Executive Chef

Confidential Culinary Leadership Opportunity | Charleston, South Carolina. Bilingual English/Spanish Strongly Preferred

The Opportunity

We are seeking an experienced Executive Chef to lead culinary operations for a successful, family-owned, high-volume restaurant business generating more than $10M in annual sales.

This is a complex, fast-paced operation with multiple dining experiences, significant seasonal volume, private events, and a large culinary team. We are looking for a proven culinary leader who can bring structure, consistency, accountability, and strong people leadership while remaining highly present in day-to-day operations.

The Executive Chef will have broad responsibility for culinary performance, including food quality, menu execution, food and labor cost, training, sanitation, staffing, systems, and development of the BOH leadership team. The final scope and reporting structure will be determined based on the experience and strengths of the culinary leadership team assembled.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead overall BOH operations, culinary standards, and kitchen performance across a high-volume restaurant environment.
• Own food quality, consistency, presentation, recipe adherence, portioning, and execution across all service periods.
• Develop, coach, and hold accountable Sous Chefs, Kitchen Managers, supervisors, and hourly culinary team members.
• Establish clear expectations for kitchen leadership and ensure consistent follow-through on standards and priorities.
• Own food cost performance, kitchen labor, inventory, purchasing, waste reduction, productivity, and other key BOH metrics.
• Partner with ownership and senior restaurant leadership on budgeting, forecasting, cost controls, operational priorities, and business performance.
• Lead menu development and execution, including specials, recipes, costing, testing, training, and successful rollouts.
• Use sales mix, guest feedback, food cost, and operational data to identify opportunities to improve menu performance and consistency.
• Ensure appropriate BOH staffing, scheduling, deployment, prep levels, and leadership coverage based on business volume.
• Build and continuously improve culinary training, onboarding, cross-training, and leadership development programs.
• Maintain exceptional standards for sanitation, food safety, organization, equipment care, and regulatory compliance.
• Create systems for cleaning, preventive maintenance, storage, receiving, labeling, rotation, and kitchen organization.
• Partner closely with FOH leadership to improve communication, ticket execution, speed of service, and the overall guest experience.
• Support private events, high-volume service periods, seasonal changes, and other revenue-generating initiatives.
• Maintain a strong hands-on presence during peak service and step directly into the operation when needed.
• Identify equipment, facility, staffing, and process improvements that strengthen long-term kitchen performance.
• Build a strong culinary culture focused on accountability, respect, development, consistency, and retention.
• Support future growth and broader culinary initiatives as the organization evolves.

Qualifications

• 5 years of Executive Chef or comparable senior culinary leadership experience in a high-volume restaurant, hospitality group, or sophisticated multi-unit organization.
• Bilingual English/Spanish required.
• Proven experience leading a large, high-volume kitchen and developing multiple levels of culinary leadership.
• Strong financial acumen with demonstrated experience managing food cost, labor, purchasing, inventory, waste, and margins.
• Strong knowledge of menu development, recipe costing, production systems, and high-volume execution.
• Demonstrated ability to improve food quality, consistency, sanitation, training, and overall BOH performance.
• Strong recruiting, coaching, performance management, and leadership development skills.
• Highly organized, proactive, accountable, and comfortable operating in a fast-moving environment.
• Hands-on leadership style with the ability to balance strategic planning with daily operational execution.

Compensation & Performance Incentives

• $125,000 - $150,000 Base, commensurate with experience.
• Performance-based bonus opportunities tied to net sales, COGS, BOH labor, cost control, and overall culinary performance.
• Competitive Medical & Health Insurance benefits.
• Retirement plan.

This is a confidential search. Reporting relationships and areas of ownership may evolve based on the experience and strengths of the culinary leadership team assembled.