This is a working chef's job.You'll spend most of your time in our kitchens: on the line, at the prep table, with the people you're teaching. We need someone who would rather show a cook how to do it than tell them. You stay calm when an order goes sideways at 3 AM, and you leave every kitchen better trained than you found it. If you're looking for an office and a clipboard, this isn't it.
Based at our North Charleston, SC headquarters kitchen, with travel to our kitchens in Columbia SC, Charlotte NC and Brook Park OH. Full-time, salaried. Reports to the VP of Operations.
Set the standard, and cook it- Own our recipes, portions, yields and equipment programs so every kitchen cooks the same dish the same way.
- Lead menu development across our brands, and test every new item in a production kitchen before it launches.
- Set and protect the private-aviation standard: presentation, packaging, reheat and texture.
- Work with purchasing on product specifications and order guides; drive food cost through recipe costing and yield.
Teach - this is the heart of the job- Train and certify our trainers in every kitchen, so great training doesn't depend on you being in the building.
- Own culinary training content and the skills each step of our cook and chef career ladder requires.
- Coach our kitchen chefs and sous chefs on the line, side by side.
Keep our food safe- Own the food safety system across all kitchens: HACCP plans, standard operating procedures, audits and corrective actions. Each kitchen's leadership runs it day to day; you set it and check it.
- Keep every kitchen inspection-ready; maintain allergen and labeling standards.
Help us grow- Open new kitchens: set up the line, train the team, and stay until it runs to our standard.
- Work our large events and key client tastings alongside the sales team.
- Bring any kitchen that joins us onto our recipes and standards.
Check quality where it happens- Visit kitchens - announced and unannounced - and score them against our standard.
- Review client feedback and quality trends with our Client Success team and fix the cause, not the symptom.
How this job works with the kitchensEach kitchen chef reports to their General Manager. You own the food: recipes, standards, culinary certification and the culinary half of every chef's review. You can stop food that isn't right, and you test and interview every chef and sous chef candidate. The General Manager owns the people side - schedules, pay, attendance and final hiring decisions. When you and a GM disagree, the VP of Operations decides within 48 hours.
This job is: about 70% hands-on - cooking, training, opening kitchens, working events. Teaching: show, practice, check, repeat. Fixing problems at the source, then writing down the fix. Steady under pressure - flight changes, big events, short staff.
This job isn't: running kitchens from an office. Yelling, public put-downs or "my way or the highway." Writing reports about problems.
Pay and benefits- $90,000-$100,000 base salary, plus an annual performance bonus tied to trainers certified, kitchen audit scores and new-kitchen openings.
- Medical, dental and vision starting the first of the month after 60 days.
- 401(k) with a company match after 6 months.
- Paid time off from your first day of work.
- Travel paid by the company.
- A skills review at 90 days, and a published career and pay structure.
How we hire- Online application and a short phone conversation with our recruiting team.
- A paid working session in our Charleston kitchen: you'll teach one of our cooks a dish they've never made, in 30 minutes. We watch how you teach and what the cook can do at the end.
- Interviews with the VP of Operations and our Founder & CEO.
- A short online assessment for finalists.
- References - including at least one person you trained.
Requirements
- 7+ years as an executive, multi-unit or high-volume production chef. Aviation, catering, hotel banquet or institutional production strongly preferred.
- A track record of training cooks who went on to become sous chefs or chefs - we'll ask for names.
- Current ServSafe Manager (or equivalent food protection manager) certificate. HACCP certification, or earned within 90 days.
- Recipe costing, yield testing and written standard recipes.
- Comfortable with kitchen technology: combi ovens, recipe and inventory software, and our people system (Paylocity).
- Able to travel 50% or more, including overnight stays, nights, weekends and holidays around events and openings.
- A valid driver's license and the ability to travel by air.
- Able to stand and work in a production kitchen for a full shift and lift up to 50 lbs.
Salary Description
$90,000 - $100,000 per year + bonus
