Exec Chef, Operations

gategroup•Miami, FL

About The Position

The Executive Chef, Operations reports to the General Manager of the unit and oversees daily preparation of pre-designed meals for multiple customer accounts. The role manages the unit’s Chefs, Sous Chefs, and Cooks and provides culinary leadership to deliver quality food services to airline clients. The Executive Chef supports operational planning, financial objectives, menu quality, food safety, employee development, and performance improvement in a high-volume production environment. The position oversees production standards, recipes and portion specifications, menu presentation, yields, supplies, equipment, staffing, and labor and food costs. It ensures employees follow HACCP, FDA, sanitation, safety, and company requirements, and trains, coaches, and monitors staff. The role also prepares reports, supports employee retention and corrective action, and works with unit management and airline customers to improve performance and meet account requirements. This is an exempt, full-time position with travel of up to 10%. A rotating schedule of more than 55 hours per week is typical, with shifts of 10 or more hours. The work takes place in a production kitchen, where temperature and noise may cause physical discomfort; the role regularly involves standing, bending, lifting, and moving, including handling items over 25 pounds.

Requirements

Associate or bachelor’s degree in Culinary Arts or a related field, or at least four years of experience in an Executive Chef role.
At least 10 years of experience as a Chef.
At least four years of experience as an Executive Chef.
At least 1–3 years of supervisory experience in a high-volume manufacturing, food-production, restaurant, or catering environment.
In-flight catering experience or experience in a high-volume food-service environment.
Ability to cook meals according to detailed specifications.
Ability to work in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
Strong leadership skills and ability to manage a staff of two to three Sous Chefs and more than 20 Cooks.
Ability to train others and provide employees with positive and negative feedback.
Excellent time-management skills and ability to handle multiple tasks while maintaining focus on priorities.
Strong organizational, analytical, communication, and leadership skills.
Ability to make operational changes to improve the work environment and unit performance.
Basic computer skills.
Excellent written and oral communication skills.
Ability to regularly stand, bend, lift, and move during shifts of 10 or more hours, and lift, push, pull, and move products, equipment, and supplies weighing more than 25 pounds.
Ability to work in a production kitchen where temperature and noise may cause physical discomfort.
Ability to work a rotating schedule typically exceeding 55 hours per week.
Ability to travel up to 10%.

Nice To Haves

Current or previous labor-relations experience.
Experience with menu design.
ServSafe certification.
Working knowledge of Microsoft Office products.
Multilingual ability.

Responsibilities

Monitor and oversee daily preparation of pre-designed meals for multiple customer accounts.
Manage and provide culinary leadership to Chefs, Sous Chefs, Cooks, and team leaders.
Achieve culinary operational objectives through planning, action plans, production and quality standards, audits, problem resolution, and process improvements.
Support culinary financial objectives by estimating requirements, assisting with menu design, reviewing menu response, scheduling expenditures, analyzing variances, and initiating corrective actions.
Ensure recipes, portion specifications, customer requirements, consumer tastes, nutritional needs, procedures, and budget constraints are followed.
Oversee food preparation, portion sizes, productivity, presentation, garnishes, sauces, and menu specifications.
Improve menu quality and consistency by reviewing production records and expenses, evaluating processes, and implementing changes.
Prepare menu and food-preparation reports by collecting and analyzing food, dining, customer, and trend data.
Maintain a safe, secure, and healthy work environment and ensure compliance with sanitation, HACCP, FDA, food-safety, and other applicable regulations and company policies.
Select and purchase menu ingredients; assess delivery quality; maintain general supplies and inventory levels; and establish reorder points, storage requirements, and cost controls.
Maintain culinary equipment by instructing staff, troubleshooting breakdowns, arranging repairs, performing preventive maintenance, evaluating equipment, and proposing purchases.
Train and monitor employees on work procedures and product preparation to support productivity and control labor and food expenses.
Assist in developing and training cooks, and ensure cooks and Sous Chefs can perform the cooking and preparation requirements for all airline accounts served by the unit.
Monitor manpower planning, employee turnover, employee retention, labor requirements, food costs, overtime, and productivity.
Communicate meal cycles accurately and on time, and monitor product yields to maximize usage.
Work with management staff to improve unit performance and ensure menu presentations are planned, set up, and checked against specifications.
Ensure products are cooked to required temperatures and food-safety specifications.
Coach and counsel employees, provide positive and negative feedback, and prepare corrective actions when needed.
Complete required company training, including ServSafe Sanitation Manager Certification, and prepare administrative reports as required.
Maintain professional and technical knowledge through education, publications, networking, benchmarking, and professional participation.