Executive Chef

International House at UC Berkeley•Berkeley, CA

3d•$120,000 - $128,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Executive Chef is the senior culinary leader for International House Berkeley, overseeing culinary operations across Residential Dining, Catering & Events, and food production supporting Edmonds’ café. Reporting to the Head of Food & Beverage, the role is accountable for culinary excellence, operational efficiency, financial stewardship, food safety, and innovative, culturally diverse dining experiences that reflect I-House’s international community. The Executive Chef directly supervises three Sous Chefs and one Banquet Sous Chef, setting direction and performance expectations and ensuring consistent execution across culinary operations. The role works closely with Food & Beverage leadership and other departments to develop a strong culinary team and support hospitality, community, and financial sustainability. The Executive Chef leads menu and culinary strategy; oversees production, purchasing, inventory, equipment, kitchen organization, budgets, staffing, and training; and maintains food safety and regulatory compliance. The role also leads culinary planning and execution for catering, banquets, conferences, special events, and institutional programs. This is an exempt, full-time position of 40 or more hours per week, performed on-site in a commercial kitchen and dining environment. Flexibility is required to work early mornings, evenings, weekends, holidays, and special events as operationally necessary. The pay range is $120,000 to $128,000 annualized, commensurate with experience and qualifications.

Requirements

Culinary degree or an equivalent combination of professional education, training, and experience.
At least seven years of progressively responsible culinary experience, including leadership in high-volume food service operations.
Demonstrated experience supervising and developing culinary managers and staff.
Strong knowledge of international cuisines, specialized dietary requirements, food safety, and sanitation standards.
Proven experience managing food costs, labor, purchasing, inventory, and operational budgets.
Current ServSafe Manager Certification or an equivalent recognized food safety certification.
Strong leadership, communication, organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
Proficiency with culinary management, purchasing, inventory, and menu management systems.

Nice To Haves

Experience in university, residential, institutional, or comparable high-volume dining environments.
Experience overseeing catering and banquet culinary operations.
Experience working in a unionized environment.
Demonstrated commitment to cultural awareness, inclusion, and hospitality.

Responsibilities

Lead culinary strategy and menu development across Residential Dining, Catering, and café food production, maintaining quality, consistency, creativity, and cultural relevance.
Develop innovative, nutritionally balanced menus that reflect the International I-House community and accommodate diverse dietary needs.
Set standards for recipes, preparation, presentation, portion control, and food quality.
Evaluate menus and offerings using resident feedback, customer preferences, food costs, seasonality, and operational efficiency.
Collaborate with Dining, Café, and Catering leadership on menu innovation and culturally significant culinary programming.
Oversee culinary production, purchasing, inventory, equipment, and kitchen organization across Dining, Catering, and café food production.
Manage food costs, culinary labor, purchasing, inventory, and waste within established budgets and financial targets.
Analyze operational and financial performance to identify efficiency, cost-saving, sustainability, and continuous-improvement opportunities.
Establish and maintain purchasing practices, vendor relationships, production systems, and operational procedures.
Partner with the Head of Food & Beverage on budgeting, forecasting, equipment needs, and financial performance.
Supervise, coach, and evaluate culinary staff, establish expectations and accountability, and oversee staffing, scheduling, training, and workforce development.
Mentor culinary leaders and support professional development and succession planning.
Address employee performance and workplace concerns with the Head of Food & Beverage and Human Resources, following organizational policies and applicable collective bargaining agreements.
Foster a respectful, inclusive, collaborative, high-performing kitchen culture.
Ensure compliance with food safety, sanitation, workplace safety, and regulatory requirements across culinary operations.
Establish and enforce safe food handling, storage, preparation, allergen-management, and sanitation standards.
Oversee food safety training, kitchen inspections, compliance documentation, and timely corrective actions; maintain readiness for health department and other regulatory inspections.
Provide culinary leadership for catering, banquets, conferences, special events, and institutional programs.
Oversee the Banquet Chef’s event menu development, production planning, staffing, cost management, and culinary execution.
Coordinate with Catering & Events, Dining, and Café leadership to align production with service expectations and operational needs.
Partner with the Head of Food & Beverage and other departments on organizational initiatives and resident and guest experiences.
Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

Medical, dental, and vision coverage.
Retirement contributions through an eligible 403(b) plan, including a 100% employer match on employee contributions up to 5% of eligible compensation and an additional employer non-elective contribution for eligible employees, subject to plan terms.
Paid vacation: 18 days accrued in the first year, with accrual increasing after five years.
Paid sick time.
14 paid holidays.
Generous family leave and accommodations.
Professional development support.
Life insurance.
Short- and long-term disability coverage.
Flexible Spending Account (FSA).
Commuter benefits.
Employee Assistance Program (EAP).