What are the responsibilities and job description for the Executive Chef position at Magnus on Water?
Company Description Magnus on Water is a cocktail bar and restaurant located in Biddeford, Maine, known for its focus on craft cocktails and elevated dining. The establishment offers a refined yet welcoming atmosphere that attracts both local guests and visitors. In 2024, Magnus on Water was recognized with a 1 PIN Bar rating from The Pinnacle Guide, highlighting its quality and reputation in the beverage and hospitality industry. Team members join a small, passionate group dedicated to exceptional service, culinary creativity, and a memorable guest experience.
Head Chef — Magnus on Water
Biddeford, Maine
Magnus on Water isn't defined by a style of cuisine or the name on the kitchen door. We're defined by the whole of the experience: food, drink, service, and space working together to make people feel welcome, curious, and cared for. Great food that arrives alongside indifferent service, or a room that doesn't feel right, is not what we're after — we believe hospitality is the sum of every part, and no single element (including the chef) carries the restaurant alone.
We've built a culture around openness, curiosity, sharing, and drive. We invite guests to engage with what they're eating and drinking — to learn something, to ask questions, to feel like part of a community rather than a transaction. We expect the same spirit inside our kitchen as we do in our dining room.
The Role
We're looking for a Head Chef to lead our kitchen team and shape our food program going forward. This is a wide-open creative mandate: we have no attachment to any particular cuisine, technique, or style. What we care about is that the food is authentic — that it comes from somewhere real in the chef leading it — and that it fits a place like Biddeford, where a sizable, adventurous summer crowd gives way to a smaller, loyal, year-round local base for about nine months of the year. Your menu needs to earn and keep both audiences.
You'll have real authorship over your food. You'll also be expected to work in close, ongoing collaboration with the owners and with the bar team, so that food, cocktails, and wine feel like one considered experience rather than three separate menus sharing a room. We're looking for someone who wants that kind of partnership, not someone who wants to build a solo fiefdom.
Above all, we prioritize a healthy kitchen — physically and emotionally — over everything else, including ego, and including any individual dish. We do not run a yelling kitchen, and we do not tolerate bigotry of any kind. We're looking for a leader who runs a tight, well-organized, high-standards kitchen through clarity, respect, and care, not fear.
What You'll Do
Own and lead all aspects of the kitchen, including a seasonally rotating menu that reflects your point of view while remaining accessible to our local, year-round guests
Lead, mentor, and schedule a small kitchen team (typically 1–2 cooks in the off-season, 3–4 in summer)
Build and maintain kitchen systems — prep, ordering, inventory, food cost, and waste management — that keep the kitchen efficient and sustainable
Manage food costs and margins in partnership with ownership
Collaborate closely and consistently with the bar team to keep food, cocktails, and wine in conversation with one another
Partner with the owners on menu direction, pricing, and guest experience — bringing your own voice while staying open to their read on what our guests want
Run service five days a week, with the restaurant closed for two weeks each January
Set the tone for a kitchen culture that is kind, calm, curious, and collaborative — model that culture yourself, every shift
What We're Looking For
Experience running or co-running a professional kitchen, including staff leadership and scheduling
A genuine, personal point of view on food — we're not hiring for a cuisine, we're hiring for a voice
Proven ability to manage food cost, waste, and kitchen systems
A track record of leading with kindness and steadiness, even under pressure — someone whose team would say they feel respected and safe at work
Comfort with collaboration and shared authorship — you'll be one strong voice among several, not the only one
Flexibility and range: ability to read a room and adjust for a broad summer crowd and a smaller, discerning local crowd across the rest of the year
Alignment with an ethos of inclusivity, learning, and community-building — in how you lead your team and in how your food invites guests in
How to Apply
We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and are especially glad to hear from candidates who don't see themselves reflected in a typical head-chef job posting. Please send a resume, a short note about your food and how you lead a kitchen, and any press, menus, or photos that give us a sense of your work to [email/contact info].
Magnus on Water is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or any other legally protected status.
5 days starting immediately Thursday-Monday
Check in with Bellport about the leases
Range pay 80k
Cooking on the line
Off season cooking on the line
October start
Has to remain a place people are excited to go to
Funky, fun, but serious