The salary for this opportunity is $95,000-110,000

At Meritage Resort & Spa, exceptional dining is an essential part of the guest experience. From an elevated evening at Ember Steakhouse to a thoughtfully delivered meal enjoyed in the comfort of a guest room, every interaction is an opportunity to create a memorable experience through genuine hospitality, exceptional food and beverage, and attention to detail.

We're looking for our next Ember Chef overseeing Ember Steakhouse and In-Room Dining to lead the culinary operation and continued evolution of both experiences. This is an exciting opportunity for a talented, creative, and hands-on culinary leader who thrives in a high-volume upscale environment and is passionate about developing people, creating compelling menus, and shaping a distinctive culinary identity.

Reporting directly to the Hotel Executive Chef, the Ember Chef will have ownership of the day-to-day culinary operations for Ember Steakhouse and In-Room Dining while also playing a key role in defining their culinary direction. This position is responsible for menu creation, concept development, food quality, team leadership, production planning, financial performance, food safety, and collaboration with Food & Beverage leadership to ensure both operations remain relevant, competitive, and memorable.

Who You Are

You are a passionate and creative culinary leader who understands that a successful restaurant and resort dining program require more than great execution. You think about the complete guest experience-what belongs on the menu, how dishes work together, how the concept differentiates itself, and how the culinary offering continues to evolve with guest expectations and dining trends.

You enjoy developing menus from the initial idea through recipe development, costing, testing, plating, training, and final execution. You balance creativity with operational reality and understand that every menu item must deliver on quality, guest appeal, consistency, and profitability.

You recognize that Ember Steakhouse and In-Room Dining require different approaches while sharing the same expectation for quality. You can create an elevated restaurant experience at Ember while also developing an In-Room Dining program that is approachable, efficient, well-executed, and reflective of the overall resort experience.

You lead from the kitchen floor and set the standard through your own actions. You remain calm during busy service, make thoughtful decisions under pressure, and hold yourself and your team accountable for quality, timing, presentation, cleanliness, and professionalism.

You also enjoy developing people and creating a kitchen culture where cooks are challenged, supported, and given opportunities to grow.

What You'll Do

• Lead the daily culinary operations of Ember Steakhouse and In-Room Dining, ensuring exceptional food quality, consistency, presentation, and execution.
• Partner directly with the Hotel Executive Chef on the strategic culinary direction and continued evolution of both operations.
• Create, develop, test, cost, and implement seasonal menus, new dishes, specials, and culinary experiences for Ember Steakhouse.
• Create and evolve In-Room Dining menus that balance luxury resort expectations, guest preferences, operational efficiency, delivery quality, and profitability.
• Evaluate the existing menu mix and continually identify opportunities to strengthen guest appeal, quality, profitability, and concept relevance.
• Research culinary trends, guest preferences, competitive restaurant concepts, seasonal ingredients, and Napa Valley dining expectations to inform menu development.
• Ensure all menu items are operationally executable and can be consistently produced during high-volume service.
• Maintain a balance between signature dishes, guest favorites, seasonal innovation, and evolving culinary trends.
• Partner with Food & Beverage leadership to develop culinary activations, wine dinners, tasting experiences, special events, and other programming that strengthens the Ember brand.
• Work with the Hotel Executive Chef and Food & Beverage leadership on longer-term concept development, including menu positioning, service style, culinary storytelling, presentation, and the overall guest experience.
• Support the development and execution of guest amenities and customized culinary experiences for VIPs, celebrations, and special requests.
• Direct, coach, schedule, and develop the culinary team supporting Ember Steakhouse and In-Room Dining, including sous chefs, supervisors, cooks, and culinary support positions.
• Maintain a visible, hands-on presence in the kitchen during preparation and service.
• Lead daily culinary lineups and pre-shift meetings to communicate menu changes, specials, VIPs, reservations, occupancy levels, service expectations, and operational priorities.
• Ensure all kitchen stations are properly prepared and fully stocked before each service through effective mise en place and production planning.
• Develop and maintain standardized recipes, plating guides, photographs, production procedures, yields, and portion-control standards.
• Conduct regular tastings and menu reviews to ensure quality, consistency, and continued relevance.
• Partner with front-of-house leadership to ensure strong menu knowledge and provide training on ingredients, preparation methods, culinary stories, and new offerings.
• Analyze menu-item performance, including popularity, food cost, contribution margin, and guest feedback, and make adjustments when appropriate.
• Respond quickly to food-quality concerns and guest feedback, taking ownership of culinary service recovery when necessary.
• Build relationships with local farmers, ranchers, purveyors, artisans, and specialty suppliers to identify unique products and strengthen the culinary program's connection to Napa Valley and California.
• Manage food cost through effective purchasing, production planning, portion control, inventory management, recipe adherence, and waste reduction.
• Ensure accurate ordering, receiving, labeling, storage, rotation, and organization of all food products using FIFO and food safety best practices.
• Manage culinary labor through effective scheduling, productivity planning, overtime control, cross-utilization, and staffing adjustments based on business demand.
• Partner with the Executive Chef on budgeting, forecasting, expense management, capital planning, and financial performance.
• Recruit, interview, hire, onboard, train, coach, evaluate, and retain a high-performing culinary team.
• Develop sous chefs and cooks through ongoing feedback, cross-training, mentorship, and clearly defined performance expectations.
• Ensure employees are properly trained on recipes, cooking techniques, equipment, food safety, allergens, sanitation, and restaurant standards.
• Foster a positive kitchen culture built on accountability, respect, communication, teamwork, craftsmanship, creativity, and continuous improvement.
• Ensure compliance with all company policies, health department regulations, food safety requirements, sanitation standards, and HACCP procedures.
• Participate in culinary leadership meetings, Food & Beverage meetings, menu reviews, concept discussions, tastings, financial reviews, and resort initiatives as required.
• Support resort-wide culinary activations, holiday programming, high-profile events, community partnerships, and special projects.
• Perform additional leadership responsibilities as assigned by the Hotel Executive Chef.

