Account Chef , Japanese Cuisine

gategroup•San Diego, CA

10d

About The Position

The Executive Chef, Japanese Cuisine oversees daily preparation of pre-designed meals for multiple airline customer accounts, providing culinary expertise and managing the unit’s Chefs, Sous Chefs, and Cooks. Reporting to the General Manager of the unit, the role promotes and delivers quality food services to airline clients, including Japan Airlines. The position is responsible for culinary operations, menu execution, food quality and consistency, food safety, staffing, productivity, and financial performance. The Executive Chef contributes to operational planning, establishes production and customer-service standards, identifies and resolves issues, completes audits, and recommends process improvements. The role supports menu design and evaluates menu response, production techniques, costs, and food-preparation requirements. It ensures recipes, portions, yields, presentation, garnishes, sauces, and cooking temperatures meet customer and food-safety specifications. The role oversees food preparation and inventory, including ingredient selection and purchasing, delivery quality, storage, supplies, inventory levels, and cost controls. It maintains culinary equipment and ensures employees follow HACCP, FDA, sanitation, safety, and company requirements. The Executive Chef trains, coaches, and supervises kitchen staff, supports employee development and retention, manages labor and productivity requirements, and prepares reports as needed. The position also maintains professional and technical knowledge and completes required company training, including ServSafe Sanitation Manager Certification.

Requirements

Associate or bachelor’s degree in Culinary Arts or a related field, with formal culinary education, 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 2–3 Sous Chefs and 10 or more Cooks.
Ability to train others and provide employees with positive and negative feedback on a daily basis.
Ability to manage multiple tasks while maintaining focus on priorities; excellent time-management skills.
Strong organizational, analytical, communication, and leadership skills.
Ability to implement operational changes to improve the work environment and unit performance.
Basic computer skills.
Excellent written and oral communication skills.
Bilingual proficiency in Japanese and English.
Ability to stand, bend, lift, and move intermittently during shifts of 10 or more hours; lift, push, pull, and move products, equipment, and supplies weighing more than 25 pounds.

Nice To Haves

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

Responsibilities

Contribute to culinary operational plans and reviews, implement production, productivity, quality, and customer-service standards, serve as a culinary resource, resolve problems, complete audits, and implement improvements.
Support menu design and meet culinary financial objectives by estimating requirements, analyzing variances, initiating corrective actions, evaluating production techniques, and training employees in specialty techniques.
Ensure recipes, portions, and menu specifications meet customer requirements, consumer tastes, nutritional needs, preparation procedures, and budget constraints.
Oversee food preparation in coordination with Buyers, Sous Chefs, Cooks, and team leaders; monitor portions, productivity, presentation, garnishes, and sauces.
Improve menu quality and consistency by reviewing production records and expenses, evaluating processes, and implementing changes.
Prepare menu and food-preparation reports by collecting, analyzing, and summarizing food, dining, customer, and trend data.
Maintain a safe, secure, and healthy work environment; enforce sanitation, food-safety, and legal requirements; and review and implement accident and disaster plans.
Select and purchase menu ingredients; assess deliveries; maintain general supplies and inventory levels; and manage reorder points, storage, and cost controls.
Maintain culinary equipment, instruct staff in its use, troubleshoot breakdowns, arrange repairs and preventive maintenance, assess new equipment, and prepare purchase proposals.
Maintain professional and technical knowledge through education, publications, networking, benchmarking, professional contributions, and sharing knowledge with direct reports.
Meet quality production standards and ensure employees comply with HACCP, FDA, safety regulations, and company policies and procedures.
Train and monitor employees on work procedures and product production to maximize productivity while controlling labor and food expenses; assist with Cook development and training.
Prepare required administrative reports.
Maintain productivity and labor costs in accordance with financial requirements; monitor daily manpower planning and employee turnover; and support employee retention.
Communicate meal cycles accurately and on time and monitor product yields to maximize usage.
Work with management staff to improve unit performance.
Plan and set up menu presentations and review specifications for compliance.
Maintain labor requirements, food costs, overtime, and productivity requirements.
Ensure Cooks and Sous Chefs have the skills to perform cooking and food-preparation requirements for all airline accounts served by the unit.
Ensure products are cooked to temperatures required by airline and food-safety specifications.
Coach and counsel employees and prepare corrective actions when required.
Complete all required company training, including ServSafe Sanitation Manager Certification.