Executive Chef

Cotton House•Cleveland, MS

4d•Onsite

About The Position

The Executive Chef is responsible for leading all culinary operations for the property, including restaurant outlets, banquets, catering, special events, and employee meal programs where applicable. This role oversees food quality, kitchen leadership, menu development, cost control, sanitation, inventory, purchasing, and overall culinary execution. The Executive Chef must be a strong leader, teacher, and operator who can maintain high culinary standards while managing food cost, labor efficiency, team development, and guest satisfaction. This position requires creativity, organization, accountability, and the ability to work closely with the Food & Beverage leadership team, Sales team, and property leadership.

Requirements

Minimum of 3–5 years of culinary leadership experience, preferably in a hotel, resort, restaurant, or banquet environment.
Strong knowledge of kitchen operations, food production, menu development, purchasing, inventory, and cost control.
Previous experience managing food cost, labor cost, budgets, and culinary financial performance.
Ability to lead, train, coach, and hold team members accountable.
Strong understanding of food safety, sanitation, and health department regulations.
Excellent communication, organization, and problem-solving skills.
Ability to work under pressure in a fast-paced, high-volume environment.
Ability to read and execute BEOs, recipes, prep lists, production sheets, and inventory documents.
ServSafe Certification or ability to obtain certification within the required timeframe.
Flexible schedule required, including nights, weekends, holidays, and special events.

Nice To Haves

Culinary degree or formal culinary training preferred.
Hotel banquet and catering experience strongly preferred.
Experience with inventory, purchasing, POS, scheduling, or food cost management systems preferred.
Experience developing seasonal menus and managing multiple outlets preferred.
Previous experience in a Marriott, boutique hotel, or upscale hospitality environment preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead daily kitchen operations for all food outlets, banquets, catering, and special events.
Ensure all food is prepared and presented according to property standards, brand expectations, and guest satisfaction goals.
Develop and maintain menus that are creative, cost-effective, seasonal, and aligned with the property’s concept.
Maintain consistency in food quality, portioning, plating, flavor, and presentation.
Provide hands-on leadership during service periods, events, and high-volume business levels.
Train, coach, and develop culinary team members to improve skill, speed, professionalism, and accountability.
Foster a positive kitchen culture built on teamwork, respect, urgency, cleanliness, and pride in execution.
Manage food cost through proper purchasing, portion control, waste reduction, inventory accuracy, and menu pricing.
Conduct and oversee regular inventory counts in accordance with company procedures.
Review ordering practices to ensure appropriate par levels and minimize over-purchasing or product loss.
Work with property leadership to monitor food cost, labor cost, budget performance, and profitability.
Maintain accurate records for invoices, transfers, inventory, waste logs, production sheets, and purchasing.
Support forecasting, event planning, and production planning to ensure proper staffing and product levels.
Partner with Food & Beverage leadership to evaluate menu pricing, profitability, and sales performance.
Collaborate with the Sales and Events team to execute banquet menus, catering events, tastings, and private functions.
Review BEOs regularly to ensure proper planning, staffing, ordering, and culinary execution.
Attend BEO meetings, leadership meetings, and pre-event meetings as required.
Ensure banquet food is prepared on time, presented professionally, and served according to guest expectations.
Communicate clearly with front-of-house leadership regarding event timing, menu changes, special requests, and dietary restrictions.
Recruit, interview, train, schedule, supervise, and evaluate culinary team members.
Hold culinary employees accountable to company policies, attendance standards, safety expectations, and performance standards.
Create and maintain culinary schedules based on business levels, labor budgets, and operational needs.
Provide ongoing coaching, corrective action, and performance feedback when necessary.
Promote teamwork between culinary, restaurant, banquet, sales, stewarding, and hotel operations teams.
Ensure culinary team members are properly trained on recipes, prep standards, sanitation, equipment use, and safety procedures.
Maintain a clean, organized, and sanitary kitchen at all times.
Ensure compliance with all health department regulations, food safety standards, company policies, and brand requirements.
Enforce proper food handling, labeling, dating, cooling, storage, and rotation procedures.
Monitor kitchen equipment and report maintenance issues promptly.
Ensure all culinary employees follow safety procedures and use equipment properly.
Maintain readiness for health inspections, brand audits, ownership visits, and internal inspections.
Monitor guest feedback, reviews, and service issues related to culinary operations.
Respond quickly and professionally to food quality concerns or guest complaints.
Partner with front-of-house leadership to improve the overall dining experience.
Support special guest requests, dietary needs, VIP amenities, and property events.
Maintain high standards for taste, appearance, consistency, cleanliness, and hospitality.