Executive Chef

Salamander Hospitality•Middleburg, VA

11d•$0 - $140,000•Onsite

About The Position

Salamander Middleburg is seeking an accomplished and passionate Executive Chef to lead the culinary operations of our luxury resort in Middleburg, Virginia. This is an exceptional opportunity for a seasoned culinary leader with luxury hotel or resort experience who brings creativity, operational excellence, strong financial acumen, and a proven ability to develop and inspire high-performing culinary teams. As Executive Chef, you will provide strategic and hands-on leadership for all culinary operations across the resort, including restaurants, banquets, catering, in-room dining, and special events. You will be responsible for delivering exceptional food quality, consistency, presentation, profitability, sanitation, and guest satisfaction while creating memorable culinary experiences reflective of Salamander's luxury standards.

Requirements

Minimum of 5 years of experience as an Executive Chef in a luxury hotel or resort environment.
Proven success leading complex, high-volume culinary operations, including upscale or fine-dining restaurants and banquet/event operations.
Strong culinary creativity with demonstrated experience in menu development, seasonal programming, and elevated food presentation.
Strong financial acumen with experience managing food and labor costs, budgets, forecasts, purchasing, inventory, productivity, and P&L performance.
Demonstrated ability to recruit, develop, motivate, and retain high-performing culinary teams.
Strong leadership presence with the ability to establish accountability and maintain consistently high standards.
Excellent communication, organizational, decision-making, and problem-solving skills.
Ability to collaborate effectively with executive leadership and operational departments.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience preferred.
Culinary degree or formal culinary training preferred.
Experience in a Forbes Five-Star, AAA Five Diamond, or comparable luxury hospitality environment strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Provide leadership and strategic direction for all resort culinary operations.
Lead, mentor, develop, and inspire the culinary leadership team and kitchen professionals while fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, excellence, and continuous improvement.
Create innovative, seasonally inspired menus that enhance the guest experience and respond to current culinary trends.
Maintain exceptional standards for food quality, taste, presentation, consistency, and execution across all culinary outlets.
Oversee culinary operations for restaurants, banquets, catering, in-room dining, special events, and other resort food experiences.
Manage food costs, labor, purchasing, inventory, productivity, and operating expenses to achieve established financial goals.
Manage culinary budgets and P&L performance, identifying opportunities to improve profitability while maintaining luxury standards and product quality.
Establish and maintain effective purchasing, inventory, portion-control, and cost-control practices.
Partner closely with the Executive Committee, Food & Beverage leadership, and other department leaders to support resort objectives and deliver a seamless guest experience.
Recruit, train, coach, and develop culinary talent while building a strong leadership pipeline and maintaining appropriate staffing levels.
Maintain strong relationships with suppliers, vendors, and local partners to ensure quality products, consistency, and responsible purchasing practices.
Ensure compliance with all food safety, sanitation, health, licensing, and workplace safety requirements.
Maintain a visible, engaged leadership presence throughout the culinary operation and consistently reinforce luxury service and culinary standards.