Meet Richard Torres, Chefs’ Produce Company
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credit: Richard Torres
- Introducing: Richard Torres, Chefs’ Produce Company
- Connect with Richard on IG here
IN HIS WORDS: Chefs Produce is a Texas-based wholesaler of fine produce that was founded in 1980. With the arrival of COVID-19, we started out doing fresh produce boxes for restaurant/hospitality people to pickup from our warehouse. The response was incredible. We then went on to roll it out to the general public by doing pop-up produce stands at our customers’ restaurants throughout Dallas-Fort Worth. We are still doing the industry boxes at our warehouse, but we are now offering four pop-ups per day to the general public Tuesday-Friday.
$10 from every pop-up box sold is going back to different restaurant industry charities and funds. We’ve partnered with 80|20 Hospitality and are working with them to provide free meals Monday through Friday from 6-9pm to people in need throughout North Texas. Check out dfweats.com for more info.
credit: Richard Torres
A little bit about me: I’m 37 years old and vice president of Chefs’ Produce Company. We are in Dallas and Houston. My father started the company back in 1980. I’m a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. I have been around the restaurant business my entire life. Before my father started Chefs’ Produce, he was a chef in the 70’s throughout Houston, TX. Once I was born, I was always around his friends who happened to be chefs. I started working in kitchens at 12 years old washing dishes. At eight years old, I rode along with Chefs’ Produce drivers as they made deliveries.
credit: Richard Torres
My mother owned and operated restaurants in Texas and Arizona throughout my life as well. I began to do culinary apprenticeships in Hong Kong at the Grand Hyatt under the mentorship of my godfather, Executive Master Chef Josef Budde. I would work one month every summer gaining culinary experience. Throughout high school, I would cook and wait tables at my mother’s restaurant in Kemah, TX. Once I graduated high school I moved out to Kingman, AZ to become the chef at a new Sicilian Steakhouse that was located approximately 100 miles from Vegas that my mother opened.
In 2002 I was accepted to attend the Culinary Institute of America and off I went. I received my Associates degree in 2004 and then stuck around and got my bachelor’s degree in 2005. After graduating, I was offered a manager position with Pappas Restaurant Group in Houston, TX. I started as a floor manager, then became a kitchen manager with the Pappadeaux concept. I was fortunate to meet my wife of 10 years at Pappas during my tenure. I was with Pappas for four years before I determined the time was right to join Chefs’ Produce.
In 2009 I moved to Dallas to start my training with our Dallas General Manager Allen Smith. Sales Manager was my title and still is to this day, along with many other titles now! I was able to put together a solid sales team and we hit the streets. I took our Dallas company from doing around six million in sales in 2010 to now doing over 30 million in 2020. Well…until about a month ago. We have a great team of people within our company and I’m very blessed.
