Executive Chef

International House at UC Berkeley • Berkeley, CA

3d • Onsite

About The Position

The Executive Chef is the senior culinary leader for International House Berkeley, overseeing culinary operations across Residential Dining, Catering & Events, and food production supporting Edmonds’ café. Reporting to the Head of Food & Beverage, the Executive Chef is responsible for culinary excellence, operational efficiency, financial stewardship, food safety, and developing innovative, culturally diverse dining experiences that reflect I-House’s international community. The role directly supervises three Sous Chefs and one Banquet Sous Chef and works with Food & Beverage leadership and other departments to build a high-performing culinary team and support hospitality, community, and financial sustainability.

This is a full-time, exempt, on-site position requiring flexibility to work early mornings, evenings, weekends, holidays, and special events as operationally necessary. Work is primarily in a commercial kitchen and dining environment. Compensation is $120,000–$128,000 annualized, commensurate with experience and qualifications. International House offers medical, dental, and vision coverage, retirement contributions, paid time off, professional development support, life insurance, short- and long-term disability, an FSA, commuter benefits, and an Employee Assistance Program. Eligible employees may participate in a 403(b) plan with a 100% employer match on contributions up to 5% of eligible compensation and an additional employer non-elective contribution, subject to plan terms. Time off includes 18 days of vacation accrual in the first year, increasing after five years, paid sick time, 14 paid holidays, and family leave and accommodations.

Requirements

• Culinary degree or an equivalent combination of professional education, training, and experience.
• At least seven years of progressively responsible culinary experience, including leadership in high-volume food service operations.
• Demonstrated experience supervising and developing culinary managers and staff.
• Strong knowledge of international cuisines, specialized dietary requirements, food safety, and sanitation standards.
• Proven experience managing food costs, labor, purchasing, inventory, and operational budgets.
• Current ServSafe Manager Certification or equivalent recognized food safety certification.
• Strong leadership, communication, organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Proficiency with culinary management, purchasing, inventory, and menu management systems.
• Ability to work early mornings, evenings, weekends, holidays, and special events as operationally necessary.
• Ability to stand and walk for extended periods and occasionally lift items consistent with culinary operations.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in university, residential, institutional, or comparable high-volume dining environments.
• Experience overseeing catering and banquet culinary operations.
• Experience working in a unionized environment.
• Demonstrated commitment to cultural awareness, inclusion, and hospitality.

Responsibilities

• Lead culinary strategy and menu development across Residential Dining, Catering, and café food production, ensuring quality, consistency, creativity, and cultural relevance.
• Develop innovative, nutritionally balanced menus reflecting the I-House community and accommodating diverse dietary needs.
• Establish culinary standards for recipes, preparation, presentation, portion control, and food quality.
• Evaluate menus and culinary offerings based on resident feedback, customer preferences, food costs, seasonality, and operational efficiency.
• Collaborate with Dining, Café, and Catering leadership on menu innovation and culturally significant culinary programming.
• Oversee culinary production, purchasing, inventory, equipment, and kitchen organization across Dining, Catering, and café food production.
• Manage food costs, culinary labor, purchasing, inventory, and waste within established budgets and financial targets.
• Analyze operational and financial performance and identify opportunities for efficiency, cost savings, sustainability, and continuous improvement.
• Establish and maintain purchasing practices, vendor relationships, production systems, and operational procedures.
• Partner with the Head of Food & Beverage on budgeting, forecasting, equipment needs, and financial performance.
• Directly supervise, coach, and evaluate culinary managers and staff; set clear expectations and accountability for performance.
• Oversee culinary staffing, scheduling, training, and workforce development.
• Develop culinary leadership capabilities through mentoring, professional development, and succession planning.
• Address employee performance and workplace concerns with the Head of Food & Beverage and Human Resources, following organizational policies and applicable collective bargaining agreements.
• Foster a respectful, inclusive, collaborative, and high-performing kitchen culture.
• Ensure compliance with food safety, sanitation, workplace safety, and regulatory requirements.
• Establish and enforce safe food handling, storage, preparation, allergen management, and sanitation standards.
• Oversee food safety training, kitchen inspections, compliance documentation, and corrective actions; maintain readiness for regulatory inspections.
• Provide culinary leadership for catering, banquets, conferences, special events, and institutional programs.
• Oversee the Banquet Chef’s event menu development, production planning, staffing, cost management, and culinary execution.
• Collaborate with Catering & Events, Dining, and Café leadership to align culinary production with service expectations and operational needs.
• Partner with the Head of Food & Beverage and other departments on organizational initiatives and resident and guest experiences.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Retirement contributions and access for eligible employees to a 403(b) plan, including an employer match and an additional employer non-elective contribution subject to plan terms.
• Paid time off, including 18 days of vacation accrual in the first year, increasing after five years; paid sick time; and 14 paid holidays.
• Professional development support.
• Life insurance and short- and long-term disability coverage.
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA).
• Commuter benefits.
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
• Generous family leave and accommodations.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive
• Education Level: No Education Listed