Exec Chef, Operations

gategroup•Miami, FL

About The Position

The Executive Chef, Operations reports to the General Manager of the unit and is responsible for daily monitoring of the preparation of pre-designed meals for multiple customer accounts. The role provides culinary expertise through management of the unit’s Chefs, Sous Chefs, and Cooks, and promotes and provides quality food services to airline clients. The Executive Chef leads culinary operations, supports operational and financial objectives, maintains food quality and consistency, and ensures production meets customer specifications and food-safety requirements. The role oversees food preparation, menu presentation, ingredients and supplies, culinary equipment, employee training and performance, labor planning, productivity, and required administrative reporting. The position works with management and internal departments, serves airline customers, and may travel up to 10%.

Requirements

Associate or bachelor's degree in Culinary Arts or a related field (formal culinary education), or at least 4 years of experience in an Executive Chef role.
At least 10 years of experience as a Chef.
At least 4 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 2 to 3 Sous Chefs and more than 20 cooks.
Ability to work with employees at all levels and drive positive program change.
Ability to train others and provide employees with positive and negative feedback on a daily basis.
Excellent time-management skills and ability to handle multiple tasks while maintaining focus on priorities.
Strong organizational, analytical, communication, and leadership skills.
Ability to innovate and make operational changes to improve the work environment and unit performance.
Basic computer skills.
Excellent written and oral communication skills.
Ability to stand, bend, lift, and move intermittently during shifts of 10 or more hours; work in a production kitchen with possible temperature and noise discomfort; and lift, push, pull, and move products, equipment, and supplies weighing more than 25 pounds.
A rotating schedule of more than 55 hours per week is typical.

Nice To Haves

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

Responsibilities

Contribute information and analysis to strategic plans and reviews; prepare and complete action plans; implement production, productivity, quality, and customer-service standards; serve as a culinary resource to operations managers; identify and resolve problems; complete audits; determine system improvements; and implement change.
Support culinary financial objectives by estimating requirements, assisting with menu design, evaluating menu presentation and customer response, scheduling expenditures, analyzing variances, initiating corrective actions, evaluating time-saving production techniques, and training others in specialty techniques.
Follow customer recipes and portion specifications while considering consumer tastes, nutritional needs, product specifications, ease of preparation, established procedures, and budgetary constraints.
Oversee food preparation in consultation with the Buyer, Sous Chefs, cooks, and team leaders; oversee portion sizes and productivity; provide culinary leadership; and monitor presentations, garnishments, and sauces.
Improve menu quality and consistency by analyzing production records and menu expenses, promoting quality improvement, evaluating and redesigning 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 standards and procedures; comply with sanitation and legal regulations; oversee food-preparation safety and security; and review and implement accident and disaster plans.
Select and purchase menu ingredients; evaluate deliveries; maintain general supplies; and establish inventory levels, reorder points, storage requirements, and cost controls.
Maintain culinary equipment by following operating instructions, training staff in equipment use, troubleshooting breakdowns, maintaining equipment supplies, performing preventive maintenance, arranging repairs, evaluating new equipment, and preparing purchase proposals.
Maintain professional and technical knowledge through education, publications, professional networks, benchmarking, and professional societies, and share relevant information with direct reports.
Accomplish culinary goals by taking ownership of requests and exploring opportunities to add value.
Ensure quality production standards are followed and maintained, and employees comply with HACCP, FDA, safety regulations, company policies, and procedures.
Train and monitor employees on work procedures and production to maximize productivity while minimizing labor and food expenses; assist with developing and training cooks.
Prepare administrative reports as required.
Maintain productivity and labor costs in line 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 to ensure compliance.
Maintain labor requirements, food costs, overtime, and productivity requirements.
Ensure cooks and Sous Chefs can perform the cooking and food-preparation requirements for all airline accounts served by the unit.
Ensure products are cooked at required temperatures according to airline and food-safety specifications.
Coach and counsel employees and prepare corrective actions.
Complete required company training, including ServSafe Sanitation Manager Certification.