Michael Toska

Background

About Michael Toska

I didn't start out in kitchens. I started out as a Yacht Designer with a degree in Small Craft Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. When designing boats, you learn about ergonomics and how to get the most out of every square inch of your surroundings. I left the Marine Industry for the Foodservice Industry to help my father with his modular kitchen business. The modular kitchen packed the power of a larger traditional kitchen into a much smaller footprint, so similar ergonomic and space saving principles applied. While working in that business, I learned all about how the different segments in the foodservice industry operate. We offered an alternative to traditional kitchens which have a lot of wasted space and labor causing design flaws. When my father retired, a close friend of mine who is a Lean Process Manager, joined up with me and together we started Lean Kitchen Solutions. We switched from modular kitchens to introducing Lean to the foodservice world. I like the challenges clients bring to me. I tell them about Lean Design Methodology which makes them expect a little more. Lean is often thought of as an efficiency program. As you get Lean, you will be more efficient, but that's more of a latent effect. Lean is about adding value to your product in every step of the production process. The focus is to bring the greatest value to your customer at the lowest cost to you. Lean Design Methodology is very interactive between the designer and the client. We may go through several iterations of a plan before settling on the final design. It's not just about cooking and serving, it's about methods of preparing, cooking, holding, serving and cleaning, always looking to reduce liability in the kitchen and to improve the food quality and maximize nutrition. One of my favorite projects was Fresh Meals on Wheels of Sheboygan County. I included an article published by Foodservice Equipment and Supplies magazine below in case you're interested.