Executive Chef
Department: Food & Beverage
Reports To: General Manager
FLSA Status: Exempt
Position Summary
The Executive Chef is responsible for the overall leadership and management of all culinary operations, including the restaurant, bar, breakfast, room service, banquets, catering, and special events. This position ensures exceptional food quality, financial performance, team development, food safety compliance, and operational excellence while creating memorable dining experiences for every guest.
The Executive Chef is expected to lead by example, maintain a positive and professional kitchen culture, and work collaboratively with all hotel departments to achieve the property’s service and financial goals.
Essential Responsibilities
Culinary Leadership
- Direct all daily culinary operations.
- Ensure consistency, quality, and presentation of all menu items.
- Develop seasonal menus, features, and banquet offerings.
- Standardize recipes and portion controls.
- Maintain high culinary standards across all outlets.
- Evaluate guest feedback and implement improvements.
Team Leadership & Development
- Recruit, hire, onboard, and train culinary team members.
- Coach, mentor, and develop employees through regular feedback.
- Conduct performance evaluations.
- Foster a respectful, positive, and accountable work environment.
- Build a culture focused on teamwork, communication, and guest service.
- Manage scheduling to meet operational and labor goals.
Financial Management
- Manage departmental budgets.
- Control food cost and labor cost.
- Monitor inventory levels and purchasing.
- Reduce waste while maintaining product quality.
- Review weekly financial performance and identify improvement opportunities.
- Build strong vendor relationships and negotiate pricing when appropriate.
Banquets & Catering
- Oversee execution of all banquet and catering events.
- Collaborate with the Sales and Banquet teams during planning and execution.
- Ensure banquet production is timely, organized, and of exceptional quality.
- Participate in menu tastings and event planning meetings as needed.
Food Safety & Sanitation
- Maintain compliance with all local, state, and federal health regulations.
- Ensure proper food handling, storage, labeling, and temperature controls.
- Maintain ServSafe standards throughout the kitchen.
- Ensure cleanliness and organization of all culinary areas.
- Maintain sanitation logs and required documentation.
Operational Responsibilities
- Participate in daily manager meetings.
- Partner with Front Office, Sales, Engineering, and Housekeeping to enhance the guest experience.
- Assist with forecasting, budgeting, and strategic planning.
- Coordinate preventive maintenance of kitchen equipment.
- Maintain proper inventory and ordering procedures.
- Ensure all recipes and production standards are documented and followed.
Qualifications
Required
- Minimum five years of culinary leadership experience in a full-service hotel or upscale restaurant.
- Previous Executive Chef or Executive Sous Chef experience.
- Strong banquet and catering production experience.
- Knowledge of food cost, labor management, inventory, and purchasing.
- Excellent leadership and communication skills.
- Strong organizational and time management abilities.
- Ability to work flexible hours, including evenings, weekends, and holidays.
Preferred
- Boutique hotel experience.
- IHG or branded hotel experience.
- ServSafe Manager Certification.
- Experience with menu development and seasonal programming.
- Experience leading high-volume banquet operations.
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
- Strong leadership and coaching abilities.
- Excellent culinary techniques and food presentation.
- Financial and business acumen.
- Ability to multitask in a fast-paced environment.
- Strong conflict resolution and problem-solving skills.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
- Ability to build positive relationships across departments.
- Commitment to exceptional guest service.
Physical Requirements
- Ability to stand and walk for extended periods.
- Frequently lift up to 50 pounds.
- Work in hot, cold, and fast-paced kitchen environments.
- Ability to bend, stoop, reach, and climb as needed.
- Manual dexterity sufficient to safely operate commercial kitchen equipment.
Performance Expectations
The Executive Chef will be expected to:
- Deliver exceptional culinary experiences.
- Maintain food and labor costs within budget.
- Build and retain a high-performing culinary team.
- Maintain outstanding food safety standards.
- Execute banquet and catering events with excellence.
- Foster a collaborative culture throughout the hotel.
- Continuously improve guest satisfaction and culinary operations.
- Support the hotel’s overall financial and operational success.
Our Ideal Candidate
We are seeking a hands-on leader who is passionate about hospitality, enjoys developing people, embraces accountability, and leads with integrity. The ideal Executive Chef thrives in a collaborative environment, inspires their team through positive leadership, and consistently delivers outstanding food and memorable guest experiences.
Pay: $65,000.00 - $78,000.00 per year
Work Location: In person
