General Summary:

The Executive Chef is ultimately responsible for all food production and distribution throughout club property, including that sold in the restaurants, banquet functions, and any temporary outlets utilized on club property. The Executive Chef develops all menus and administers all food purchases in accordance with the club and chef’s personal recipes. This position develops and monitors food and labor budgets for the back of house. It is imperative the Executive Chef maintains the highest professional food quality and sanitation standards. Being the “public face” of the Culinary operation, the Executive Chef consistently provides superb dining and other food and beverage experiences for the Club’s membership and their guests. This managerial position works closely with, and reports to, the Clubhouse Manager. Relationships with the Director of Sales & Catering, Food and Beverage Managers, and Member Events Team are very important to this position, ensuring collaborative and harmonious relationships between front and back of house operations.

Key Responsibilities:

The Executive Chef will:

Personality Traits / Skill Set

• Be the leading team player willing to be hands-on and work with the team side by side each day doing whatever it takes to deliver the best Member experience.
• Creative sense of place regarding the culinary product of a family-style club with various events, ages, and locations.
• Remain current and continue education regarding diverse and new culinary trends and cuisines.
• Strong mentorship and direction of the culinary team so they can focus on growth; be confident that the operation can run well while Sous Chef or Executive is absent.
• Be a focused and consistent evaluator of personnel, ensuring that standards of conduct and delivery are met; this includes oversight of high standards of appearance, hospitality, service, and cleanliness of the kitchen facilities.
• Collaborate with and mentor front-of-house staff to assure a cohesive dining experience that continually exceeds the expectations of Members and guests.
• Engage with, observe, learn from, and listen to the Members and staff. Earn Member trust by instilling confidence through continued enhanced operations, interaction, visibility, and consistency.
• Strong passion and desire to be present during times of high business volume. Leading by example and working directly with the cooks and service professionals.
• Create a welcoming, approachable, and inclusive kitchen atmosphere for all club staff based on mutual respect.
• Own, maintain, and develop standard recipes and techniques for food preparation and presentation that help to assure consistent high-quality food.
• Maintain and update opening and closing cleaning checklists for each area/station within the kitchen and develop a weekly/monthly cleaning checklist.
• Be comfortable engaging with Membership from time to time by visiting tables and engaging with Members.
• Develop menus that elevate club favorites yet provide exciting new options through regular changes and specials.
• Be responsive to members’ requests for menu selections, event planning, etc., and strive to find creative ways to accommodate reasonable requests; have a belief in a service philosophy of “the answer is ‘yes,’ what is the question?”
• Be an active and dynamic recruiter of team members and enjoy developing and building a team, leading them to positive membership satisfaction outcomes.

Budgets/Inventory/Legal

• Plan and assist with pricing of menus for all food outlets in the club, special occasions, and events.
• Schedule and coordinate the work of chefs, cooks, and other kitchen employees and consistently monitor payroll and labor resource allocations to ensure they are in line with financial forecasting and goals while balancing with Member satisfaction goals.
• Embrace the use of systems (including regular inventory processes) and technology to assist in the management of the kitchen and the financial performance of the operation.
• Direct product purchase specifications.
• Maintain strong relationships with local vendors and identify new vendors to ensure the best prices for the best quality products.
• Be the primary coordinator of culinary budgeting, hiring, orientation, coaching, training, menu development, and inventory control. Ensure all is done in accordance with approved Club policies compliance with governmental regulations.
• Ensure adherence to, and compliance with, all health, safety, and all other food regulations. Keep current on relevant matters pertaining to the food and beverage industry.

Club Specific Initial Priorities

• Attract, recruit, train, and retain top talent for the culinary team.
• Observe and evaluate the existing culinary product and put systems in place to ensure consistency.
• Evaluate and set appropriate and necessary standards of operation, execution, and delivery within the culinary operation, taking ownership of the entire experience from production to final delivery of the product, while working closely with the FOH leadership team.
• Implement structured systems and processes (menu engineering, recipes, SOPS, standards, and systems for communication and consistency)
• Create an innovative, relevant, consistently interesting a la carte menu that provides Members with desirable options that are reflective of most Members’ interests and tastes.
• Remain aware of the delicate menu balance that exists between offering standard club fare for tenured members and providing innovative options for members that belong to a younger demographic.
• Work with management team to develop and implement marketing programs to increase dining room, lounge, banquet, and general participation in F&B related activities.
• Be visible to the membership, engaging and building relationships. Serve as an ad hoc member of appropriate club committees.

Candidate Qualifications

• A verifiable record of leading an active culinary operation with private club experience preferred;
• Ability to sustain a culture of quality service;
• Has exceptional experience with providing high-quality a la carte and banquet food offerings;
• Knowledgeable in best practices in top performing and high member satisfaction operations;
• Has strong financial acumen, experienced in budget management and forecasting as well as managing food and labor costs daily;
• A strong relationship builder with a history of collaboration with their GM, Food and Beverage Manager, and other departmental leaders;

Educational and Certification Qualifications

• A culinary arts degree from an accredited school is preferred or comparable experience.;
• Minimum five years of previous culinary management experience;
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written;
• Reputation for quality and attention to detail;
• Ability and willingness to work long hours and weekends as demanded by business cycles;

Compensation & Benefits

• Base Salary commensurate with qualifications and experience (Salary Range: $90,000-$110,000)
• Commission plan for Food and Labor Costing
• Health, Dental, Vision, Life, and Disability Insurances after 90 days per club policy
• 401k with employer match of 3% after 12 months of service per club policy
• Vacation / PTO per club policy
• Meals
• Allowances for:
• Continuing Education
• Association Dues

Application Instructions

• It is suggested that you apply for this role as soon as possible as the position is currently open and it is desired to fill it as soon as possible. Candidate selections will occur in December 2024/January 2025 with first Interviews expected a short time later. The new candidate should assume his/her role sometime in early 2025.