Qualifications

• Minimum of five years of progressive culinary experience in an upscale restaurant, luxury hotel, resort, steakhouse, or comparable high-volume culinary environment.
• Minimum of two years of culinary leadership experience as a Sous Chef, Chef de Cuisine, Restaurant Chef, or comparable position preferred.
• Demonstrated experience creating, developing, testing, costing, and successfully implementing restaurant menus.
• Strong understanding of restaurant concept development and the ability to translate a culinary vision into an executable and profitable menu.
• Proven creativity with the ability to balance innovation, guest preferences, culinary trends, operational execution, and financial performance.
• Advanced knowledge of steakhouse cooking techniques, including meat fabrication, grilling, broiling, roasting, temperature control, resting, and proper handling of premium proteins.
• Strong knowledge of breakfast, lunch, dinner, and all-day dining preparation appropriate for a luxury hotel environment.
• Experience sourcing and working with local, seasonal, and premium ingredients preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to maintain exceptional food quality and consistency during high-volume service.
• Strong understanding of recipe development, recipe costing, menu engineering, portion control, and menu profitability.
• Experience managing food cost, purchasing, inventory, production planning, labor, scheduling, waste, and departmental expenses.
• Proven ability to recruit, coach, develop, and manage culinary employees and emerging leaders.
• Strong organizational, communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to manage multiple operations and priorities while remaining calm, decisive, and professional under pressure.
• Understanding of wine and food pairing is strongly preferred, particularly within a steakhouse and Napa Valley dining environment.
• Advanced knowledge of food safety, sanitation, workplace safety, allergens, and HACCP principles.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, scheduling systems, purchasing platforms, inventory systems, and culinary costing tools preferred.
• California Food Handler Card and ServSafe Manager Certification, or the ability to obtain required certifications within the designated timeframe.
• Must be available to work a flexible schedule, including early mornings, evenings, weekends, holidays, and extended hours based on business demands.

Physical Requirements

This position requires standing and walking for extended periods, lifting up to 50 pounds, frequent bending, reaching, pushing, pulling, and repetitive movements while working in a commercial kitchen environment.

The Ember Chef regularly works around open flames, grills, broilers, ovens, hot cooking surfaces, refrigerated storage areas, sharp tools, heavy equipment, and cleaning chemicals. The position requires frequent movement throughout the kitchen, restaurant, In-Room Dining service areas, storage areas, and other resort locations while maintaining strict safety standards and wearing required personal protective equipment.

Why Join Ember Steakhouse & In-Room Dining?

At Meritage Resort & Spa, exceptional culinary experiences extend beyond the restaurant. Ember Steakhouse provides an opportunity to create a distinctive Napa Valley dining destination, while In-Room Dining allows us to bring that same commitment to quality and hospitality directly to our guests throughout their stay.

As Ember Chef, you won't simply inherit existing menus-you'll have the opportunity to help define where both culinary experiences go next. You'll have ownership in creating menus, developing signature dishes, refining the Ember concept, elevating In-Room Dining, identifying new culinary experiences, and ensuring both operations continue to evolve while maintaining exceptional quality and profitability.

You'll work directly with the Hotel Executive Chef while having meaningful ownership of the daily operations, culinary direction, team culture, financial performance, and long-term development of Ember Steakhouse and In-Room Dining.

If you're a creative and passionate culinary leader who takes pride in exceptional food, developing people, creating menus, and building memorable restaurant and resort dining experiences, we'd love to meet you.