<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=395330474421690&amp;ev=PageView&amp;noscript=1">
Finding the Right Hire by Chef & Founder of Kinfolk
Workstream Blog

Finding the Right Hire by Chef & Founder of Kinfolk

By Workstream

August 30, 2019 | 3 min read

Get the latest with Workstream

Always stay current with hiring news by subscribing to our email updates

Chef David Thomas was born in Philadelphia, but spent the majority of his life in Houston, Texas. It was there where he decided to be a chef, at 14 years of age. He fell in love with the kitchen by way of community service, as a means to stay out of trouble as a teen. He met his mentor, Joseph Hopkins, at a soup kitchen, and continued to work for him in the years to follow. He takes inspirations from his Mother, Grandmother, Chef Joseph, and circuses that he traveled with along the way. In his youth, David spent summers traveling the country with his aunt, who was a circus performer. 

Southern Fusion is his favorite cuisine, and his favorite thing to cook is a Collard Green Soup, which has been passed down through his family for generations. While at Morehouse, David Majored in Sociology and was a Member of the "House of Funk" Marching Band and Jazz Band, SGA, and Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity. 

David founded Kinfolk + Cousins in 2017. It is a boutique catering and live events company based in NYC. Their food is inspired by seasons and sourced from trusted local farmers and purveyors.

4 (1)-1

Alongside his Co-Head Chef, Fabian Ferrera, David and his team of experienced and knowledgeable staff offer a wide range of services. From photo shoots to full service catering, Hospitality Consulting, and even Menu Development. 

Q: What is the biggest challenge you have met in your career?

David: The largest and most consistent challenge I have had in my career is being underestimated from a skills perspective, and being treated differently because of the color of my skin.

Q: How you would describe your company culture, and what are the superpowers of your team? 

David: The culture of Kinfolk + Cousins is Love Meals: Real Food for Real People. We believe that food is the great common denominator in life, and the headwaters from which all culture flows. Our super power is our ability to create thoughtful and genuine food and culture spaces.

Q: How would you describe your leadership style? 

David: I am an interactive relationship-builder. I believe in creating genuine relational space with my staff, to create a comfortable living space for us to work, innovate and be our best selves in. Treat people well and they will treat you well – this is the working mantra for my team.


Workstream's Recruiting Tip:

Automate your hiring processes, so that you can spend more time in building relationships with your teammates. A more efficient hiring process allows you to spend less time on scheduling interviews and wasting time on candidates who may have ghosted the interview. This time can then be more effectively spent on understanding your colleagues and creating genuine relationships.

With Workstream’s streamlined feed, track all applicants within the same dashboard, and determine candidates that can automatically move on to the next stage. Review and recommend candidates to your fellow hiring colleagues, to allow the interview process to flow seamlessly across the different stages.

Prevent ghosting by setting up integrated calendars, that allow candidates to schedule a slot based on their availability, which will save you time in back and forth calls and emails. The best part? Candidates get SMS reminders before interviews, so that they’re able to reschedule should something crop up at the last minute. No more ghosting!

 

d3

Q: Who inspires you and why? 

David: Walter Massey, my college president. He inspired me as a leader because he was a walking example of the line "Speak the Kings’ Language, but Walks with the Common Touch" by Rudyard Kipling. He always made time to speak with students when on campus and we regularly had lunch with him. His wisdom and sage advice continues to me in my life.

Q: What are some challenges or trends you see in hiring today?

David: Finding the right people is always the greatest challenge. The trend I see in hiring today is companies taking their time, by extending the interview process to spend more time with potential candidates. This allows them to get to know them as people before making a hiring decision.


Workstream's Recruiting Tip:

Find the right people by casting a wider net! Explore the use of text-to-apply posters to make it convenient for candidates to apply, or utilizing job board integrations that optimize job postings. This will allow you to save time and effort, as you can post to over 25,000 job boards with a single click, and view all applicants within the same dashboard.

Furthermore, through data-driven analytics, discover opportunities to reduce spend and see which platforms provide long-term hires, and prioritize these platforms to maximize your chances of getting the right candidates.

d1 (1)

Q: Have you ever had an hourly job? If yes, please share with us your experience

David: I started as a dishwasher and prep cook. I worked hard, and now know the value of hard work. I learned so much from what I did there, which still plays a part in guiding me through what I do everyday. Working hard cooperating with a team of people that trust one another will allow you to achieve anything.

Racking your brains for solutions to optimize the hiring processes in your QSR? Schedule a call with us for solutions tailored to your company!
By Workstream
Workstream is the leading HR, Payroll, and Hiring platform for the hourly workforce. Its smart technology streamlines HR tasks so franchise and business owners can move fast, reduce labor costs, and simplify operations—all in one place. 46 of the top 50 quick-service restaurant brands—including Burger King, Jimmy John’s, Taco Bell—rely on Workstream to hire, retain, and pay their teams. Learn how you can better manage your hourly workforce with Workstream.

