Benjamin Grove
I have been working in the food and beverage industry in Southern Nevada since 2001, and being a cook is my favorite job. I began building websites in 2012 as a hobby, and since then I have found many marvelous things you can do with code. Over the past decade, my interests have expanded to hardware, networking, artificial intelligence, machine learning, large language models, the IoT, autonomous systems like drone fleets/swarms and intelligent transportation, and much more.
I recently completed an intensive online bootcamp in Full Stack Software Development at VegasPBS Workforce Education. During the eighteen month course I worked on 4 projects that helped me learn valuable skills. I have also completed a number of online courses in a wide range of subjects.
Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities
- Learn to cook everything the customers want and run any station in the kitchen
- Take care of my customers and help my teammates
- Get the job done without any hassle or supervision required
- Manage and accomplish tasks independently or as part of a team
- Take care of the jobs that no one else wants to deal with
- Solve problems regardless of how challenging or trivial they are
- Do my best for my customers
- Build websites like this one as well as the sites in the hyperlinks below
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Shadow Syndicate Website
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Photography Website
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My Personal Website
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Veteran Ready Website
Work History & Experience
Specialty Cook
I took this job because I had a feeling that cooking on a wok would be fun and engaging; it's been all that and much more. I work the busiest shifts at one of the busiest Pei-Weis in the world, in one of the busiest airports in the US. I've had the privilege of feeding visitors from all over the world as well as working with people from many different countries and cultures. On any given day I might hear people talking to each other in at least three different languages, and I've been able to meet people with very interesting and diverse backgrounds. This job helps me learn focus, discipline, and patience while facing of hordes of hungry travelers and airport employees waiting for me to crank out that Kung-Pao chicken like clockwork. Some days go by so fast I barely have time to be tired. Then along came my COVID-19 employment gap. I was furloughed in April of 2020 and laid off in October. I was recalled in March 2021, and finally returned to working full time in June.
Healthy Parks Aide
The pandemic that led to my layoff from HMSHost offered the perfect opportunity for me to get a job working in the great outdoors cleaning and maintaining city parks. It was a part-time job doing mostly custodial work, and I also got the chance to help out with other tasks such as landscaping. I also had the opportunity to watch the sun rise in almost a dozen different parks, and the view from each one is spectacular. Don't get me wrong, I still love working as a cook, but this job was a nice change of pace.
Station Chef
I worked the pantry, broiler, sauté, fry, and pizza stations. Slinging pizzas is a really fun way to make a living, but it takes practice, especially when you have to make the dough fresh on-site. Even though the pizzas were my favorite, the customers loved the summer Luaus with all of our Hawaiian-themed food. Over two summers I collaborated with 5-8 other cooks to feed over 500 people once week between Memorial Day and Labor Day. I finally got the opportunity to practice fine dining skills as well as banquets and catering. Yes, I got to be the guy with the funny hat carving the New York striploin and roasted turkey. It was a great way to pick up overtime and tips. I also got the opportunity to learn about restaurant finance, profit and loss, and how expensive it is to rent space on the Las Vegas Strip.
Cook
I was able to focus on what Chili's called the 'Heart of the House', which to me meant just being a cook. I realized that working with food was the main reason that I loved working in restaurants. I got to work four different stations with as many as seven other cooks at restaurants in the Las Vegas Valley as well as San Diego. In the Summer and Fall of 2009 I had the chance to do a tour as a corporate trainer during the Menu Revolution. This job gave me a closer look at how large corporations run their restaurant chains, as well as how managers, managing partners, and area directors do their jobs.
Cook & Server
I primarily ran the kitchen and dining room during the overnight shift, although I knew the entire menu and worked every shift at some point or another. From 11pm until 7am I was the line cook, server, busser, porter, steward, prep cook, dishwasher, janitor, and barback, and probably a few other things too. My bartender and I were the only staff available, so we had to hustle and help each other out. That job helped me appreciate how much work there is in running a restaurant and bar that is always open for gaming. I also had the opportunity to build up a loyal customer base over the years, which kept them happy and put more tips in my pocket.
