Executive Chef
Join the culinary team at Eritage Resort, a boutique luxury wine resort featuring 22 beautifully appointed guest rooms, elevated dining experiences, private events, and wine-focused hospitality in the heart of Washington wine country. We are seeking an accomplished, passionate, and hands-on Executive Chef to lead our culinary program and create memorable dining experiences that reflect our commitment to exceptional hospitality, locally inspired cuisine, and outstanding guest service.
This is an opportunity for a chef who enjoys building something special. The Executive Chef will oversee all culinary operations, including breakfast service, restaurant dining, private events, weddings, catering, holiday celebrations, and curated wine dinners. Working closely with the leadership team, the Executive Chef will help shape the culinary identity of Eritage while maintaining operational excellence and financial success.
This is a true working chef position. The Executive Chef is expected to lead by example by actively participating in daily food preparation, cooking, plating, expediting service, and mentoring the culinary team while ensuring every dish leaving the kitchen reflects the highest standards of quality and consistency.
Key Responsibilities:
Culinary Leadership
- Lead all day-to-day culinary operations while maintaining the highest standards of quality, presentation, consistency, and guest satisfaction.
- Inspire, mentor, and develop a positive, high-performing kitchen culture built on teamwork, accountability, and professionalism.
- Recruit, hire, train, coach, schedule, and evaluate culinary team members.
- Lead by example through active participation in daily food preparation, cooking, and service.
- Foster strong collaboration between the culinary and front-of-house teams to deliver seamless guest experiences.
Menu Development & Guest Experience
- Design seasonal menus that showcase fresh, locally sourced ingredients whenever possible while complementing the region's exceptional wines.
- Create innovative breakfast, lunch, dinner, banquet, and special event menus that balance creativity with operational efficiency.
- Develop wine pairing dinners, holiday menus, chef's specials, and unique culinary experiences that enhance Eritage's reputation as a destination resort.
- Standardize recipes and plating presentations to ensure consistency across all services.
- Continuously evaluate guest feedback and implement improvements that elevate the dining experience.
Financial & Operational Management
- Manage food purchasing, vendor relationships, inventory, and product quality.
- Develop accurate purchasing forecasts based on occupancy, restaurant demand, and scheduled events.
- Maintain food cost and labor cost goals through thoughtful menu engineering, recipe costing, portion control, scheduling, and inventory management.
- Minimize waste while maintaining exceptional quality standards.
- Participate in annual budgeting and ongoing financial planning for culinary operations.
- Maintain inventory accuracy and conduct regular physical inventories.
- Monitor kitchen productivity and identify opportunities for operational improvement.
Kitchen Operations
- Ensure exceptional food quality, consistency, cleanliness, and organization throughout every service.
- Maintain all kitchen equipment and coordinate preventative maintenance when needed.
- Oversee proper receiving, storage, labeling, and rotation of food products.
- Maintain compliance with all local, state, and federal food safety and sanitation regulations.
- Ensure the kitchen consistently exceeds health department standards.
Events & Hospitality
- Collaborate with leadership team to execute weddings, private events, corporate retreats, wine dinners, and special culinary experiences.
- Assist in developing new dining concepts and revenue-generating opportunities.
- Create memorable dining experiences that exceed guest expectations and reinforce Eritage's reputation for exceptional hospitality.
Qualifications
- Minimum of 5 years of progressive culinary leadership experience as an Executive Chef, Executive Sous Chef, or comparable leadership role.
- Demonstrated success managing food costs, labor costs, purchasing, inventory, and kitchen budgets.
- Strong understanding of menu engineering and recipe costing.
- Experience leading, mentoring, and developing high-performing culinary teams.
- Excellent organizational, communication, and leadership skills.
- Strong knowledge of food safety, sanitation, and health department regulations.
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced hospitality environment while maintaining attention to detail.
- Ability to lift up to 50 pounds and stand for extended periods.
- Flexible schedule, including evenings, weekends, and holidays as business demands.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in a boutique hotel, luxury resort, winery, bed and breakfast, or destination hospitality environment.
- Experience executing weddings, banquets, catering, and private events.
- Passion for seasonal cuisine, locally sourced ingredients, and wine-focused dining experiences.
- Knowledge of Pacific Northwest cuisine and Washington wine country is a plus.
What Success Looks Like
The successful Executive Chef will:
- Deliver exceptional dining experiences that consistently exceed guest expectations.
- Build and retain a motivated, engaged culinary team.
- Maintain strong food and labor cost performance while preserving quality.
- Create innovative seasonal menus that strengthen Eritage's culinary reputation.
- Operate a clean, organized, and efficient kitchen that consistently meets or exceeds health and safety standards.
- Partner with resort leadership to grow dining, event, and catering revenue while maintaining exceptional hospitality.
What We Offer
- 401(k) 4% company match
- Employee discount
- Medical, dental, vision with 60% covered by Eritage (family members at 100% cost to employee)
- Paid Time Off
- Employee Discounts at the Resort
- The opportunity to shape the culinary program at one of Washington wine country's premier boutique resorts.
If you are a passionate culinary leader who believes exceptional food creates unforgettable guest experiences and enjoys balancing creativity with operational excellence, we invite you to join the Eritage Resort team and help define the next chapter of our culinary story.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $35.00 - $39.00 per hour
Benefits:
- Dental insurance
- Employee discount
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
Education:
- High school or equivalent (Preferred)
Experience:
- Restaurant Experience: 3 years (Required)
License/Certification:
- Driver's License (Preferred)
Work Location: In person
