In 1992 Curtis began his restaurant / food service career at Santo's West, a restaurant and bar in Westwood, California. At Santo’s he gained valuable experience working all aspects of the concept inclusive of front of the house, back of the house, employee scheduling, purchasing, and overall operations management. In 1996 Curtis joined the food service operations team for Federated (Bullocks / Macy's) in Southern California. Here his responsibilities included the day-to-day operations of four locations, catering and special events execution and oversight of 150+ employees.

Curtis expanded his building skills by entering the residential construction industry in 1999. Here he was exposed to every facet of construction; from grading and framing to rough outs and finished construction. His stint in construction exposed him to a broad understanding of plans, interface with inspections and the design/build of complex residential kitchen programs. Curtis joined Michael Blackman & Associates – which eventually became Chef Toys – in 2011 as Project Administrator. At MB&A his responsibilities included estimating, purchasing, coordination of delivery and installation and the design and specification of equipment.

The marriages of his diverse skill sets are fully employed in his position as Design Associate at IRC. At IRC he is able to immerse himself in all aspects of our clients’ food service design needs with a comprehensive set of skills that ensure their objectives and project criteria are attended to with appropriate care and expertise.