DWJ / Drake Wilkins Jr.

Understand people.
Build what’s next.

Consultant. Creator. Community builder. Chef.

DWJ leads a team connecting Hospitality + Food + Beverage experience with strategy, design, and practical business support.

DWJ is looking ahead to a new chapter in FOH, operations, and Hospitality + Food + Beverage consulting. Our team brings that service perspective to brands, training, products, and useful technology.

Download Resume + Portfolio · PDF ↓The current seven-page resume + portfolio.

Connect on LinkedIn ↗

Black-and-white side-profile portrait of Drake Wilkins Jr.
01 / Hospitality + Operations

Food is the product.
Hospitality is the memory.

Our work reaches beyond the kitchen.

Ownership, hotels, nightlife, and kitchen leadership taught us to read the room, care for people, and make operations hold up under pressure.

DWJ’s experience includes Champs Delicatessen + Grocery, Freda’s in the Market, Continental Dining Services, and hospitality roles in Miami Beach and Chicago.

As Chef & Kitchen Manager at Wolf + Company, DWJ connects hands-on service with the systems, standards, and teamwork behind it.

On The Fly brings restaurant language, culture, and human interaction onto the page. Never Spill Water turns service principles into curriculum, facilitator resources, and team practice.

Drake Wilkins Jr. in a white chef coatWhole roasted fish with charred citrus and herbs
Experience
Selected experience

Every position
taught something.

Fine dining and neighborhood service. Guest experience and kitchen execution. Training, systems, ownership, and the calm required when service is anything but.

Policy assessment

Health, Safety, + HR Policy Assessor

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)

Details

Regional assessment for McDonald’s Corporation

Assessed McDonald’s franchise locations for PwC across Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana. Reviewed operations, HR policies, harassment and injury prevention, health and safety compliance, and anonymous employee feedback with owners and managers.

  • Reviewed local and state documentation monthly.
  • Led leadership meetings and individual employee interviews.
  • Evaluated food preparation areas, break rooms, employee handbooks, and required signage.
  • Scored visits and compiled reports for PwC.
Private dining

Private Dining Chef

Gibsons Restaurant Group · Chicago

Chicago kitchen

Culinary Production

Kindling · Chicago

Kitchen leadership

Chef | Garde Manger

Continental Dining Services · Michigan

Yacht hospitality

Sous Chef

Infinity + Ovation Yacht Charters · Michigan

Operations

Director of Food & Beverage

The Catalina · Miami Beach

Miami kitchens

Line Cook / Prep Cook

NOBU · Prime 112 · Nikki Beach

Guest experience

VIP Host

The Setai · Shore Club / Skybar · Miami Beach

Ownership

Founder / Operator

Champs Delicatessen + Grocery · Freda’s in the Market

02 / Design + Development

Notice the friction.
Build a possibility.

Principal, The Lenox + Yale Agency.

We develop Hospitality + Food + Beverage branding, communications, curriculum, products, and technology around what people need.

Team

Chakowa Donaldson
Lead Design + Graphic UI

Ivan Sigford
A.I. Discovery + Implementation

George Byers
Software Development + Engineering

Explore The Lenox + Yale Agency ↗

Culture cover of the NSW ManualIllustrative Upper Crust hospitality concept, not a completed development
03 / Social Impact

Make room for people.
Help the parts work together.

Entrepreneurship needs connection as much as it needs a plan.

We bring business owners together for dialogue, collaboration, and practical support. The Founders Clinic’s Detroit and Chicago gatherings have centered founder mental health since 2022.

Through coaching and partnerships, we connect entrepreneurs with resources, technical assistance, and capital opportunities.

The Neighborhood Pantry is a proposed Detroit farm stop and growing network designed around fresh-food access, local business sales, and neighborhood reinvestment. More Than Food connects entrepreneurial dialogue with action on food and water access.

Business owners sharing ideas around a discussion tableEntrepreneurs brainstorming around a shared worktable
“I learn how environments function, and build products that push back.”

— Drake Wilkins Jr.