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As Entegra’s Culinary team prepares to open the new Entegra Performance Kitchen later this year, it’s also welcoming a new perspective to the test kitchen. With two decades of culinary experience spanning restaurants, hotels and food manufacturing, Sam Wallis, Director of Culinary – Hospitality & Leisure, brings a unique background in food research, menu innovation and operational efficiency.
We sat down with Chef Sam to discuss what research chefs do, how culinary research helps operators improve quality and efficiency and what he’s most excited to accomplish in the new Entegra Performance Kitchen (EPK).
Chef Sam: I've been cooking professionally for about 20 years. The first 10 were in hotels and restaurants, and the most recent 10 years have been on the culinary innovation side of food manufacturing as a research chef.
Chef Sam: A research chef works in a corporate test kitchen to develop the “gold standard” of a dish in collaboration with food scientists who are product developers. Together, this R&D process ensures a company’s products are up to the rigors of manufacturing.
Most recently, I was a research chef for Smithfield Foods, our supplier partner. Before I joined Entegra Culinary Consulting as a Director of Culinary this year, I had the pleasure of collaborating in the Entegra Performance Kitchen as Smithfield’s Senior Corporate Chef.
Read more about Entegra’s collaboration with Chef Sam at Smithfield Foods.
Chef Sam: Most of my research starts in the test kitchen, on what we call the benchtop. That’s an industry term, and it refers to the area in the test kitchen where chefs and food scientists can control variables and make the “gold standard” of a dish.
The benchtop is a playground for ideation where anything is possible. We can make gold-encrusted chicken tenders. We can use liquid nitrogen. But at the end of the day, we have to bring the recipe back to reality.
We do that by scaling the recipe up and then testing it for consistency. When we can reliably achieve 75 to 80% of the gold standard we originally developed in the test kitchen, within budget, it’s a success. Then the dish transforms from a recipe into a formula that’s ready for prime time.
Related: Q&A: How to build your best menu with culinary consulting
Chef Sam: At Smithfield, I focused on recipe development and showcasing the versatility of manufactured products already on the market. I traveled to restaurants across the country, working directly with operators and showing them how they could use fully cooked products like smoked brisket to lighten the load for their teams, simplify operations and lock in consistency across many locations.
Now I’m a Director of Culinary Services on the Entegra Culinary Consulting team and I specialize in hospitality and leisure. When I work with clients, we focus on menu development and SKU rationalization, where we're evaluating their sales mix and their product order guide and cross-referencing that with their menu and searching for gaps or opportunities. I also analyze their back-of-house to make sure their menu matches the training level of their team.
All of these factors play a role in creating a more efficient and higher-quality operation from a food and beverage standpoint.
Related: 5 ways hotels can win with F&B this year
Chef Sam: One way I help clients reduce costs is with an operational review. Here’s an example. Imagine you operate a bar and grill chain that takes 20 minutes to serve a brisket sandwich. Why is it taking 20 minutes?
To figure this out, my team visits your highest-grossing establishments to do an operational review. I watch back-of-house service and look at the layout of the kitchen, including how the line is set up and where equipment is. Then I create a report based on my observations and offer solutions to reduce prep time and, ultimately, increase revenue.
On the digital end of the spectrum, I offer clients professional, unbiased reports on their web presence performance. This type of research is called a digital operations review, and I recently completed one in partnership with Kevin Sennet, another Culinary Director who specializes in the restaurant space. Together, we analyzed the client’s menu, from the entrees and sides offered all the way down to the dish photography and menu structure. We also tested how easy it was to navigate their website and online menu.
We created a report outlining what the client was already excelling at, such as their focus on local sourcing. The report also included opportunities for growth, showing the client where they could reduce their inventory and reduce costs by reorganizing their menu. This helped the client decide how they could partner with the ECC for success. In this case, the client was looking for a revised menu, a new order guide and resources to help with redesigning their website.
Related: How a GPO can help you reduce costs
Chef Sam: I'm most looking forward to hosting clients on the top floor of the new Entegra Performance Kitchen (EPK), which opens up to a balcony with a beautiful view of the Richmond skyline and warm, natural light. I believe this will create an optimal space for creative idea flow.
Additionally, the EPK shares the building with two other organizations, including a culinary trade school. I’m a big proponent of paying it forward and definitely see a potential for educational initiatives with the culinary school. Even in the culinary world, many people don’t know about the world of food research — I’d like to raise awareness about what research chefs do and what culinary innovation looks like beyond traditional restaurant careers.
The other organization the EPK shares a building with is Mercy Chefs. This nonprofit arrives at sites of natural disasters with pop-up kitchens, providing nourishing, full meals for first responders and people who have been displaced.
I’m looking forward to developing a relationship with both organizations and doing what I can to give back to the local community.
Related: Corporate social responsibility & cost savings with a GPO
Chef Sam: That's a tough question! Here are my top three:
The way I use it, chimichurri can be a sauce, a condiment or a topping. It's quick and easy to make if you have a blender or a food processor. The depth of flavor is incredible. You have herbaceous tones, you have spice, you have acid from lemon juice or red wine vinegar, you have fat from olive oil. You have allium umami from garlic and shallots. Some people even use jalapeños or red pepper flakes. I use a blend of cilantro and parsley. And it's just great on so many different things, from eggs to steak to chicken to pork.
