Esquire Executive Chef

Job Description

Job Description

Location: 58 East Oak Street, Gold Coast, Chicago, IL Employment type: Full-time Classification: Salaried, exempt Reports to: Director of Operations

Esquire is a 265-seat luxury steakhouse in Chicago’s Gold Coast where Japanese precision meets French technique — anchored by an elite Wagyu and seafood program, a four-level Wine Tower, the OakShō omakase counter, and the invitation-only 58 Club. We hold an uncompromising standard and hire people who want to set it, not just meet it. Esquire is operated by M Street Collective, the group behind Nashville’s Virago, Moto, Kayne Prime, and Saint Añejo.

Runs the entire kitchen and owns the food. Esquire is a modern luxury steakhouse that transcends the category — Japanese precision built on a French foundation — anchored by an elite Wagyu program and a seafood-and-sushi program that earns equal billing. The Executive Chef is the guarantor of quality, consistency, and innovation on the plate, leading the Chef de Cuisine, Executive Sous, the Sous bench, pastry, and the dining-room sushi program.

• Own menu development, execution, and the standard across the Wagyu, seafood, and sushi programs.
• Lead the full BOH brigade; build the kitchen team and the culture of the line.
• Drive bespoke, sequenced preparation per Wagyu cut and the daily seafood and fish-aging programs.
• Own food cost, sourcing, par levels, and supplier relationships across producers.
• Set and hold plating, timing, and quality standards; run line checks and tastings.
• Partner with the Beverage Manager and GM on the full guest experience and pacing.

• 8+ years progressive culinary leadership, including Executive Chef or strong CDC in fine dining.
• Demonstrated Wagyu / premium-protein and seafood program experience; raw-bar/sushi exposure preferred.
• Proven menu development, food-cost, and large-brigade leadership.
• Calm, exacting leadership presence and a teacher's instinct.

• Chicago Food Service Sanitation Manager Certificate (FSSMC) - REQUIRED. Local certificate issued by the City of Chicago Department of Public Health using National CFPM certification
• Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM) — REQUIRED. Current ANSI-CFP–accredited CFPM (valid 5 years); this role serves as an on-duty CFPM. At least one CFPM must be present during all hours of food preparation and service.
• Allergen Awareness (manager) — REQUIRED with CFPM. Illinois-approved, ANAB-accredited allergen training within 30 days; renew every 3 years; kept on site.
  

$120,000–$150,000 per year, paid as an annual salary (market-aligned). The final offer is confirmed in writing. This position is eligible for a performance bonus as a component of total compensation.

Eligible team members receive group medical, dental, and vision insurance (the Company pays part of the premium); a 401(k) plan; Company-paid life insurance, AD&D, STD, and LTD; and a confidential Employee Assistance Program. Time off includes Paid Time Off for eligible salaried positions, Chicago Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave, and paid bereavement leave, plus the protected leaves required by federal and Illinois law (FMLA, VESSA, military, jury, and voting). Final plan details and eligibility are confirmed in the written offer.

Interested? Send your résumé — and references where applicable — to View email address on ziprecruiter.com or apply through the platform where you found this role.

Held to Esquire’s four pillars — quality, consistency, hospitality, and innovation — and the five universal competencies: professionalism, teamwork, growth mindset, excellence, and hospitality.

Esquire is a modern luxury steakhouse on Oak Street in Chicago’s Gold Coast — Japanese precision built on a French foundation, anchored by an elite Wagyu program and a seafood-and-sushi program that earns equal billing. Across a 265-seat dining room, a four-level ~5,000-bottle Wine Tower, the Trophy Room, the invitation-only 58 Club, and the OakShō omakase counter, it delivers omotenashi-inspired hospitality and culinary theater in a vintage-Hollywood setting.

M Street Collective is the hospitality group behind Esquire, with operations in Nashville and Chicago. Built on four pillars — quality, consistency, hospitality, and innovation — and a commitment to innovation, leadership development and world-class training, the Collective creates restaurants and experiences defined by an uncompromising standard and genuine, anticipatory care.