Opening Executive Chef

OPENING EXECUTIVE CHEF

AC Hotel by Marriott – Downtown Ocala, Florida

Operated by HDG Legacy Hotel Management

About HDG Legacy

HDG Legacy is a culture-driven hospitality company committed to creating meaningful guest experiences, investing in people, and building long-term value for our partners and communities.

Our mission is to deliver exceptional hospitality through integrity, operational excellence, and intentional leadership.

At the core of our service culture is “Brilliance in the Basics” — the disciplined belief that extraordinary hospitality is achieved through consistent execution of the fundamentals, attention to detail, and genuine care for people.

We are seeking an Executive Chef who embodies this philosophy while setting a culinary standard that is disciplined, distinctive, and deeply rooted in care for people (guests and team members.)

About AC Hotel Downtown Ocala

The AC Hotel by Marriott Downtown Ocala will be a transformative addition to the city’s skyline and hospitality scene. This 179-room, design-forward lifestyle hotel will feature:

• A rooftop restaurant and ballroom
• AC Kitchen & Lounge
• An exclusive speakeasy concept
• In room dining
• Banquet and event operations

Food & Beverage will be a defining element of the property’s identity — serving both hotel guests and the local community as a destination dining and social hub.

This is an opening culinary leadership role responsible for building a culture-led kitchen team, delivering operational excellence, and creating long-term value across all hotel culinary operations.

Position Overview

The Opening Executive Chef is responsible for the culinary leadership, food quality, financial performance, and operational execution of all hotel food operations.

This role reports directly to the Director of Beverage & Food and partners closely with the General Manager and Director of Hotel Operations to ensure a cohesive guest experience.

The Executive Chef will lead the culinary teams supporting Bellissimo rooftop restaurant, AC Kitchen & Bar, In Room Dining, banquet and event operations, and culinary support for Barker & Co. Cocktail Salon.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership & Culture

• Build and develop a high-performing culinary leadership team across restaurant, banquet, and stewarding operations through recruitment and retention strategies.
• Establish a kitchen culture of accountability, respect, creativity, collaboration, and pride in execution
• Model “Brilliance in the Basics” through preparation, cleanliness, consistency, service precision, and operational discipline
• Coach, recognize, and retain associates by setting clear expectations and providing meaningful development opportunities
• Lead with composure, humility, and a genuine commitment to the well-being and success of the team

Culinary Concept & Guest Experience

• Lead the culinary identity and execution of Bellissimo as an elevated Mediterranean restaurant, with a strong working knowledge of Mediterranean and Italian coastal cuisine, seafood, pasta, seasonal menu development, and refined restaurant presentation
• Develop and maintain recipes, plating standards, prep systems, production guides, and menu specifications for every outlet
• Ensure AC Kitchen & Bar, In Room Dining, banquet menus, and culinary support for Barker & Co. are executed with clarity, quality, and brand-appropriate service
• Partner with the Director of Beverage & Food on menu engineering, promotions, tastings, activations, and culinary programming that strengthen local demand and the hotel’s destination appeal
• Champion guest feedback, service recovery, and continuous improvement in food quality, presentation, timing, and consistency

Financial, Procurement & Labor Management

• Own food cost performance through accurate recipe costing, menu engineering, portion control, yield management, waste reduction, inventory discipline, and corrective action when results fall outside plan
• Develop, manage, and monitor culinary budgets, forecasts, food-cost targets, purchasing plans, and financial performance in partnership with the Director of Beverage & Food
• Lead procurement and vendor relationships for food, culinary supplies, smallwares, and related operating needs; maintain clear product specifications, approved substitutions, quality standards, and competitive pricing
• Oversee receiving, storage, rotation, requisitioning, and inventory processes to protect food quality, minimize loss, and maintain accurate cost-of-sales reporting
• Build labor schedules around business volume, meal periods, banquet events, and demand drivers; manage staffing productivity, overtime, cross-training, and labor cost without compromising quality or associate engagement

Operational Excellence

• Oversee daily culinary operations across all hotel food venues, ensuring disciplined execution from preparation through service and post-service close
• Maintain rigorous food safety, sanitation, allergen, temperature-control, labeling, and workplace-safety standards
• Lead banquet and catering culinary execution, including menu development, tastings, event orders, production plans, staffing, timing, and post-event review
• Maintain kitchen, stewarding, equipment, and smallwares readiness; coordinate preventive maintenance and resolve operational issues promptly
• Lead pre-opening milestones including hiring, training, recipe and menu development, sourcing, vendor setup, kitchen readiness, OS&E and smallwares, and systems implementation

Qualifications

• 5 years of progressive culinary leadership experience
• Prior Executive Chef, Executive Sous Chef, or comparable culinary leadership experience in a full-service hotel, upscale restaurant, resort, or high-volume banquet environment required
• Strong background in Mediterranean cuisine in an upscale restaurant setting; Italian coastal, seafood, pasta, and seasonal menu-development experience strongly preferred
• Demonstrated multi-outlet experience across restaurant service, in-room dining, banquet, and catered-event operations
• Proven food-cost, procurement, labor-management, purchasing, inventory, and P&L acumen
• Experience leading large culinary teams across multiple venues
• Pre-opening experience strongly preferred
• ServSafe Manager certification or equivalent required; degree in Culinary Arts, Hospitality, Business, or related field preferred

Leadership Profile

The ideal candidate is:

• Culture-driven and people-focused
• Culinarily grounded and concept-aware
• Financially disciplined and data-informed
• Operationally rigorous with elevated standards
• Calm and decisive in high-volume service and complex event environments
• Committed to developing people and building long-term teams
• Able to work a flexible schedule as necessary, including nights, weekends, and holidays

This role represents an opportunity to define the culinary identity of a market-defining property and establish a food and beverage legacy within a growing hospitality organization.