Toast: A Breakfast & Lunch Joint (Toast Ferndale), a restaurant serving fresh, from scratch gourmet American cuisine, is pleased to announce the addition of its new chef, Steve Matthews, and manager, Kat Dowdall.
A resident of Birmingham, chef Matthews has nearly two decades of restaurant experience. Most recently, he served as the morning sous chef at Café Muse in Royal Oak. He also has worked as a sous chef at Black Rock Bar and Grill in Novi, D’Amato’s in Royal Oak and Shiraz in Bingham Farms, as well as chef at Alban’s Bottle & Basket in Birmingham and floor manager and assistant kitchen manager at Rio Bravo.
Matthews is Servsafe Certified and took course work at Oakland Community College’s Culinary School.
Coming to Ferndale from Toast Birmingham, where she was a server, Dowdall has a long history in the hospitality industry. Prior to joining Toast in 2012, she excelled in positions as a server, bartender, and manager at Longhi’s Wailea and Margarita’s Beach Cantina in Hawaii and Ideal Bar & Grill and Four Seasons Biltmore in California. Dowdall resides in Ferndale.
“Steve and Kat are very welcome additions to our Ferndale team,” says Toast co-owner Thom Bloom. “Having worked in numerous kitchens over the years, they both bring great ideas and new excitement to Toast.”
Under the pair’s administration, the restaurant recently participated in the inaugural Ferndale Restaurant Week. They also are concentrating on growing Toast Ferndale’s catering and party business.
