Chef Jobs

About The Position

Requirements

• Demonstrated culinary experience, including hands-on food preparation, kitchen leadership, menu development, recipe execution, production planning, and quality control.
• Experience leading a culinary or food service operation in a corporate dining, hospitality, restaurant, university, healthcare, senior living, or comparable environment.
• The ability and willingness to actively support culinary production and service when operational needs require it.
• A strong understanding of culinary techniques, food presentation, flavor development, portion control, food safety, sanitation, and kitchen organization.
• Proven experience managing food cost, labor cost, inventory, purchasing, budgets, and operational performance.
• Strong leadership, coaching, communication, problem-solving, and client-relations skills.
• ServSafe Certification required or the ability to obtain certification within the designated introductory period.
• Allergen awareness certification required or the ability to obtain certification within the designated introductory period.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and the ability to learn and effectively utilize company systems and technology.

Nice To Haves

• A bachelor’s degree in Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management, Food Service Management, Business, or a related field is preferred.
• In lieu of a bachelor’s degree, significant successful culinary and food service management experience may be considered.
• A minimum of five years of progressive culinary and food service leadership experience is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provides overall leadership and direction for the dining services operation, ensuring consistently high levels of food quality, hospitality, client satisfaction, and guest engagement.
• Serves as the senior culinary leader for the account, actively overseeing and supporting food production, menu execution, kitchen workflow, presentation standards, and culinary consistency.
• Maintains a visible, hands-on presence in the kitchen and dining operation, particularly during high-volume production and service periods.
• Develops creative, appealing, and operationally sound menus that reflect current culinary trends, client expectations, customer preferences, seasonality, and available resources.
• Ensures recipes, production standards, portion controls, presentation expectations, and food quality specifications are consistently followed.
• Provides culinary coaching and direction to cooks and other food production employees, strengthening technical skills, consistency, productivity, and confidence.
• Through effective planning and organization, ensures high levels of customer satisfaction, positive client relations, and long-term account retention.
• Achieves unit operating budgets through effective planning, forecasting, purchasing, labor management, inventory control, waste reduction, and other cost-control practices.
• Participates in the budget and forecasting process with the Creative Dining Services Area Director, providing accurate and timely information.
• Reviews financial results and key performance indicators and develops appropriate corrective action plans when needed.
• Ensures the accurate and timely completion of all required financial, operational, administrative, and client reporting.
• Recruits, trains, coaches, develops, supervises, and evaluates management and hourly team members to achieve strong performance, engagement, and retention.
• Establishes clear performance expectations and holds employees accountable while fostering a respectful, collaborative, and service-oriented workplace.
• Ensures staffing and scheduling levels appropriately support food production, service expectations, customer demand, and financial objectives.
• Implements and maintains high standards of culinary quality, food presentation, service, sanitation, safety, and professional appearance throughout the operation.
• Conducts ongoing evaluations of food quality, production practices, service, sanitation, safety, purchasing, administration, and overall operational performance.
• Ensures compliance with Creative Dining Services’ sanitation and safety programs as well as all applicable federal, state, and local health regulations.
• Ensures that all purchasing, receiving, storage, inventory, and food production practices support maximum product utilization, quality specifications, sustainability efforts, and responsible cost management.
• Leads merchandising, marketing, promotional, and customer-engagement initiatives in collaboration with the Area Director and client.
• Maintains effective communication with the client, Area Director, onsite leaders, employees, and other key partners.
• Conducts regular management and team meetings and communicates relevant company, client, and operational information.
• Evaluates overall account performance and recommends operational, culinary, staffing, or service improvements as needed.
• Ensures compliance with all Creative Dining Services policies, procedures, standards, and programs.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Competitive pay
• Opportunity to access pay whenever you need it through DailyPay
• Medical insurance
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• Access to TextCare - healthcare without a co-pay!
• Bonus opportunities
• 401(k) with company match
• Paid time off
• Professional development opportunities
• And much, much more!