Executive Chef
Free Reign Restaurants | Charleston, SC
Free Reign Restaurants is seeking an experienced, driven, and creative Executive Chef to lead the culinary direction of a high-profile restaurant concept within our growing Charleston-based hospitality group.
This role is ideal for a chef who thrives in a hands-on leadership position, understands upscale casual dining, and can balance creativity, consistency, financial discipline, and team development. The Executive Chef will be responsible for leading the kitchen team, executing a refined culinary vision, maintaining strong systems, and ensuring the restaurant delivers a memorable guest experience every day.
The ideal candidate has a strong background in chef-driven restaurants, live-fire or steakhouse cooking, seasonal menu development, high-volume execution, and team leadership.
Key Responsibilities
Culinary Leadership
The Executive Chef will lead all culinary operations, including menu execution, recipe development, plating standards, prep systems, and daily service quality. This person should be highly organized, detail-oriented, and capable of maintaining consistency across lunch, dinner, private dining, events, and high-volume service periods.
Menu Development & Concept Execution
Work closely with ownership and leadership to develop and refine menus that reflect the restaurant’s identity, seasonality, and guest expectations. The chef should be comfortable creating food that feels elevated, approachable, and memorable while remaining operationally realistic and financially sound.
Kitchen Management
Oversee all BOH operations, including hiring, training, scheduling, coaching, accountability, station organization, prep lists, ordering, inventory, sanitation, and daily kitchen readiness.
Financial Accountability
Manage food cost, labor cost, ordering, waste, inventory, portioning, and vendor relationships. The Executive Chef will be expected to understand the financial side of the kitchen and make decisions that support profitability without sacrificing quality.
Team Development
Build and maintain a strong kitchen culture based on respect, accountability, urgency, cleanliness, and pride. This role requires a chef who can train, mentor, and hold the team to high standards while creating a positive and professional work environment.
Service Execution
Maintain a strong presence during service, ensuring food quality, pacing, communication, and consistency. The Executive Chef must be comfortable leading from the line when needed and setting the tone for the kitchen each day.
Systems & Standards
Create and maintain recipes, prep guides, order guides, cleaning schedules, station checklists, training materials, and kitchen procedures. The right candidate will bring structure and organization while still allowing room for creativity.
Qualifications
The ideal candidate will have:
- Prior Executive Chef, Chef de Cuisine, or senior sous chef experience in an upscale casual, steakhouse, live-fire, coastal, or chef-driven restaurant
- Strong leadership and communication skills
- Experience managing food cost, labor cost, ordering, inventory, and vendor relationships
- Ability to lead high-volume service while maintaining quality and consistency
- Strong understanding of meat, seafood, seasonal produce, sauce work, and live-fire or grill-focused cooking
- Experience hiring, training, coaching, and developing BOH team members
- Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
- A hands-on leadership style
- Ability to collaborate with ownership and senior leadership
- A calm, professional presence under pressure
- Knowledge of health department standards, sanitation, and kitchen safety
What We’re Looking For
We are looking for a chef who is passionate, mature, organized, and ready to take ownership of a restaurant’s culinary identity. This person should have the confidence to lead, the humility to collaborate, and the discipline to operate a kitchen that is both creative and profitable.
The right chef will understand that great restaurants are built through consistency, communication, training, and culture — not just great food.
Compensation & Benefits
Competitive salary based on experience. Benefits and additional compensation opportunities may be discussed during the interview process.
About Free Reign Restaurants
Free Reign Restaurants is a Charleston-based hospitality group with a collection of distinct restaurant concepts. Our restaurants are built around strong leadership, thoughtful hospitality, high-quality food and beverage programs, and memorable guest experiences.
We are continuing to grow and evolve, and we are looking for leaders who want to be part of that next chapter.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: From $70,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Food provided
- Paid time off
Shift:
Ability to Commute:
- Charleston, SC 29403 (Preferred)
Ability to Relocate:
- Charleston, SC 29403: Relocate before starting work (Preferred)
Work Location: In person
