Restaurant Chef

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts • Brookside, DE

4d • Onsite

About The Position

Four Seasons Resort and Residences Dominican Republic at Tropicalia is seeking a Restaurant Chef to join its pre-opening team. This role will lead the culinary operation of an assigned restaurant, bringing its concept to life through creative menus, exceptional ingredients, consistent execution, and inspiring leadership. The position reports to the Executive Sous Chef.

Requirements

• Culinary degree, professional culinary certification, or equivalent combination of education and extensive industry experience.
• A minimum of five years of progressive culinary experience, including at least two years as a Restaurant Chef, Chef de Cuisine, Senior Sous Chef, or comparable leadership position.
• Demonstrated experience in a luxury hotel, resort, or high-end restaurant, with strong expertise relevant to the culinary concept of the assigned outlet.
• Strong knowledge of menu development, recipe standardization, food costing, inventory control, food safety, and kitchen productivity.
• Inspiring, hands-on leadership style with creativity, strong communication skills, and exceptional attention to detail.
• Fluency in Spanish and working proficiency in English are required.
• Candidates must be legally eligible to work in the Dominican Republic or able to meet the applicable immigration and work-permit requirements.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the daily operation of the restaurant kitchen, ensuring exceptional food quality, taste, presentation, and consistency.
• Participate in pre-opening activities, including kitchen inspections, equipment testing and commissioning, menu development, recipe testing, and operational simulations.
• Translate the restaurant’s culinary concept into distinctive menus and dining experiences that reflect seasonality, local ingredients, and guest preferences.
• Develop and maintain standardized recipes, preparation methods, photographs, plating guides, yields, portion controls, allergen information, and food-cost calculations.
• Recruit, onboard, train, schedule, coach, and develop the restaurant’s culinary team, fostering creativity, teamwork, accountability, and the Golden Rule.
• Supervise daily mise en place, preparation, production, and service to ensure that all dishes are executed according to established standards.
• Conduct daily briefings, menu tastings, and pre-service meetings to ensure the culinary and restaurant-service teams understand each dish, ingredient, and preparation method.
• Maintain strict compliance with food-safety, sanitation, hygiene, allergen-management, occupational health and safety, and HACCP requirements.
• Monitor food costs, labor productivity, purchasing, inventory levels, portioning, and waste while maintaining exceptional culinary quality.
• Work closely with Purchasing to establish product specifications, evaluate suppliers, and ensure the consistent availability and quality of ingredients.
• Collaborate with the Restaurant Manager to ensure seamless coordination between the kitchen and service teams and an exceptional overall dining experience.
• Engage with guests when appropriate, respond thoughtfully to feedback, and accommodate dietary restrictions, allergies, and special requests.
• Conduct regular inspections of kitchen equipment, refrigeration, storage, and production areas and coordinate maintenance needs with Engineering.
• Develop seasonal menus, promotions, special dinners, and other culinary experiences that strengthen the restaurant’s identity and commercial success.
• Support other culinary outlets, VIP experiences, banquets, and special resort events when required.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package.
• Excellent training and professional-development opportunities.
• Opportunities for career growth within Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.
• Employee travel program, including complimentary and discounted stays at Four Seasons properties worldwide, subject to program eligibility.
• Complimentary dry cleaning for employee uniforms.
• Complimentary employee meals while on duty.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Associate degree