Position Summary
The Executive Chef is responsible for elevating food quality, execution, presentation, training, and culinary consistency across assigned school foodservice accounts. This role serves as a culinary leader, coach, and operational support partner to Food Service Directors, District Managers, kitchen leads, and frontline teams.
The Executive Chef is expected to bring a restaurant-quality mindset to school foodservice while ensuring meals remain compliant, cost-conscious, operationally realistic, and appealing to students. This position plays a critical role in menu execution, tastings, catering events, account openings, staff development, and corrective action when culinary or operational standards are not being met.
This is a hands-on leadership role. The Executive Chef must be willing to teach, demonstrate, correct, follow up, and hold teams accountable.
Key Responsibilities
- Culinary Leadership & Food Quality
- The Executive Chef will lead by example in preparing, presenting, and executing high-quality meals that reflect OrganicLife’s standards. This includes ensuring recipes are followed, food is properly seasoned, presentation is consistent, and meals are served with pride.
- The Executive Chef is expected to identify opportunities to improve food quality, flavor, batch cooking, holding procedures, production flow, and overall student acceptance.
- Account Support & Site Visits
- The Executive Chef will regularly visit assigned accounts to observe meal preparation, service execution, sanitation, staff performance, and food presentation. Site visits should be purposeful and include checking in with school staff, supporting the FSD or manager, observing service, and correcting issues in real time.
- The chef is not there simply to “help cook.” The expectation is to evaluate, teach, coach, and leave the team stronger than when they arrived.
- Training & Staff Development
- The Executive Chef will train FSDs, managers, leads, and kitchen staff on proper culinary techniques, recipe execution, batch cooking, knife skills, food presentation, catering execution, sanitation, and service standards.
- Training should be hands-on and practical. The chef should demonstrate the correct process, explain the reason behind it, and ensure the team can repeat it successfully.
- Tastings, VIP Events & Catering
- The Executive Chef will support and lead tastings, VIP events, client presentations, catering events, board events, and special promotions. These events must reflect a higher level of execution, presentation, hospitality, and professionalism.
- For tastings and VIP caterings, the Executive Chef is expected to elevate the experience and represent the company at the highest level. Presentation, timing, setup, cleanliness, food quality, and service must all be carefully managed.
- Menu Execution & Innovation
- The Executive Chef will assist with menu rollouts, recipe testing, culturally authentic menu development, scratch-cooked items, and student-centered food concepts. The chef should provide feedback on what works operationally, what needs improvement, and how recipes can be executed consistently at the school level.
- This role should help bridge the gap between menu development and real-life cafeteria execution.
- Operational Accountability
- The Executive Chef must be comfortable addressing issues directly and professionally. If food quality, sanitation, presentation, or execution does not meet company standards, the chef is expected to correct the issue on-site and communicate concerns to the appropriate FSD, DM, or senior leadership.
- If an FSD or kitchen team is struggling, the Executive Chef shares responsibility in supporting improvement.
- New Account Openings & Transitions
- The Executive Chef will support new account transitions, back-to-school openings, staff training, menu execution, production planning, kitchen organization, and first-day-of-school readiness. This includes helping teams understand recipes, production needs, service flow, equipment use, and presentation expectations.
- The chef must be proactive, organized, and able to identify problems before they impact service.
Essential Duties
- Conduct regular site visits to assigned accounts.
- Train and coach kitchen teams on culinary standards and execution.
- Support FSDs and DMs with food quality improvement plans.
- Lead or assist with tastings, catering events, VIP meals, and client-facing events.
- Ensure recipes, portioning, presentation, and holding procedures are followed.
- Evaluate sanitation, kitchen organization, and overall readiness during visits.
- Provide immediate correction and coaching when standards are not met.
- Assist with new menu rollouts, recipe testing, and scratch-cooking initiatives.
- Support culturally authentic menu development and execution.
- Help troubleshoot production, equipment, staffing, and service challenges.
- Prepare for account openings and support back-to-school readiness.
- Maintain a professional presence when interacting with clients, school administrators, staff, and students.
- Communicate visit findings, concerns, and follow-up needs to leadership.
- Promote a culture of hospitality, accountability, pride, and continuous improvement.
Expectations for Success
- The successful Executive Chef is proactive, hands-on, professional, and comfortable holding teams accountable. This person must be able to walk into a kitchen, quickly assess what is working and what is not, and provide practical solutions.
- The Executive Chef should not wait to be told what needs attention. They should identify opportunities, correct issues, support managers, and follow through until improvements are made.
- This position requires someone who understands that school foodservice can and should be executed with the same pride, care, and attention to detail found in a restaurant or hospitality environment.
Required Qualifications
- Culinary degree or equivalent professional culinary experience preferred.
- Minimum 5 years of culinary leadership experience.
- Experience in K-12 foodservice, contract foodservice, catering, commissary production, or high-volume food production preferred.
- Strong knowledge of food safety, sanitation, HACCP, and proper food handling.
- Ability to train, coach, and develop kitchen teams.
- Strong understanding of batch cooking, holding procedures, production planning, and service execution.
- Excellent communication and leadership skills.
- Ability to work independently and manage multiple accounts or projects.
- Strong organizational and follow-up skills.
- Ability to represent the company professionally in client-facing situations.
- Valid food safety certification required or ability to obtain.
Preferred Skills
- Experience with NSLP meal service and school foodservice operations.
- Knowledge of USDA meal pattern requirements.
- Experience with recipe testing, menu development, and production scaling.
- Catering and event execution experience.
- Strong presentation and plating skills.
- Bilingual English/Spanish preferred.
- Ability to work with diverse teams and student populations.
- Comfortable supporting openings, transitions, and high-pressure operational needs.
Core Competencies
- Culinary excellence
- Leadership and accountability
- Training and coaching
- Hospitality mindset
- Problem-solving
- Communication
- Attention to detail
- Food safety and sanitation
- Client service
- Team development
- Operational follow-through
Physical Requirements
- Ability to stand for extended periods of time.
- Ability to lift, push, pull, and carry up to 50 pounds.
- Ability to work in hot, cold, and fast-paced kitchen environments.
- Ability to travel between assigned school accounts and company locations.
- Ability to work early mornings, occasional evenings, and special events as needed.
Performance Measures
The Executive Chef’s success will be measured by:
- Improved food quality and consistency across assigned accounts.
- Successful execution of tastings, VIP events, and catering events.
- Positive feedback from clients, students, FSDs, DMs, and leadership.
- Effective staff training and improved team performance.
- Strong sanitation and kitchen organization during site visits.
- Successful new account openings and menu rollouts.
- Timely communication and follow-up on identified issues.
- Ability to correct operational concerns before they become client issues.
Position Summary Statement
The Executive Chef is a culinary leader, trainer, and standard-setter for the organization. This role is responsible for ensuring that every account receives the support, coaching, and culinary direction needed to deliver high-quality, student-focused meals with consistency, pride, and professionalism
Pay: $60,000.00 - $65,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