Read more from Workstream

Recruiting strategies

7 Best Sprockets Alternatives for Restaurant Hiring & HR: 2026

Learn More
HR Resources

6 Best HotSchedules Alternatives for Restaurant Workforce Managem...

Learn More
People management

7 Best Fountain Alternatives for Restaurant Hiring, Payroll & HR:...

Learn More
People management

7 Best Beekeeper Alternatives for Hourly Workforce Management: 20...

Learn More

Personal Information and Sensitive Personal Information

Before we discuss the right to limit and the right to opt-out, we must first define personal information and how it relates to sensitive personal information.

Personal information is any data that identifies, relates to, or could reasonably be linked to you or your household. A few examples of personal information include:

  • Name or nickname
  • Email address
  • Purchase history
  • Browsing history
  • Location data
  • Employment data
  • IP address
  • Profiles businesses create about you, including pseudonymous profiles (“user1234”)
  • Sensitive personal information

Sensitive personal information or “SPI” is a subset of personal information, defined as:

  • Identifying information (e.g. social security number, driver’s license)
  • Financial data (e.g. debit or credit card numbers)
  • Precise geolocation (within a radius of 1,850 feet)
  • Demographic or protected-class information (e.g. race/ethnicity, religion, union membership)
  • Biometric and genetic data (e.g. fingerprints, palm scans, facial recognition)
  • Communications and content (e.g. mail, email, text messages)
  • Health and sexual orientation (e.g. vaccine records, health history)

Right to Opt-Out

Californians have the right to opt-out of the sale and sharing of their personal information. That means you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties (e.g. data brokers, advertisers). You also have the right to opt-out of the sharing of your personal information to prevent the targeting of ads across different businesses, websites, apps, or services.

CCPA-covered businesses must provide a link to allow you to exercise this right. It is usually found at the bottom of a webpage and will say “do not sell or share my personal information” or “your privacy choices.” Sometimes businesses offer privacy choices through a pop-up window or form

To opt-out of the sale and sharing of your personal information, click on the link or use the toggle provided by the business and follow the directions. Doing this on every website you visit can feel burdensome, but to ease the burden you can automatically select your privacy preferences for every website by using an opt-out preference signal, or OOPS for short.

An OOPS is a user-friendly and straightforward way for consumers to automatically exercise their right to opt-out of the sale and sharing of their personal information with the businesses they interact with online. An OOPS, such as the Global Privacy Control. It can either be a setting on your internet browser or a browser extension. With an OOPS, consumers do not have to submit individual requests to opt-out of sale or sharing with each business.

Right to Limit

Californians also have the right to direct businesses to limit the use and disclosure of their sensitive personal information.

Businesses covered under the CCPA must provide a link on their website that allows you to request the limiting of your SPI, if they plan on using it in certain ways. That link will also typically be at the bottom of a webpage and will say: “limit the use of my sensitive personal information” or “your privacy choices.” Once you send this request, the business must stop using your SPI for anything other than to:

  • Provide requested goods or services
  • Ensure security and integrity
  • Prevent fraud
  • Maintain system functionality
  • Comply with legal obligations

Bringing it Together

In summary, the CCPA gives you the right to opt-out of the sale and sharing of your personal information and gives you additional rights to further limit the use and disclosure of your sensitive personal information.

When you exercise these rights together, you exert greater control in protecting your personal data which is important for your identity, safety, and financial health.

If you are on a business’s website and you can’t find the links to exercise your rights, remember to check their privacy policy. The privacy policy should tell you how you can exercise your rights under the law.

If you find your rights being violated, you can submit a complaint to CalPrivacy.

Next in the LOCKED series, we will explore the right to correct and right to know. Follow us on social media to get live updates or check back in one week for the next post.

Essential

Required to enable basic website functionality. You may not disable essential cookies.

Targeted Advertising

Used to deliver advertising that is more relevant to you and your interests. May also be used to limit the number of times you see an advertisement and measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. Advertising networks usually place them with the website operator’s permission.

Personalization

Allow the website to remember choices you make (such as your username, language, or the region you are in) and provide enhanced, more personal features. For example, a website may provide you with local weather reports or traffic news by storing data about your general location.

Analytics

Help the website operator understand how its website performs, how visitors interact with the site, and whether there may be technical issues.

Right to Limit Use of Sensitive Personal Information

You also have the right to limit how we use sensitive personal information (such as precise geolocation, financial data, etc.).

Your preference has been saved. We will not sell or share your personal information.