Summary: The Executive Chef is responsible for all food production including the cuisine supplied for Grande Vista, Catering, Employee Lunch, HarborWalk Events, and any off-site catering. Responsible for menu development, specs, and training of all new items. Development and monitoring of food and labor budgets by managing food purchasing and schedules. The Executive Chef is responsible for maintaining the highest professional food quality while preserving a manageable food cost. This is done through following state regulated food preparation and serving standards. 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

1. Strategically plans and coordinates the work of culinary staff in Grande Vista, Catering, Employee Lunch, and any other assigned venues ensuring a harmonious and efficient kitchen operation that aligns with culinary excellence and financial objectives.
2. Maintains impeccable standards of hygiene, cleanliness, and safety throughout all kitchen areas, consistently exceeding state regulations to create a pristine and secure culinary environment.
3. Conducts rigorous evaluations of food products to uphold and elevate company quality standards, implementing continuous training and refinement of menu specifications.
4. Innovatively designs and curates enticing menus for Grande Vista, Catering, and Employee Lunch, incorporating a blend of creativity, nutritional value, and customer preferences to elevate the culinary experience.
5. Forecasts and analyzes annual food, labor, and other costs with acute attention to detail, proactively identifying areas for improvement and implementing corrective actions to achieve and exceed financial targets.
6. Establishes and maintains airtight controls to minimize thefts, ensuring the integrity of inventory, and implementing advanced security measures for all kitchen resources.
7. Cultivates a safety-first culture by implementing comprehensive training programs on safety, hygiene, and accident prevention techniques, fostering a workplace environment that prioritizes well-being.
8. Strategically approves purchases of products and food supplies, conducting thorough market research to ensure optimal quality, cost-effectiveness, and alignment with sustainability goals.
9. Pioneers the development of standard recipes and techniques for food preparation and presentation, consistently pushing boundaries to set a new standard for high-quality and visually appealing culinary creations.
10. Implements meticulous measures to minimize food costs and optimize resource utilization through advanced portion control strategies, contributing to overall cost efficiency.
11. Collaborates closely with the Director of Restaurants/Catering Director to set competitive menu selling prices, leveraging market trends, and customer expectations to achieve both profitability and customer satisfaction.
12. Strategically liaises with the Director of Restaurants/Catering Director to seamlessly integrate food production aspects into special events and banquets, ensuring a flawless and memorable dining experience.
13. Exemplifies culinary leadership by actively participating in or directly supervising the preparation of skilled culinary items, setting the standard for culinary excellence within the kitchen.
14. Continuously evolves and updates policies and procedures to enhance and measure quality, incorporating cutting-edge techniques, equipment, and terminology, maintaining a dynamic and innovative culinary operation.
15. Collaborates seamlessly with the Food & Beverage team, ensuring a consistent and elevated level of service principles in alignment with standard operating procedures, contributing to an exceptional overall dining experience.
16. Leads culinary research and development efforts, staying ahead of industry trends to introduce innovative culinary concepts and techniques into the menu offerings.
17. Establishes and nurtures relationships with local suppliers and vendors, negotiating favorable terms to ensure a reliable and cost-effective supply chain.
18. Mentors and develops kitchen staff, conducting regular training sessions to enhance culinary skills, teamwork, and customer service.
19. Acts as a brand ambassador, representing the culinary vision of the establishment in interactions with guests, media, and industry events.
20. Anticipates and embraces additional responsibilities, showcasing adaptability and dedication to the continuous improvement and success of the culinary department. Additionally, responsibilities and duties may be assigned. 

Qualifications 

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty with confidence. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Education and Experience Requirements 

Associates degree in culinary arts preferred, or a minimum of four years related experience and/or training in the culinary field with a focus on high volume establishments.

Knowledge, Skill, and Ability Requirements 

Knowledge 

• Must have knowledge of culinary industry trends and be comfortable experimenting with new menu and catering ideas
• Four or more years of food and beverage experience and knowledge of various banquet and food service techniques/standards
• Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to make quick decisions
• Excellent leadership and communication skills
• Organization and time management Skills
• Strong computer skills: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Micros, and other POS systems, etc.
• Ability to handle multiple internal and external guests and operational demands with a high degree of professionalism, operating often with time sensitive deadlines
• Ability to work a flexible schedule including nights, weekends, and holidays

Key Competencies 

Key Competencies include strong work ethic, negotiating and closing, attention to detail, relationship builder, multi-tasker, problem analysis and solving, excellent communicator, confidentiality, and integrity. Adhering to our Core Values includes being guest-centric, teamwork, respect, pro-active, accountable, learning, and sustainable. 

Language Skills 

Ability to read and comprehend instructions, correspondence, and memos. Ability to write simple and/or complex correspondence to include new and innovate menus. Ability to effectively present information in one-on-one and small group situations to customers, clients, and other employees of the organization. 

Mathematical Skills 

Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and to draw and interpret bar graphs. 

Reasoning Ability 

Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out detailed but uninvolved written or oral instructions. Ability to deal with problems involving a few concrete variables in standardized situations. 

Other Qualifications 

Availability Open and operational seven days a week. Employees are required to be available to workdays, nights, weekends, and holidays. 

License Requirements Valid driver’s license that has been in effect for at least three years, with no major violations and no more than two minor violations in the past three years.

Rules and Regulations All employees must adhere to all safety rules and regulations required by local, State and Federal authorities, wear the appropriate personal protective equipment necessary to perform the job in a safe manner and will follow all safety rules per the Company’s Safety Policy. 

Language Skills Must be able to speak, read, write, and comprehend the English language. Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions and procedure manuals. Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees of organization. 

Physical Demands The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is regularly required to sit; reach with hands and arms; talk or hear and taste or smell. The employee is frequently required to stand; walk and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus. The employee must be able to lift 5-15 pounds regularly, and over 15 pounds with assistance, upon occasion. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

Work Environment The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The physical environment requires the employee to work both inside and outside in heat/cold, wet/humid, and dry/arid conditions. Most work is done in busy kitchens that may be crowded and hot due to the equipment being used.