Assistant Superintendent
My grandfather and his business partner ran a company that specialized in underground construction such as building and repairing water mains, sewer lines, storm drains, and the like. Those two made quite a bit of money putting pipe in the ground, and I learned a little bit about how much work goes into keeping a business like that running. I was assigned a company truck, a cell-phone the size of a toaster, and was expected to complete small jobs either by myself or with as small crew of 1-3 people. I got to perform a variety of tasks, which helped improve my problem-solving skills. It was also the first job I had where I actually had to manage tasks and supervise people, not just train the new people and keep an eye on them. That job gave me a huge appreciation for the value of safety, especially when you're in a trench 20 feet deep with heavy machinery and equipment all around you.
Cook
This was my first restaurant job and still might be the one where I learned the most in the least amount of time. I started out as a dishwasher and soon afterwards began helping out with the food preparation. In the first couple of months I learned my way around the restaurant and began helping train new staff members. Within six months I had moved up to line cook working the breakfast and lunch shifts five days a week. I had no idea keeping a restaurant running would be so much fun, and I also had no clue how much work was required.
Education
VegasPBS Workforce Training and Economic Development
Northern Arizona University
University of Nevada Las Vegas Professional Development Center
Things I study just because I can
- Introduction to Computer Science -- Udacity : 2013
- Introduction to Statistics -- Udacity : 2013
- Computing for Data Analysis -- Coursera : 2013
- Machine Learning -- Coursera : 2013
- The Data Scientist's Toolbox -- Coursera : 2014
- Learn to Program: Crafting Quality Code -- Coursera : 2014
- Learn to Program: The Fundamentals -- Coursera : 2014
- LFS101x: Introduction to Linux -- edX : 2014
- Web Application Architectures -- Coursera : 2015
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edX
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Udacity
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TreeHouse
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DataCamp
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Khan Academy
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Coursera
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Codecademy
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Free Code Camp
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My First Web Application
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FCC Python Curriculum
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My Github Projects
Interests
- Sunrises and sunsets
- Learning stuff in so many different ways
- Writing computer programs that build things, solve problems, and help people
- Spending time outdoors, especially swimming or riding my bike
- Keeping my mind open to new experiences, or at least trying to, and being grateful for them
- Studying quantum mechanics to find out why elementary particles have a property called spin when they don't really spin
- Playing with the fonts, colors, JavaScript events and CSS styling on a website just for fun
- Examining different events, people, and civilizations throughout history
- Learning linear algebra and calculus so I can teach machines how to solve problems
- Looking up numbers and statistics on topics like careers, finance, health care, and just about anything else I'm curious about
- Figuring out what a compiler does and how it works
- Reading about all different kinds of subjects just because I can make time for it
- Helping my YouTube AI disc jockey learn Beethoven's Symphony Cycle
Why am I interested in the restaurant business? While I was taking my sweet time finishing college, I realized that my approach to education was becoming expensive, so I took a job washing dishes at a local restaurant named Mountain Oasis. Thanks to the owner, John, chefs Phil and Steve, and outstanding cooks like Sam and Dave I was introduced to restaurant life, and I liked it. Las Vegas is a great place to find a job if you like working in restaurants, so after working for my family's construction company and building up some financial reserves, I moved to Sin City with absolutely no plan.
Highlights
- Maintaining a healthy relationship with my parents
- Earning my college degree
- Learning how to work for a living
- Owning a nice little house that I actually take care of now
- Exercising, eating reasonably healthy food, and sleeping regularly
- Learning how to build, break, and fix things using programming languages
- Distinguished Scholastic Achievement : NAU Honors Convocation
- 1st Place Arizona Southwest Regional Academic Decathlon, Varsity Level