Chicory Event Center, located in Mishawaka Indiana, is currently accepting applications for the position of Events Chef. As our Events Chef, you will be the culinary expert and handle everything from planning the banquet menu to presenting the finished product to the client.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities of a Banquet Chef

• Oversees the work of the banquet kitchen staff.
• Works with General Manager and Event Planner to ensure execution of planned event that exceeds client’s expectation; to include set-up and tear down of event.
• Helps maintain a safe and sanitary kitchen cleaning up spills and other potential hazards immediately.
• Assists with training of newly hired kitchen staff.
• Makes sure adequate numbers of kitchen staff are scheduled to properly handle each event.
• Participates in employee evaluations and necessary disciplinary actions.
• Meets with potential banquet clients to discuss menu options.
• Develops menus based on client specifications and contracts.
• Places orders for recipe ingredients including meats, fresh fruits and produce, herbs, spices and other supplies.
• Supervises other members of the kitchen staff.
• Ensures that all standards of safety are strictly observed.
• Presents the finished product to the customer for approval as needed.
• Monitors the quality of the banquet meal during the event.
• Evaluates client satisfaction.
• Looks for ways to save the facility money while still providing top quality products and services for clients.
• Possesses the ability to handle any menu ranging from breakfast buffets to corporate lunch meetings with sandwiches to formal dinners with multi-course meals that are individually plated.
• Travels to offsite areas in the event a banquet is catered at another location.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Must have the ability to multi-task while remaining focused on the goal.
• Must have excellent verbal communication and leadership skills.
• Be able to express creativity through food selections, preparation and presentation.
• Must be detail oriented.
• Must have the ability to remain calm in high stress situations.
• Be able to solve problems quickly under pressure.
• Must have adequate upper body strength for heavy lifting and strong back and leg muscles for hours of standing, bending and walking around.

Education and Experience

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• Degree from accredited culinary school a plus.
• Several years’ experience in the food industry, food production and supervision of kitchen staff.

Work Environment

• Must be able to work in hot kitchen, in fast paced environments and in demanding situations.
• Must be willing to begin work some days in the early morning hours and other times remain at work late into the night depending on the size and time of a particular banquet.
• Must be able to work weekends and holidays as these are common times for banquets.
• Must be able to handle heavy lifting, long hours of standing and other taxing physical activities.
• Be prepared to quickly deal with injuries like cuts and burns that can result in busy kitchens even when safety guidelines are strictly observed.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $17.00 - $24.00 per hour

Benefits:

• Food provided
• Retirement plan

Shift:

• Day shift
• Evening shift

Supplemental pay types:

• Bonus opportunities
• Overtime pay

Weekly day range:

• Weekends as needed

Work setting:

• Café
• Casual dining restaurant

Experience:

• Culinary experience: 1 year (Required)
• Cooking: 1 year (Required)
• Chefs: 1 year (Preferred)
• Kitchen/Event Cooking: 1 year (Preferred)

Work Location: In person