Event Chef - Summit Bechtel Reserve

Position Overview

Summit Bechtel Reserve is seeking a dynamic and experienced Event Chef to provide inspirational and organized leadership while ensuring the overall success of daily kitchen operations. This role is responsible for delivering show-quality culinary experiences through hands-on involvement, strong team leadership, and operational excellence.

The Event Chef will showcase culinary talent while recruiting, training, and developing onsite culinary staff. This leader will drive employee engagement, elevate guest satisfaction, and maintain strong financial performance across all areas of responsibility ensuring monthly budget, food and labor costs are met, and food handling safety by following safety & sanitation protocols. This role reports to the Supervisor of Dining Services.

Responsibilities

• Leads daily culinary production in preparation and production of meals, food quality and presentation, compliance with all safety and sanitation standards and regulation, team member productivity and performance, cost controls and overall profitability.
• Determines how food should be presented and create decorative food displays.
• Provides direction on menu development based on product availability; creates distinctive specials that incorporate seasonal or special ingredients.
• Seeks out sources for fresh food; monitors all produce and meat for freshness.
• Maintains product consistency by conducting inspections of seasonings, portion, and appearance of food.
• Researches customer preferences and develops a menu which incorporates local foods and flavors.
• Prepares and cooks foods of all types, either on a regular basis or for special guests or functions.
• Demonstrates new cooking techniques and equipment to staff.
• Supervises and coordinates activities of cooks and workers engaged in food preparation.
• Ensures compliance with federal, state, local and company health, safety, sanitation standards.
• Provides guidance and direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring performance.
• Communicates the importance of safety procedures, detailing procedure codes, ensuring employee understanding of safety codes, monitoring processes and procedures related to safety.
• Monitors the quality of raw and cooked food products to ensure that standards are met.
• Follows and enforces food safety and sanitation guidelines.
• Maintains purchasing, receiving and food storage standards.
• Works under the guidance of Food Service Management controls food cost, labor, and other expenses; monitors actual versus budgeted expenses.
• Oversees the food inventory, purchasing, control, and disbursement of all food supplies in your kitchen and work area under the supervision of management.
• Schedules workload based upon forecasted volumes.
• Creates 100% customer satisfaction by providing team members with the training and resources they need to maximize team member engagement and deliver best in class service.
• Demonstrates professional attitude and appearance while engaging with customers and staff.
• Improves service by communicating and assisting individuals to understand guest needs, providing guidance, feedback, and individual coaching when needed.
• Provides and supports service behaviors that are above and beyond for customer satisfaction and retention.
• Empowers employees to provide excellent customer service. Establishes guidelines so employees understand expectations and parameters. Ensures employees receive on-going training to understand guest expectations.
• Ensures that employees provide genuine hospitality and teamwork on an ongoing basis.
• Uses teamwork to support guests and employees.
• Seeks opportunities to improve the customer experience by seeking feedback and developing strategies to improve the experience.
• Reviews customer satisfaction results and other data to identify areas of improvement.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Competencies

• Knowledge of: Comprehensive knowledge of food and catering trends with a focus on quality, production, sanitation, food cost controls, and presentation. Knowledge and experience with computers including Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, and Power Point), Outlook, E-mail, and the Internet.
• Skill in: Proficient in all aspects of food preparation; utilizing equipment and tools that pertain to food service; interpreting menus and recipes; adjusting ingredients based on taste.; basic math and counting; effective written and verbal interpersonal and communication.
• Ability to: Work independently with limited supervision; determine and select proper foods and supplies for each meal based on quantities ordered and budget; organize time for execution of meals; communicate to the supervisor when the need arises for extra kitchen staff or employee relations issues.

Qualifications

• 5 years of progressive culinary/kitchen management experience, depending upon formal degree or training to include hands-on chef experience.
• Must pass a criminal history background check. Must be willing to participate in client satisfaction programs/activities.
• Employees must possess the ability to lift, carry, push, and pull materials and objects weighing up to 25 pounds.
• Ability to access, enter, and retrieve data using a computer keyboard or calculator, prepare food, and operate kitchen equipment including kitchen knives; vision to read printed materials and a computer screen; hearing and speech to communicate in person and over the telephone.

Licenses

Food safety certification.

Preference

• Extensive catering experience; high volume, complex foodservice operations experience; institutional and batch cooking experience.
• ServSafe certified highly desirable.