling around Europe for externships, Chef Arvin has been able to combine his love of culinary innovation, food and culture into his true love. As he advanced in his career, he moved away from 12-hour shifts as an executive chef into a corporate chef role — which offers a better way of life but also leverages a different set of skills.

In this role, he works with engineers and designers, using his vast kitchen knowledge to help inform product development. “Should it be right-handed or left-handed? Where should the door be located? What type of power does it need?” These questions can be answered using his insights on what it will be like for a chef to use the equipment in a commercial kitchen.

5. The Customer is the Ultimate Focus of His Work

Chef Arvin works with the Antunes sales team on projects that will benefit their customers. He serves as a consultant trying to help the end user of the equipment be more efficient and effective — whether it’s reducing cook times or water/energy consumption, developing recipes with unique flavor profiles, or analyzing yield costs and making recommendations to improve it.

Another part of his job is traveling the world on behalf of Antunes, looking at kitchen designs and serving as the face of the company at events. He comments that through these efforts, he contributes to the company’s goal of exceeding expectations and creating lifelong customer relationships.

6. He’s Looking Across the Ocean and to the Ground for the Next Culinary Trends

Chef Arvin feels that the growth of Spanish and Mexican cuisine in America is going to slow pace, and that we’ll see trends around Arabic and Middle Eastern cuisines start moving to the forefront. Antunes is looking at developing equipment to meet these future needs so that their customers can create those menus. According to Chef Arvin, if you wait until it’s a trend, you’re behind.

Plant-based food is other trend that continues to develop and change. Chef Arvin sees some of the products that are just now coming out, like plant-based burgers that “bleed”, being adopted on a larger scale at QSR restaurants. He thinks it will get to the point that an 80/20 beef burger could be tasted alongside a plant-based burger, and the consumer would find them identical.

7. He Takes Being a Spokesperson Seriously

Having appeared on TV shows — including The Taste, Chopped, Cutthroat Kitchen and Big Brother as the resident chef in the house — Chef Arvin understands the publicity and celebrity that can come with being a chef. He wants to use his skills and camera-ready persona to promote Antunes and holds this role in high regards. See Chef Arvin in action with this video highlighting the Antunes Flatbread Toaster.

Category: Articles, CommercialTag: seven-things-chef-joe
Previous Post:Antunes Receives Global Self-Managed Excellence Award from McDonald’s
Next Post:Making Your Purchasing Decisions Easier with Marlin Financing

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sidebar

Subscribe

A.J. Antunes & Co.

Corporate Headquarters

180 Kehoe Blvd.
Carol Stream, IL 60188 USA

Local: +1 630.784.1000
Toll-Free: +1 800.253.2991
Fax: +1.630 784.1650

Products

  • Commercial Toasters
  • Commercial Food Steamers
  • Commercial Countertop Grills
  • Commercial Water Products
  • Commercial Condiments Dispensers
  • Hot Food Merchandising & Display Cases
  • Water Bath Cooking
  • Kitchen Timing Products
  • Kitchen Innovation

Information

  • Home Page
  • About
  • Commercial Cooking Products
  • Contact Us
  • Authorized Service Agencies
  • Careers
  • News
  • Technical Service Training
  • Terms

Subscribe for Updates

Join our mailing list and stay up to date on the latest foodservice innovations from Antunes

Copyright © 1955–2023 A.J. Antunes & Co. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Design by Flying Orange | Sitemap

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
Save & Accept