Executive Chef

Job Description:

The executive chef is responsible for all culinary activities for the restaurant. This position will oversee all activity in the kitchen, train personnel, plan menus, oversee product purchasing and manage culinary budget.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Manages all day to day operations of the kitchen.
• Supervises and manages employees.
• Understands employee positions well enough to perform duties in employees' absence.
• Ensures and maintains the productivity level of employees.
• Solicits employee feedback, utilizes an "open door" policy and reviews employee satisfaction results to identify and address employee problems or concerns.
• Ensures employees understand expectations and parameters.
• Establishes and maintains open, collaborative relationships with employees and ensures employees do the same within team.
• Celebrates successes by publicly recognizing the contributions of team members.
• Leads shifts while personally preparing food items and executing requests based on required specifications
• Supervises and coordinates activities of cooks and workers engaged in food preparation.
• Develops, designs, or creates new applications, ideas, relationships, systems or products, including artistic contributions.
• Supervises kitchen shift operations and ensures compliance with all company policies, standards and procedures.
• Recognizes superior quality products, presentations and flavor.
• Ensures compliance with food handling and sanitation standards.
• Follows proper handling and right temperature of all food products.
• Ensures employees maintain required food handling and sanitation certifications.
• Maintains purchasing, receiving and food storage standards.
• Prepares and cooks foods of all types, either on a regular basis or for special guests or functions.
• Checks the quality of raw and cooked food products to ensure that standards are met.
• Assists in determining how food should be presented and creates decorative food displays
• Knife skills for both vegetable and meat products.
• Ability to create and recreate a recipe within the guidelines of the company.
• Flexibility for when additional duties or responsibilities are assigned.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• 5+ years in a fast pace, a la carte establishment
• 2 - 4 years in an Executive/Sous Chef position
• Prefer culinary degree
• Utilizes interpersonal and communication skills to lead, influence, and encourage others.
• Advocates sound financial/business decision making.
• Demonstrates honesty and integrity.
• Leads by example.
• Serves as a role model to demonstrate appropriate behaviors.
• Encourages and builds mutual trust, respect and cooperation among team members.

Physicality Requirements:

• 90%--Stands during shift.
• 75%--Reaches, bends, and stoops frequently.
• 25%-- Seated for completing administrative responsibilities and meetings.
• Ability to lift a minimum of 40 lbs.
• The ability to carry and transport heavy trays and chafing dishes.
• Must be in good general health and demonstrate stability. Must be able to cope with mental and emotional stress of the position which includes adherence to time restraints.
• Position is subject to inside environmental conditions but may be exposed to cleaning chemicals, and extreme heat, to extreme cold.