Working Head Chef

Position Summary West Loop position. In charge of food cost ordering, day to day cooking, Back-end management that directs and oversees all activities in accordance with standardized policies in order to provide efficient, friendly services and profitable operations.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

The essential functions include, but are not limited to the following :

Oversees all staffing responsibilities for back of house (BOH)- Sous Chefs, station cooks, banquet cooks, in-room dining (IRD) cooks, prep cooks, receivers, and dish staff.

This includes hiring, training, scheduling, evaluating, and terminating.

• Manages BOH payroll edits and ensures all is correct to turn into accounting by proper time.
• Is the facility’s lead food safety expert, ensuring that the kitchens, dining, and bar areas are meeting the requirements of Chicago’s Health Department.

Immediately resolves any outstanding code violations and communicates directly with representatives from the Health Department.

• Participates in training about standardized policies (fire, hygiene, safety, employee handbook, etc.) and confers weekly with upper management regarding restaurant operations.
• Coordinates directly with catering / sales managers to ensure the success of the events and catering programs. This includes adapting menus, changes, request, and including them in tastings.
• Communicates directly with the General Manager (GM) to ensure operational needs are met, staff food knowledge is complete, and restaurant facilities / kitchens are kept impeccably clean and maintained.
• Performs daily inspections and periodic audits to check safety of equipment. Addresses engineering problems involving the cost and installation.

Initiates all facilities maintenance as it relates to all kitchen equipment on the property.

• Guides, teaches, motivates staff to follow recipes and procedures, encourages teamwork, fosters a high level of interdepartmental communication, and, using positive language, always ensures high morale.
• Have effective communication with GM and all front of house (FOH) managers regarding any issues, concerns, or ideas.
• With the aid of the BOH management team, represents the restaurant kitchen at all pre-service meetings. Communicates specials, dietary concerns, pricing, and procedure to FOH staff members.
• Assists the General Manger in resolving complaints from guests in a polite, friendly manner always making sure we follow up with them when needed.
• Maintains all BOH employee files, making sure all forms are up to date an accurate (i.e., ServSafe certificates)
• Handles all BOH human resource functions with assistance from GM
• Is constantly refining existing kitchen and restaurant systems to ensure greater quality, consistency, and efficiency.
• Develops recipes and portion specifications in accordance with consumer tastes, nutritional needs, product specifications, ease of preparation and established procedures and budgetary constraints.
• Develops or assists in the development of restaurant, banquet, private events, and lounge menus. Participates in all menu planning activities including the determination of purchasing specifications.

Leads product and recipe testing.

• Is responsible for menu costing all new dishes to ensure food costs are met.
• Is responsible for overseeing and executing budget set in place to ensure profitability. This includes revenue, food cost, operating expenses, net profit goals in place.

Also ensuring overtime is at a minimum or non-existent each week.

• Lead purchaser of maintaining BOH supply inventory.
• Coordinates special events (wine dinners, etc.) with beverage directors that includes tasting together, creating menus together and coming up with pricing.
• Helps with duties of other employees (i.e., line cooks, prep cooks, dishwashers, etc.) when necessary, because of an unexpected absence or extra volume.
• Performs other work-related duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications (Education, Experience, Skills)

• Culinary degree or college degree preferred with concentration in food preparation, management, nutrition, hotel management, or equivalent experience.
• High school diploma, GED certificates are acceptable with long term experience at managerial level.
• Previous restaurant experience required.
• Previous management experience required.
• Manager Food Safety Certification required.
• Strong computer skills required, preferably Microsoft Word and Excel software.
• Experience in Toast and XtraChef software
• Possesses ability to analyze data and make educated decisions in accordance with that analysis.
• Willingness to work mornings, evenings, weekends, and holidays as required.
• Strong communication skills to train and motivate employees.
• Strong time management skills
• Ability to multi-task required.
• Positive mental attitude required.

Physical Demands and Work Environment

The work that restaurant chefs do is both physically and mentally demanding. They are on their feet much of the time. Managers must work well under pressure and exercise tact and patience when dealing with employees and customers.

Managers typically work fifty-five to sixty hours a week. However, because the restaurant serves the public and are open seven days a week, managers may work longer, irregular hours.

The description of the physical demands and the work environment characteristics here represent those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform and those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this position.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to stand and walk.

The employee is occasionally required to sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance;

and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee may frequently lift and / or move up to 40pounds or more. Specific sensory abilities required by this job include sight, taste, smell, and hearing.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally exposed to raw meat, moving mechanical parts, airborne particles, hazardous materials, and risk of electrical shock.

The noise level in the work environment is moderate to loud.

This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee(s) incumbent in this position.

Employees will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties requested by any person authorized to give instructions or assignments.

All duties and responsibilities are essential functions and requirements and are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities.

To perform this job successfully, the incumbents will posses the skills aptitudes and abilities to perform each duty proficiently.

Some requirements may exclude individuals who pose a direct threat or significant risk to the health or safety of themselves or others.

The requirements listed in this document are the minimum levels of knowledge, skills or abilities.