Executive Chef - Extensive Catering and Banquet Experience
11 days ago
Charleston
Job Description Executive Chef – Catering & Banquets Location: Charleston, SC Salary: $85,000–$90,000 + Bonus Potential About the Opportunity We are seeking a hands-on Executive Chef with a strong catering and banquet background to lead culinary operations in the vibrant Charleston market. This role is ideal for a chef who thrives in high-volume production while delivering elevated, refined cuisine for weddings, corporate events, and upscale social gatherings. Charleston is known for its hospitality excellence, and we are looking for a culinary leader who can uphold and elevate that standard. Key Responsibilities Culinary Leadership • Lead all culinary operations for large-scale catering and banquet events, • Design seasonal menus tailored to weddings, corporate events, and private dining, • Execute high-end plated dinners and large-format buffet/service events flawlessly, • Manage food cost, labor cost, and overall P&L performance, • Develop purchasing strategies and maintain vendor relationships, • Oversee inventory controls and minimize waste, • Recruit, train, and mentor kitchen leadership and staff, • Build prep systems for smooth execution of high-volume events, • Foster a culture of professionalism, accountability, and culinary excellence, • Lead by example — this is a working chef role, not an office-based position Ideal Candidate Profile • 5+ years of Executive Chef or Executive Sous Chef experience, • Proven background in catering, banquet production, or high-volume event execution, • Strong knowledge of menu costing, budgeting, and financial management, • Experience executing events ranging from 50 to 1,000+ guests, • Passion for elevated cuisine with efficient large-scale production, • Calm, organized leader who thrives under event-driven pressure What’s Offered • $85,000–$90,000 base salary, • Performance-based bonus opportunity, • Benefits package (Health, PTO, etc.), • Opportunity to lead in one of the Southeast’s most dynamic hospitality markets If you’re a driven, hands-on culinary leader who understands both the artistry of fine dining and the logistics of large-scale execution, this is your opportunity to shine in Charleston. Company DescriptionRestaurantZone is one of the fastest-growing national recruiting agencies in the hospitality/restaurant space. We are a research-based retained recruitment agency & hybrid tech company that focuses on key roles for restaurants and hospitality. RestaurantZone has been featured in National Restaurant News and Total Foods Service Magazine and has worked with reputable brands like Red Lobster, Vapiano's, Chick-fil-a, Sbarro’s, McDonald's, Domino's, Cracker Barrel, Google, and Facebook. We are the cutting edge of recruiting with tech-savvy recruiters with over 100+ collective years of experience working on the team. We have hundreds of jobs to fill and grow! Our recruiters work the entire country and focus on all major locations including Los Angeles, San Diego, New York City, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, Washington DC, Houston, Las Vegas, Denver, Hawaii, and more!RestaurantZone is one of the fastest-growing national recruiting agencies in the hospitality/restaurant space. We are a research-based retained recruitment agency & hybrid tech company that focuses on key roles for restaurants and hospitality. RestaurantZone has been featured in National Restaurant News and Total Foods Service Magazine and has worked with reputable brands like Red Lobster, Vapiano's, Chick-fil-a, Sbarro’s, McDonald's, Domino's, Cracker Barrel, Google, and Facebook. We are the cutting edge of recruiting with tech-savvy recruiters with over 100+ collective years of experience working on the team. We have hundreds of jobs to fill and grow! Our recruiters work the entire country and focus on all major locations including Los Angeles, San Diego, New York City, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, Washington DC, Houston, Las Vegas, Denver, Hawaii, and more!