About Us
DRAWING FROM EXPERIENCE
Founded in 2009, IRC (Interactive Restaurant Consulting) quickly established itself as a premier food facility design firm grounded in real-world hospitality insights. Drawing from a collective background of former operators, restaurateurs, and CFSP-certified professionals, the founding team set out to serve not as equipment vendors but as trusted Client Advocates—delivering unbiased, operationally focused design solutions that prioritize efficiency, compliance, and future growth. Over the years, IRC has refined its approach, evolving into a multidisciplinary practice that supports everything from intimate restaurants and bakeries to large-scale commissaries, production kitchens, stadia and hospitality enterprises.
MEET THE TEAM
The IRC Design team is a talented group of foodservice professionals who take their work seriously—but not themselves. With a mix of deep industry experience, sharp design skills, and a dose of humor, we thrive on collaboration and creative problem-solving. Whether it’s streamlining a kitchen workflow or navigating a tricky plan check, we show up with professionalism, positivity, and a shared passion for helping our clients succeed.
RAY ABBEY, CFSP
As President of IRC Design, Ray brings a comprehensive perspective to commercial kitchen consulting backed by a understanding of food service operations, construction, and equipment. He started his foodservice career in 2013 at Chefs’ Toys as an institutional project manager, helping hundreds of schools though all steps of the process from design to equipment placement. He has lectured foodservice design courses at prestigious universities such as Cornell’s Nolan School of Hotel Administration. Outside of work, Ray loves reading to his daughter, playing tug of war with his dogs, and grilling for his wife. On the weekends, you can find him smoking a cigar in a speak easy Tiki bar he built.
Chris Santos
Chris is a Project Design Manager for IRC. His background in architectural drafting and a keen eye for detail, Chris brings a unique blend of technical precision and creative problem-solving to every project. His ability to translate complex kitchen workflows into efficient, buildable plans makes him an invaluable asset in the fast-paced world of foodservice planning. Whether collaborating with consultants or coordinating with engineers, Chris ensures every drawing has the information you need. For the 8 hours we allow him outside of the office, Chris loves Gran Touring Road Racing and off-roading.
Louis "Butch" Cummings, CSFP
Louis “Butch” Cummings is our lead expeditor and operations engineer. Butch has been serving up expertise in the food service industry since 1982, when he got his start while studying at UCLA. He climbed the ranks at Jacmar Restaurants—home of Shakey’s Pizza—eventually managing a $2.5M Italian concept and overseeing multiple locations. Along the way, he launched a successful catering program that boosted sales chain-wide. Butch brings operator experience and expertise to the team. Butch is famously beloved by all the local Health Departments, having worked with them for over 20 years. His no nonsense attitude ensures an efficient plan check process.
Butch owns four different kinds of food smokers and a large barbeque. As such, he is also beloved by his family, neighborhood, butcher, and coworkers.
Blake Derksen
Blake Derksen is a stop motion animator, fabricator, and 3D Designer. From a young age he has enjoyed experimenting in many art forms from drawing to origami. After discovering stop motion, he has enjoyed bringing a variety of media to life with the animation technique. At CalArts Blake refined and expanded his work and grew as an artist in the Experimental Animation Program, producing four animated shorts and many smaller projects. Blake works in the industry as a stop motion animator where he has worked on a variety of projects ranging from Alien X-mas to Robot Chicken, and Crossing Swords. When Blake is not stop motion animating, he is putting his incredible 3D Skills to work in the Foodservice space modeling projects. Blake has forgotten more about frogs and bugs, than he knows about mammals.
OUR VALUES
At IRC Design, we lead with integrity, experience, and a client-first mindset. With decades of real-world expertise across hospitality operations, foodservice design, and construction, our team—including FCSI & CFSP-certified professionals—delivers practical, unbiased solutions tailored to each client’s unique needs. We never sell equipment, ensuring every recommendation is rooted in operational efficiency, compliance, and long-term value.
Collaboration and precision drive our process—from deep discovery interviews to regulatory approvals and final execution. We streamline kitchen workflows, reduce waste, and maximize productivity through thoughtful, scalable design. At every stage, our goal is to create spaces that work hard, perform flawlessly, and grow with your business.
CERTIFICATIONS
We are very proud to be members of FCSI, and as Certified Foodservice Professionals (CFSP) bring a level of knowledge only constant learning and research can provide. IRC brings industry-recognized expertise to every foodservice project. These affiliations reflect our deep knowledge of equipment, operational efficiency, and design best practices, along with a commitment to ethical, innovative, and forward-thinking solutions. When you work with IRC, you’re partnering with a team that’s certified, connected, and ready to deliver smart, high-performing results.
We came across an incredibly beautiful but challenging space that would not have easily met standard Health Department requirements. From the very beginning, IRC Design provided innovative solutions and expert guidance, giving us a clear roadmap from lease signing through grand opening. Their knowledge, creativity, and attention to detail helped turn a complex project into a successful reality. Thank you, IRC Design.
We are beyond grateful to IRC for their incredible leadership and creativity in designing the kitchen at California SMASH. Their attention to detail, deep understanding of operational flow, and commitment to excellence helped us bring our vision to life. The result is a beautiful, functional space that will serve as the heartbeat of our venue for years to come.”
Thank you again for coming to speak with the Foodservice Facilities Design class at Cornell University’s Nolan School of Hotel Administration. It was incredibly helpful for the students to hear how you think through a project—from identifying priorities to weighing constraints and trade-offs. Your ability to break down complex decisions into practical, actionable steps really resonated with them. Appreciate you taking the time to share your experience with us!
We partnered with Ray at IRC Design, and they absolutely delivered above and beyond. From the initial concept phase to final execution, their team demonstrated deep industry expertise, exceptional responsiveness, and a rare ability to balance operational efficiency with a guest-centric experience.
