POSITION OVERVIEW
The Shepherd's Table (an entity of Camp Hideaway) is looking for an experienced, hospitality-minded Executive Chef & Culinary Director to lead the culinary experience across Camp Hideaway's three Texas Hill Country properties.
This is first and foremost a hands-on chef position.
You'll be responsible for preparing and executing the food for weddings, corporate retreats, private events, breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and other guest experiences across our Fredericksburg, Gruene, and Spicewood properties.
We're looking for someone who can create incredible food and isn't afraid to be the person in the kitchen making it happen.
At the same time, this person will own the larger culinary program: developing menus, ordering ingredients, managing food costs, maintaining quality and presentation standards, coordinating event execution, and building the culinary team and systems necessary to support our growth.
We're not looking for someone who simply wants to manage a kitchen.
We're looking for a chef who wants to build one.
WHAT YOU'LL OWN
Culinary Production & Event Execution
- Serve as the primary chef responsible for food preparation and culinary execution across Camp Hideaway events.
- Prepare and execute breakfasts, lunches, dinners, wedding meals, corporate retreat meals, private events, and other catered experiences.
- Travel between Camp Hideaway's three properties as event schedules require.
- Ensure food is prepared, transported, finished, and served safely and at an exceptional standard.
- Coordinate culinary timelines with venue and event teams to ensure meals are executed seamlessly.
- Lead culinary and service staff during larger events as needed.
- Maintain exceptional standards for food quality, portioning, presentation, cleanliness, and sanitation.
Menu Development & Guest Experience
- Develop and continually improve menus for weddings, corporate retreats, private events, breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and grab-and-go offerings.
- Create food that complements the Camp Hideaway experience and feels appropriate for Texas Hill Country hospitality.
- Collaborate with clients, planners, and internal teams when custom menus or special experiences are appropriate.
- Accommodate dietary restrictions and special requests while maintaining quality and operational efficiency.
- Look for creative ways to use food as another expression of Camp Hideaway's commitment to exceptional hospitality.
- Continually evaluate guest feedback and improve the culinary experience.
Purchasing, Inventory & Food Cost
- Own ingredient sourcing, purchasing, inventory, and culinary supply management.
- Develop strong relationships with food and beverage vendors.
- Maintain appropriate inventory while minimizing waste.
- Establish portioning and production standards.
- Manage food costs and culinary expenses against established budgets.
- Build menus that balance exceptional quality with healthy profitability.
Culinary Leadership & Growth
- Hire, train, schedule, coach, and lead culinary and support staff as event volume grows.
- Build a dependable bench of cooks, prep staff, servers, and other culinary support necessary to execute events across multiple properties.
- Develop recipes, prep standards, checklists, systems, and SOPs that allow the culinary program to scale without sacrificing quality.
- Establish consistent culinary standards across all Camp Hideaway properties.
- Lead by example and remain willing to cook, prep, clean, load, unload, and jump into whatever is necessary to successfully execute an event.
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR
- 7+ years of professional culinary, catering, hospitality, or event food-production experience
- Significant hands-on cooking experience
- Experience executing food for weddings, catered events, retreats, banquets, or other high-volume environments
- Strong understanding of food safety, sanitation, production, and kitchen operations
- Experience developing menus and recipes
- Strong understanding of food cost, purchasing, inventory, portioning, and waste management
- Ability to independently execute smaller events while leading a team for larger events
- Strong organizational and time-management skills
- Comfortable managing multiple events and properties with different timelines and requirements
- Calm, adaptable, and solutions-oriented when plans change
- Strong communicator who works well with venue teams, event planners, clients, vendors, and service staff
- Willing and able to work nights, weekends, and some holidays based on the event calendar
- Willing to travel regularly between Camp Hideaway's Fredericksburg, Gruene, and Spicewood properties
Experience in weddings, luxury catering, retreats, boutique hotels, resorts, ranch properties, or destination hospitality is strongly preferred.
THE PERSON WE'RE LOOKING FOR
You take tremendous pride in the food you put in front of someone.
You're equally comfortable developing a menu, breaking down food costs, prepping for 100 guests, leading a kitchen team, and jumping onto the line when it's time to execute.
You're organized enough to plan ahead but adaptable enough to handle the realities of events.
You notice the details.
You don't believe leadership means standing outside the work — you lead from inside it.
Most importantly, you understand that at Camp Hideaway, food is hospitality.
A great meal isn't simply another line item on an event order. It's an opportunity to care for someone and create a memory.
BENEFITS
- Health care reimbursement of up to $600 per month for eligible family premiums and medical expenses
- 20 days of personal time off per year
OUR PURPOSE
To love people through our hospitality.
We are here to nourish, provide, and sacrifice for others — to care for them. To that end, we are stewards of the guest experience and the land that God has entrusted us.
OUR NICHE
We create awesome getaway experiences.
OUR CORE VALUES
Genuine — We are authentic and transparent people. We live in the light. We allow ourselves to be known. We do what we say we will do. We are teachable.
Relational — We love people. We are humble. We listen. We serve others first.
Team Focused — We give our time, energy, and talents to the team. We cheer for each other. We help each other.
Hard Working — Everything speaks. We are tenacious. Small details are huge. We seek opportunities to learn and grow.
The Shepherd's Table Catering is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity in the workplace. We encourage all qualified individuals to apply.
Pay: $95,000.00 per year
Benefits:
Work Location: In person
