ABOUT
Just like mom used to make?
Many great chefs learned about food from a gifted parent or grandparent, often while helping their elders prepare treasured family recipes for holiday meals and celebrations.
Not Abbye Williams.
"When I was growing up, my mom knew how to prepare five dishes-- period," recalls Abbye. "So my first cooking class in junior high school opened my eyes to the universe of possibilities with food. I was hooked."
"Baking was my passion in junior high," she says. "In high school, I branched out to all types of cooking." She also participated in several sports, and became interested in nutrition, especially for athletes.
Abbye entered the University of California, Berkeley to study food science and nutrition, but soon realized she wanted to be in the kitchen, not the lab.
Her next stop was San Francisco's famed California Culinary Academy, where she earned her Professional Chef credential in 1980. Her top-notch education opened the doors to a career in the fast-paced food industry.
HER JUST DESSERTS
Her first job was with Il Fornaio, the full-service restaurant with locations in four western states. As Cafe and Bakery Manager for Southern California, Abbye managed the opening of five retail bakeries in two years. Her primary focus was on staffing, customer service and sales training.
She was promoted to Regional Manager and spent an additional two and a half years managing daily operations and finances. She supervised managers, emphasizing product knowledge and quality customer service.
Abbye next spent four years as Production Manager for Miss Grace Lemon Cake Co., a multi-million dollar retail/mail order operation which was later acquired by Mrs. Beasley's. She managed product development, quality control, costing and daily projection of raw and baked inventories. She was also responsible for synchronizing product in retail units, holiday planning, long-range inventory management and mail order fulfillment.
She was promoted to Vice President/Operations in 1991 and spent an additional three years involved in daily decision-making about product and business development, budgeting, staffing, marketing, sales, and human resources.
As Director of Operations for the Los Angeles-based La Mousse Desserts, Abbye created a quality manufacturing plan to support the sales and marketing plan and achieve the company's growth and profit goals. She also designed and instituted procedures for new product introductions with R&D, manufacturing, accounting, warehousing, distribution and sales.
After dozens of grand openings, new product launches, and seasonal crunches, Abbye has perfected the art of working calmly and effectively in the most demanding conditions.
OFF THE MENU
With A Freiman Consulting, Abbye is free to structure her role to fit the needs of her clients.
She spent 15 months as Interim Training Director for a four-unit natural food and beverage retailer to recruit and motivate a staff that would carry out her ambitious customer service and sales goals.
She completed a 10-month stint as Consulting Production Director for a $6 million fresh wholesale bakery where she managed product development and improved operations
Since 1995, she has brought to market 27 gourmet perishable items from inception to the grocery shelf, and developed 10 bakery items for a supplier to Starbucks Coffee Company serving the Southern California market.
This "concept to consumer" expertise speeds the process of launching a new product. Abbye works with a food technologist, a dietitian, a package designer and co-packers to keep projects moving forward.
ALWAYS AHEAD OF THE CURVE
Abbye believes in continuing education, and has taken courses from the American Institute of Baking, APICS, the Association for Operations Management, the G.M.P. Institute, and Management Action Programs.
In addition, she takes advantage of the educational and networking opportunities via memberships in the Food Consultants Group, the International Association of Culinary Professionals, the Institute of Food Technologists, Renaissance Executive Forums, the Roundtable for Food Professionals, and the Research Chefs Association.
Today, Abbye continues to introduce her clients to the newest trends and leading-edge techniques for successfully creating products and managing operations.