It's really hard to beat a West Coast-style cheeseburger, like a char-broiled or grilled hamburger with American cheese. Some chefs would argue that American cheese isn’t best for a burger. But if I’m not making an upscale build, American cheese is a sure crowd-pleaser. Then I just add simple, high-quality, toppings, like lettuce, tomato, grilled onions and Thousand Island dressing.
Read more: The Burger Showcase: 10 LTO-Ready Recipes to Drive Revenue
This takes me back to childhood. Walking into my mom's house, I would get smacked in the face with this amazing aroma of stewed tomatoes and simmered ground beef and onions. There are few things more comforting than a giant bowl of steaming pasta. Definitely a nice loaf of bread that's crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, and definitely use that for scooping up any remaining sauce on the plate that the noodles didn't grab.
When you understand guest preferences, buying behaviors and food trends, it can help them build menus that make the most sense for your operation. That’s where Chef Sam comes in.
“I help operators understand what their ‘lane’ is and where the opportunities are within their lane so they can make decisions that truly drive revenue,” says Chef Sam. “At the ECC, we can help your operation really bring that idea to life by taking advantage of a trend in a way that's going to be impactful and meaningful.”
Bring hospitality to life for your operation with culinary research and chef expertise.
These are the top questions operators ask about Entegra Culinary Consulting.
Entegra Culinary Consulting (ECC) is a team of culinary, menu and operational experts who help foodservice operators improve profitability, streamline execution and build stronger menus. Services include recipe development, menu costing, menu mix analysis, limited-time offer creation, SKU rationalization, operational assessments and SOP development.
ECC supports operators at every stage of the process, from concept development to implementation. Much of this work takes place in the Entegra Performance Kitchen (EPK), a purpose-built innovation center spanning approximately 10,000 square feet. There, concepts are tested under real-world operating conditions before recommendations are delivered to operators.
Culinary consulting helps reduce food costs by identifying opportunities within recipes, ingredients, menus and purchasing practices. ECC evaluates factors such as menu mix, ingredient utilization, product specifications and operational workflows to uncover savings opportunities without compromising quality or guest experience.
Operators working with ECC have achieved measurable results. One operator reduced chicken costs by 20 to 30 cents per pound, while another lowered overall food costs by 5% through a single product change. These outcomes are driven by data-informed recommendations that are tested and validated before implementation.
A typical engagement starts with identifying business goals such as reducing costs, improving menu performance or simplifying kitchen execution. ECC then develops recommendations that may include recipe testing, menu analysis, operational evaluations or new product development.
Each solution is validated in a real-world environment before rollout. Deliverables can include finalized recipes, menu costing, standard operating procedures, training materials and implementation plans, giving operators clear guidance for execution across one or multiple locations.
The Entegra Performance Kitchen (EPK) is Entegra's dedicated culinary innovation and testing facility, designed to help operators develop, validate and refine ideas before they reach their businesses. It functions as a real-world test environment where chefs and operators can evaluate recipes, equipment, workflows and menu concepts under practical operating conditions.
The multilevel facility spans approximately 10,000 square feet and includes commercial kitchen space, meeting areas and an outdoor patio. The EPK supports menu innovation sessions, supplier collaborations, training, culinary demonstrations and business planning, creating a space where ideas can be transformed into actionable solutions.
The EPK goes beyond recipe development by combining culinary innovation with operational strategy. Rather than focusing only on food creation, the facility is designed to help operators answer broader business questions related to profitability, labor efficiency, menu performance and scalability.
The space mirrors real operating environments and includes commercial equipment, dedicated prep areas, meeting rooms and demonstration capabilities. This allows operators to test concepts, evaluate execution challenges and gather stakeholder feedback in one location before investing time and resources into a full rollout.
No. The Entegra Performance Kitchen is open to all operators, not only existing Entegra clients. Businesses can access culinary expertise, innovation sessions and consulting support regardless of their current procurement or purchasing relationships.
This approach allows operators to explore menu innovation, operational improvements and culinary strategy without changing suppliers or committing to additional services. The goal is to make expert culinary support accessible to a broader range of foodservice organizations.
The Entegra Performance Kitchen supports a wide range of initiatives, including menu innovation sessions, recipe development, supplier collaboration, operator workshops, training programs and culinary trend exploration. The space is also designed for live demonstrations, tastings and collaborative product testing.
The facility includes approximately 10,000 square feet of space, with commercial kitchen and meeting areas totaling about 5,400 square feet and an outdoor patio spanning roughly 4,960 square feet. It can accommodate groups ranging from 12 people for live demonstrations to as many as 150 guests for cocktail-style events.
Yes. While many operators choose to visit the Entegra Performance Kitchen for hands-on collaboration, culinary consulting engagements are not limited to in-person participation. Teams can engage virtually and still benefit from recipe development, menu analysis, operational reviews and strategic recommendations.
The EPK was designed with presentation-ready spaces and digital capabilities that support collaboration, content sharing and remote engagement. This flexibility allows operators to access culinary expertise regardless of location while maintaining a structured and efficient consulting process.
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