Customer Dedicated Executive Chef

gategroup • Seattle, WA

4d • $145,000 - $150,000

About The Position

The Customer Dedicated Executive Chef is responsible for developing and refreshing menus and culinary concepts globally for a strategic airline partner. Menus should reflect the airline’s brand values, corporate identity, and signature culinary style, while accounting for approved suppliers, budgets, dietary needs, and operational requirements. The role covers a range of cuisines, including Asian, modern European, and other international styles.

The chef shares responsibility for kitchen operations related to the dedicated customer, supports training across multiple units, and helps ensure consistent culinary standards and operational execution. The position serves as a trusted culinary contact for the customer and works closely with regional and unit chefs, customer-facing culinary leaders, account management, and Total Cost Management teams to integrate menu requirements into production and ensure food can be delivered consistently in-flight.

The role has global responsibility for the customer’s Gate Gourmet locations and involves up to 60% domestic and international travel. The chef visits units and flies designated routes to learn, inspect, audit, train, and recommend improvements. Work may take place in production kitchen environments, including schedules of 10 or more hours, and occasionally requires weekend and holiday work.

Requirements

• Apprenticeship, AOS, or compatible degree in Culinary Arts and/or a bachelor’s degree in Business and/or Hospitality.
• Catering diploma, City and Guilds qualification, or another appropriate qualification.
• Four years of menu development and operational experience.
• Strong culinary background and experience with global styles and fusion cooking.
• Previous menu development responsibility in a fine dining environment.
• Sound knowledge and experience of Asian and modern European cuisines.
• Working knowledge and experience of HACCP standards or equivalent.
• Experience presenting to clients or customers and building and maintaining appropriate relationships.
• Understanding of large-scale production and assembly, hospitality and service, and the customer experience.
• Ability to present a culinary vision using all five senses.
• Project management skills and diverse, multicultural interpersonal skills.
• Independent, proactive leadership; process-oriented and results-driven approach.
• Ability to stay current with culinary trends, organizations, personnel, food production techniques, and food trends.
• Awareness of superfood and functional food principles, caloric intake, basic dietary requirements, and religious meal requirements including Halal, Kosher, and Hindu meals.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office.
• Relationship and strategic account management skills.
• Ability to manage the movement and schedules of colleagues and customers globally.
• Ability to speak publicly and represent Gate Gourmet with confidence and professionalism.
• Proficient culinary knowledge of terms, procedures, and practices, with the ability to teach these techniques.
• Excellent customer interaction and presentation skills, with the ability to teach these techniques.
• Good interoffice skills and a pleasant, professional office demeanor.
• Patience and mentor-like abilities.
• English language skills.
• Ability to regularly stand, bend, lift, and move intermittently during work schedules of 10 or more hours.
• Ability to work in a production kitchen with varying temperature and noise levels.
• Ability to lift, push, pull, and move product, equipment, and supplies weighing more than 25 pounds.

Nice To Haves

• Three to five years of experience within in-flight catering.
• Additional language skills.

Responsibilities

• Ensure Gate Gourmet delivers menu development and production services that reflect the airline’s signature culinary style.
• Serve as the Gate Gourmet expert on the customer experience the airline provides through in-flight meals.
• Build customer confidence and strengthen consistent service quality.
• Help the customer develop food philosophies and standards, and ensure Gate Gourmet can consistently meet those standards.
• Build relationships with Regional Executive Chefs and Airline Unit Chefs to communicate expectations and deliverables.
• Communicate customer requirements for raw materials and identify and secure suppliers, including potentially suppliers outside Gate Gourmet’s supplier list.
• Partner with Customer Lead Executive Chefs and Regional Executive Chefs to integrate menu requirements into production and ensure menus are executable in-flight.
• Act as a trusted customer contact for menu, food, and kitchen service requirements.
• Work with the Total Cost Management organization to document and deliver specifications, recipes, and photos for pricing analysis.
• Monitor customer feedback and ensure timely corrective actions.
• Measure success against mutually agreed key performance indicators, including margin, customer satisfaction, quality, and recipe management.
• Travel to designated units and fly specified routes to learn, inspect, audit, train, and recommend improvements.
• Prepare culinary components of customer tender presentations, including food presentation, messaging, ingredients, and the local kitchen’s physical appearance.
• Contribute to the account management team’s efforts to win, retain, and build business.
• Participate in Gate Gourmet’s global dedicated S.P.I.C.E. program.
• Share responsibility with local kitchens for customer satisfaction.
• Maintain skill and service standards among multiple customer-dedicated production chefs and support dotted-line reports at key locations.
• Develop and refresh global menus in line with the airline’s culinary style.
• Prepare menu and food reports by collecting, analyzing, and summarizing food, dining, and customer trend data.
• Represent the customer and Gate Gourmet at media events, special affairs, inaugural events, food fairs, exhibitions, and seminars as requested.
• Act as an ambassador for gategroup.

Benefits

• Paid time off
• 401(k) with company match
• Company-sponsored life insurance
• Medical, dental, and vision plans
• Voluntary short-term and long-term disability insurance
• Voluntary life, accident, and hospital plans
• Employee Assistance Program
• Commuter benefits
• Employee discounts
• Incentive pay of 20% of annual base salary, dependent upon successful attainment of company, team, and individual goals

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior