

The Restaurant Solutions
Team
Left to Right Front: Julia Kraft, Sarah
Christopher, Julia Mase
Left to Right Back: Gerhard Tratter,
Brad Metzger and Dick
Powell
OUR
SERVICES Brad Metzger Restaurant Solutions (BMRS), a
Southern California based Hospitality Recruitment and
Placement firm, has established relationships with and
represents a broad range of clients, including the most
acclaimed independent fine dining restaurants in the U.S.,
casual restaurant companies, luxury hotels, distinguished
Private Chef clients and country clubs.
BMRS has
successfully placed the finest Candidates in a wide range of
Front and Back of the House Managerial positions, including
R&D, Corporate, Executive, Sous and Pastry Chefs, Food
and Beverage Directors, General Managers, Directors of
Catering, Event Coordinators, Sommeliers, Maitre D’s
and Restaurant Managers.
Brad has been fortunate to help
launch the careers of aspiring chefs who have gone on to
receive accolades including the coveted Food and Wine
Magazine Best New Chef award, and StarChefs.com's
"Rising Star Chef" distinction. In 2010 BMRS
expanded its services to Nevada with the opening of their
first satelite office in Las Vegas.
Brad and the BMRS team have earned the
reputation as authorities in Hospitality Recruiting and Human
Resources, having been quoted by the LA Times, Nation’s
Restaurant News and Zagat. Brad has appeared in
publications such as Los Angeles Magazine and Beverly Hills
213. Brad has moderated his seminar “Finders Keepers
– Finding and Retaining Great Restaurant
Professionals,” at the annual Sante Magazine Restaurant
Symposium in Vermont and Brad and Sarah regularly speak on the
same topic at UCLA courses in Restaurant Management. See PRESS section.
Brad is a regular at the James Beard Awards in New York, the
Food and Wine Magazine Classic in Aspen, and the International
Chef's Congress in New York.
BMRS
SEARCH
PROCESS BMRS partners
with both our Client Companies and our Candidates to assure
mutual success. We work closely with our Client Companies to
determine the exact qualifications, skills and personality
traits needed in a Candidate. We then take the time to learn
about a company’s culture, vision and goals. Once we
understand the requirements of the position and the profile
of the candidate, we commence the search. We search our
proprietary database and advertise internationally, but most
often obtain Candidates through our extensive contacts and
referrals gained from our combined 80+ years of experience
in all aspects of restaurant operations and management in
Southern California. Candidates are screened and interviewed
extensively, often meeting with them more than once and in
different settings, to ensure their goals, experience and
skills are appropriate for the opportunity and culture
offered by the Client. Written reference reports are
prepared. We interview many Candidates for a search, but
will present only the most qualified for review. BMRS stays
actively involved through the client interview process,
coordinating meetings, obtaining additional information, and
even negotiating compensation packages if requested. After a
successful placement, we stay in contact with all Client
Companies and placed Candidates in order to follow the new
hire’s progress. Our objective is to launch long-term,
successful relationships between the Candidates we place and
our Client Companies. back to top
OUR
ETHICS
Confidentiality, and the most
ethical, professional standards in the recruiting industry
are observed at all times by all BMRS Associates. BMRS will
never recruit Candidates from current Client Companies and
will never recruit a placed Candidate from any Client. back to
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BIO OF BRAD
METZGER brad@restaurant-solutions.com
A love and passion for food and cooking was
instilled in Brad as a young boy. After early trips to Europe
with his family exposing him to some of the finest restaurants
in the world, his fate was sealed as an eternal culinarian and
career restaurant professional. Catering busboy and food prep
positions were his first early jobs and then at the age of
seventeen and growing up in L.A., he jumped at the chance to
work with Wolfgang Puck at the original Spago as a bread baker
and prep cook. Trips in the Spago van to LAX to pick up
freshly flown in fish from all over the world and down to
Chino Farms near San Diego for rare varieties of vegetables,
exposed Brad to the finest food ingredients available.
Then it was off to College at
U.C. Santa Barbara where Brad also continued his professional
experience with positions at El Encanto Hotel and as a
Catering Manager at U.C.S.B. Upon graduating with a BA in
Sociology, Brad returned to Los Angeles where he has held
positions in all aspects of restaurant operations and
management at many of the city’s most successful fine
dining restaurants, including Granita, I Cugini, Vincenti,
Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Chadwick and The Grill on the
Alley. The friendships and professional relationships
developed over 20 years in the Southern California restaurant
community have provided Brad with his vast network of contacts
which has contributed to many successful placements for BMRS
Clients and Candidates. Brad had always
assisted friends and colleagues in the industry to find new
positions. Seeing a niche in the market, Joan Luther, Los
Angeles’ premier restaurant publicist, suggested to Brad
that he start a Hospitality Recruitment and Placement firm.
Soon thereafter, with the support of Joan, Brad founded BMRS
and has never looked back. Several prominent restaurateurs and
consultants to the industry have provided support and
encouragement to Brad and his business continues to prosper,
primarily through referrals from satisfied Clients and
Candidates. Brad has earned the
reputation as an authority in Hospitality Recruiting and Human
Resources, having been quoted by the LA Times, Nation’s
Restaurant News and Zagat. Brad has appeared in
publications such as Los Angeles Magazine and Beverly Hills
213. Brad has moderated his seminar “Finders
Keepers – Finding and Retaining Great Restaurant
Professionals,” at the annual Sante Magazine Restaurant
Symposium in Vermont and Brad and Sarah regularly speak on the
same topic at UCLA courses in Restaurant Management.
