Executive Chef

Hiring Pros•Quarryville, PA

14d•$95,000•Onsite

About The Position

408 Heirloom is a new restaurant in Pittsburgh, PA, focused on culinary arts, genuine hospitality, and community. The restaurant will feature a menu based on local farmers, produce, and heritage-style dishes from around the world, with each dish telling a story. This role is crucial for owning the culinary operations, ensuring high standards are met even in the founder's absence. Initially, the focus will be on elevated catering, with a transition to building and managing the restaurant's kitchen operations. The Executive Chef will work closely with Chef Kevin Hermann and the Bistro To-Go culinary team, learning sourcing and ordering processes. As the restaurant build-out progresses, the role will involve creating standardized recipes, training manuals, and kitchen systems. The Executive Chef will have significant authority over day-to-day kitchen operations and will be supported by the founder during the opening phases to ensure success and maintain brand identity and culture.

Requirements

At least 10-15 years in professional kitchens, including five or more years at the management level.
Held an executive chef or sous chef role with real, growing responsibility.
Strong experience in scratch cooking.
Background blends resourceful, independent kitchens with more structured environments (not purely corporate-chain experience).
Proven ability to make a lot happen with limited resources in the past.
Calm, steady presence when a kitchen is behind and orders are stacking up; makes clear decisions under pressure.
Confident in own skill while genuinely curious about how this specific kitchen already works.
Willing to ask questions and learn before proposing changes.
A natural builder who brings ideas and fixes forward rather than sitting on a problem or quietly working around it.
Connects food to its origin for the guest.
Builds real relationships with local farmers and producers.
Shows up in front of guests with genuine hospitality.

Responsibilities

Execute 408 Heirloom’s elevated catering events alongside the Bistro To Go culinary team, managing ordering and holding to schedule with only minor oversight on sourcing.
Build 408 Heirloom’s back-of-house from the ground up — standardized recipes, training manuals, kitchen systems, and station and production flow — ahead of the restaurant’s target opening.
Help design and organize the physical kitchen, including the walk-in and prep kitchen layout, equipment, and smallware placement, as the restaurant’s build-out progresses.
Create seasonal, farm-sourced menu items that flex with product availability, cross-utilize ingredients, and adjust the menu when a product runs short, rather than serving something you can’t execute well.
Lead and develop the kitchen team, providing day-to-day coaching and building a team that upholds standards during service in the founder's absence.
Once the restaurant opens, run the kitchen’s daily operations — cooking, ordering, and managing one to two catering events per week — working closely with Kevin Hermann along the way.