By Christine Coe | Writer, Mother & Reporter
Our marketing team was brainstorming about our blog a few weeks ago and someone came up with this clever suggestion to highlight our employees. I thought it was a great way to give our customers and business associates a peek behind the Van’s Kitchen curtain if you will. This post is set up as a traditional Q&A and will serve as our first official Inside The Egg Roll. We hope you enjoy learning a little something about our featured employee, Jose.
Jose was the first employee Van’s Kitchen hired. He takes great pride and ownership in the business and often tells people jokingly this it’s his company and he has seniority. He started by cleaning up and renovating our first plant, and worked in all areas of production. Whether it was frying egg rolls, cleaning and cutting vegetables, or mixing the seasonings blends and fillings, Jose did and does step up wherever he’s needed. So without further ado, happy reading!
How long have you been working for Van’s Kitchen?
I have been here for 30 years working and being a part of this family.
What is your roll with the company and how has it evolved through the years?
I am the Production Supervisor, managing the production floor. But I started as a Line Operator, getting experience and earning the trust of Mr. Van by making every egg roll the best one.
What’s a typical day like for you?
Every day since 1995, I’ve been coming in at 4:30am for pre-operations – making sure everything is set up correctly and running production to achieve production goals. Then I perform end of the day sanitation and post-operations – basically cleaning up and sanitizing so everything is ready to go smoothly the next day.
What do you like most about working at Van’s Kitchen?
Everything! Working with the people at our company and being treated as part of the family.
What’s one of your favorite memories since you’ve been here?
The first Christmas in the old location – we had a lot of fun. And my family trip to Disneyworld with my family. Everything was paid for by the company.
What’s your favorite egg roll recipe and/or what’s your favorite way to eat Van’s Kitchen egg rolls?
I like the chicken egg rolls and the southwest egg rolls are the best. I like them with no sauce or anything.
Oh, so do you have a favorite dipping sauce then?
I do like the sweet & sour sauce that comes in the 4 Pack Chicken Egg Rolls.
Before working at Van’s Kitchen, what did you do?
I was working in construction.
If you could do another job for just one day, what would it be?
Elementary teacher.
What is your favorite thing to do outside of work?
I enjoy playing baseball with my son.
Tell us something about yourself that might surprise your coworkers.
I love kids even though it doesn’t look like it.
If you could travel anywhere, where would you go and why?
Rome because I want to visit St. Peter Church. I am a big follower of Christ.
Jose has been a valued employee from the very start and he’s an integral part of the Van’s Kitchen family. One our favorite stories about Jose was when he had a party at his house a few years ago. A friend was visiting him from out of town and brought egg rolls, raving about how wonderful they were and how they were the best you could buy at the store. Jose started laughing and asked his friend if he was serious. His friend had brought Van’s Kitchen egg rolls and didn’t know that Jose worked for the company!
We hope you enjoyed getting to know a little bit about Jose. We we’re happy to learn he really does like kids! If you have a question you’d like us to feature in the next Inside The Egg Roll, please let us know on our Facebook page and we’ll be sure to include it.