See PRESS
section. Brad is a regular at the
James Beard Awards in New York, the Food and Wine Magazine
Classic in Aspen, and the International Chef's Congress in
New York. He also serves on the
Industry Advisory Board of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary
Arts. Brad’s experience in the
industry provides Clients and Candidates with the confidence
that they are working with an professional who understands the
very delicate balance of both front and back of house
operations and the need to find the right people for the right
position. Brad resides in Santa Monica,
California with his wife Lynda, a Hospitality Design
Professional and his young son Kailen, who if asked, can
recite every position in a restaurant, even including Sous
Chef and Food Runner! back to top
BIO OF
SARAH CHRISTOPHER
sarah@restaurant-solutions.com
Sarah Christopher was born into a military
family and had traveled to most parts of the world before she
was a teenager. Growing up and seeing so many cultures,
she developed a passion for different types of food and
wine. She also developed an interest in the world of
hospitality—calling one hotel home for nearly 4
months!
Sarah began her career in the service industry at age fourteen
with her very first job of scooping ice
cream at a local ice cream parlor in Australia. She
continued in the hospitality field and put herself through
college by working in a variety of restaurant operational and
management positions. After graduating from Rutgers
University, Sarah moved to Los Angeles in 2000 and continued
her hospitality career and spent several years at Chin
Chin’s flagship Sunset West Hollywood location.
With mutual friends in the industry, Brad
‘recruited’ Sarah to join the BMRS team in June
2005. Sarah has been recognized as an authority in Hospitality
Recruiting. She has been quoted by Nation’s
Restaurant News and regularly speaks at UCLA courses in
Restaurant Management. It runs in
the family. Her husband, Ric, is also an LA restaurant
scene veteran and is currently a manager at the acclaimed
Wilshire Restaurant in Santa Monica. They live in West Los
Angeles with their two young children. The service industry
has been an intrinsic part of Sarah's life since she was a
young girl. Considering her passion for cuisine, the
hospitality industry and people, hospitality recruiting has
been a natural and exciting progression for her.
back to
top BIO OF DICK
POWELL dick@restaurant-solutions.com
Dick Powell’s entire career has been
devoted to the hospitality industry. He has been
instrumental in the success of some of the most acclaimed and
thriving restaurant companies in the United States.
Dick started his restaurant career prior to
college and liked it so much he decided to attend Michigan
State University where he studied restaurant and hospitality
management. He then worked for over 10 years in
Northern California at the Nut Tree Restaurant, working his
way up from Assistant Manager to Food Director in charge of
2 restaurants, a bakeshop and over 400 employees.
Next it was Lawry’s Restaurants for over 26
years, managing Lawry’s The Prime Rib in Beverly
Hills, Chicago, Dallas and was General Manager during the
opening of the Prime Rib in Las Vegas. He has been on the
Board of Directors of the Nevada Restaurant Association,
where he remains an Allied member, Chairman of the
Restaurant/Hotel Committee of the Beverly Hills Chamber of
Commerce, taught two classes at Cal Poly Pomona and has been
an active member of the Rotary Club for over 18 years.
In 2003 Dick successfully worked with BMRS to fill a
key General Manager position for The Original Pantry in Los
Angeles. Brad and Dick hit it off and subsequently in
2006 Dick joined BMRS where he brings an incredible wealth
of knowledge and passion to the recruitment and placement
process.
Dick and his wife Nancy reside in Las Vegas, where he oversees
the Las Vegas branch of BMRS. They have two daughters;
Michelle and Dawn and are the proud grandparents of two
grandsons Mark and Jake, and one granddaughter Chloe. back to top
BIO OF GERHARD TRATTER gerhard@restaurant-solutions.com
Gerhard Tratter brings the Restaurant
Solutions team a diverse yet focused attention to hospitality
recruiting. Working in restaurants from an early age, he has
experienced many aspects of the industry, which make his
progression into hospitality recruiting a natural one. He
brings a solid hospitality- and business management
background to the team.
Before joining Restaurant Solutions, Gerhard worked as Food &
Beverage executive for the KOR hotel group at Viceroy Santa
Monica, overseeing all aspects of operations. Acting as a
day-to-day liaison with clients and developing creative,
strategic and long-term operational campaigns, Gerhard secured
substantial media placements for his employer on local,
regional and national levels.
Prior to his time at KOR hotel group, he acted as a Managing
Director for Saddlepeak Lodge. Under his leadership Saddle
Peak Lodge was awarded best restaurant in the category "New American Restaurant" by Zagat
7 consecutive years. Previous work experience also includes
Director of Operations for the Patina Group and Regional
Manager for California Cafe Restaurant Corporation.
Gerhard has national and international work experience,
including single- and multi unit management in fast-casual,
casual, and fine dining concepts for independent and corporate
owned business as well as luxury boutique hotel groups.
Gerhard and his wife Sue reside in Brentwood.
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BIO OF JULIA MASE
juliam@restaurant-solutions.com
Julia spent the majority of her life on the East coast in
cities such as Washington, DC and State College, PA, where she
earned her psychology degree at The Pennsylvania State
University. She moved to Los Angeles to plant her feet in
Southern California's diverse restaurant and hospitality
industry. Her eleven years in the food service and hospitality
industries have led her to join the BMRS team in one of the
most dynamic and influential culinary regions in the world.
She began her career as a prep cook at a family-owned restaurant, which allowed
her to appreciate the combination of fresh ingredients, careful preparation and
consistency, as well as the overall operations of a restaurant. Julia
transitioned to the front of the house as a server and her subsequent roles
included operational and management positions in varied environments including
counter service, family style dining, sports bars, fine dining and banquet
operations. Julia has a broad view of how restaurants operate and knows the
elements necessary to create a successful restaurant management team. Julia
brings a fresh approach to the BMRS team. Her passion for people and love for
food and dining out makes hospitality recruiting a wonderful fit.
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