Executive Chef
hace 22 horas
New York
Job Description Executive Chef Bushwick, Brooklyn Salary: $90,000 annually We are a new restaurant and bar opening in Bushwick, Brooklyn, and we are looking for an Executive Chef who wants to help build a kitchen from the ground up. This is not a role where you are simply stepping into an established menu and existing systems. You will have the opportunity to help shape the culinary identity, kitchen culture, operating systems, training standards, and day-to-day execution of a new concept. We are looking for someone who is excited by that responsibility. This role is first and foremost about flavor. The kitchen will be open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (8am - 10pm) Our culinary mood board pulls inspiration from soul food, American food, West African flavors, and Asian spices and techniques. We are not interested in forcing these influences together simply to call the menu unique. We want a chef with enough culinary instinct and technical understanding to create food that feels intentional, exciting, approachable, and memorable. We want dishes people talk about and come back for. At the same time, great food means very little if the kitchen cannot execute it consistently. The Executive Chef must be equally comfortable developing a dish, running expo during a slammed service, training a line cook, writing a prep system, managing food cost, and holding a kitchen team accountable. What We're Looking For We believe: Best idea wins. This will be a collaborative environment. We want a chef with a strong culinary point of view, but not someone whose ego gets in the way of making the restaurant better. You should be comfortable working closely with ownership and management while also giving your kitchen team room to contribute ideas. If a line cook has a better technique, we want to hear it. If ownership has an idea for a dish, we want to test it. If something is not working, we change it. The goal is not to protect anyone's ego. The goal is to build an excellent restaurant. Building a New Kitchen Because this is a new opening, the Executive Chef will play a major role in establishing how the kitchen operates from day one. That includes: • Helping finalize the opening menu, • Testing and refining dishes before launch, • Creating standardized recipes and plating guides, • Establishing prep procedures and pars, • Building station systems, • Helping determine kitchen workflow, • Creating opening and closing procedures, • Establishing cleaning and sanitation standards, • Helping hire and evaluate kitchen staff, • Training line cooks before opening, • Conducting mock services and training services, • Establishing expo procedures and communication standards, • Building inventory and ordering systems, • Developing food-cost and waste controls, • Creating a kitchen culture centered around consistency, urgency, accountability, and teamwork We want the kitchen to open with systems already in place, not spend the first six months creating them during service. Responsibilities The Executive Chef will be responsible for the overall performance of the kitchen, including: • Leading day-to-day kitchen operations, • Running and controlling expo during service, • Training, developing, and managing line cooks and prep cooks, • Creating clear systems for prep, station setup, service, closing, and cleaning, • Developing recipes that can be executed consistently by the entire kitchen team, • Creating and maintaining recipe specifications, portions, and plating standards, • Building prep lists and production systems, • Creating station guides and training materials, • Establishing ticket-time and service standards, • Maintaining consistency during high-volume service, • Scheduling and managing kitchen labor, • Managing inventory, ordering, receiving, and storage, • Monitoring food cost, waste, and portion control, • Maintaining kitchen cleanliness and organization, • Maintaining food safety and sanitation standards, • Working with ownership on menu development and seasonal changes, • Developing specials and testing new dishes, • Identifying operational problems before they become service problems, • Building a strong kitchen culture based on accountability, communication, and teamwork Culinary Direction Our food should have personality. We are interested in chefs who understand and are inspired by: • Soul food, • American comfort food, • West African ingredients and flavors, • Asian spices, sauces, fermentation, and cooking techniques, • Bold seasoning, • Acid, heat, smoke, sweetness, and texture, • Food that is approachable but still surprising We are not looking for overly complicated food for the sake of being impressive. A great dish with six ingredients is better than an average dish with twenty. Flavor comes first. Leadership Expectations You will be responsible for building a kitchen team that can execute without chaos. That means you must know how to teach. We specifically want someone who has successfully trained line cooks before and can demonstrate how they developed cooks into stronger, faster, and more consistent members of the kitchen. You should know how to: • Teach someone a station from scratch, • Correct mistakes without destroying morale, • Hold people accountable, • Identify strong and weak employees, • Develop future sous chefs and kitchen leaders, • Communicate calmly during high-pressure service, • Create systems that allow cooks to succeed, • Maintain standards even when the restaurant is extremely busy The kitchen should not only function when the Executive Chef is standing in it. Your job is to build a system and team capable of maintaining the standard. Required Experience Candidates should have: • Executive Chef, Chef de Cuisine, or strong Sous Chef experience, • Experience opening a restaurant or helping build a kitchen is strongly preferred, • Experience in high-volume or fast-paced restaurant environments, • Significant line-cooking and expo experience, • Proven experience training and developing line cooks, • Strong understanding of kitchen systems and station organization, • Menu development experience, • Recipe development and recipe costing experience, • Food-cost and inventory management experience, • Strong understanding of labor management, • Strong food safety and sanitation knowledge, • Experience ordering and managing vendor relationships, • The ability to remain organized and decisive during high-volume service Proof of Leadership We will ask serious candidates to discuss specific examples of: • Kitchens they have helped build or improve, • Restaurant openings they have participated in, • Line cooks they have personally trained, • Systems they implemented, • Menus or dishes they developed, • High-volume services they managed, • Food-cost or waste improvements they achieved Professional references from previous kitchens will be required before an offer is made. We may also request examples of menus, recipes, kitchen systems, training materials, or other work that demonstrates your experience. Who Will Thrive Here You will probably love this role if you: Care deeply about how food tastes. Love the intensity of service. Get excited about helping shape a new restaurant. Believe organization makes creativity possible. Enjoy teaching cooks. Can take criticism without becoming defensive. Can defend an idea without making it personal. Are willing to change your mind when someone else has a better idea. Notice small details. Move with urgency. Take ownership when something goes wrong. Want to build a kitchen rather than simply inherit one. Who This Role Is Not For This role is probably not a fit if you: Need complete creative control. Have difficulty collaborating. Prefer managing from the office instead of being involved in service. Create dishes your cooks cannot consistently execute. Avoid expo. Struggle with organization, documentation, or systems. Believe yelling is the same thing as leadership. Believe being Executive Chef means you no longer have to cook. Or prefer walking into an operation where everything has already been built for you. Compensation $90,000 annual salary This is a hands-on Executive Chef position for a new restaurant and bar in Bushwick, Brooklyn. You will have a meaningful role in defining the food, building the kitchen team, establishing the systems, and shaping how the restaurant operates from opening day forward. We are looking for someone who wants to help build something exceptional. If you apply, please include a resume and, when possible, examples of previous menus, dishes, restaurant openings, or kitchens you have helped develop.