Local Cook Honored for Steak Grilling Skills

We're extending a big "Patch-on-the-Back" to a Palm Harbor cook who's a rock star when it comes to grilling steaks.

Emilio Burgos, a 15-year team member and Certified Grill Master at the in Palm Harbor, has been presented with LongHorn’s top honor for local restaurant employees — the Team Member of the Year Award.  

"It surprised me," Burgos told Palm Harbor Patch of his award.

Presented annually, the "Team Member of the Year" award recognizes employees throughout North America who demonstrate outstanding results by providing LongHorn guests with "expertly grilled steaks and a memorable LongHorn experience," according to a company news release.

Emilio is one of four team members selected this year from the more than 390 LongHorn Steakhouse restaurants in North America, making this quite the honor. 

For the past year, Emilio has consistently delivered a 93 percent excellent rating or higher on the restaurant’s “steaks cooked correctly score,” an internal metric that measures guests’ satisfaction with their LongHorn steak, according to a company news release.  

Throughout his career at LongHorn, Emilio has trained more than 100 fellow team members, 30 managers and several Directors of Operations on LongHorn’s grilling techniques, recipes and food safety standards and protocols.

“Emilio is a highly valued team member who understands the importance of doing things the right way,” said Dave George, President of LongHorn Steakhouse.  

“He puts a tremendous amount of effort into his work and is tireless when it comes to ensuring guests have a memorable LongHorn experience," he said. 

The Palm Harbor LongHorn Steakhouse is located at 35645 U.S. 19