EXECUTIVE CHEF

Executive Chef

The Executive Chef is responsible for overseeing all culinary operations within a healthcare food service environment, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, nutritious meals that meet patient, retail, and catering needs. This role provides leadership for kitchen staff, directs food production in accordance with corporate standards, regulatory requirements, and patient dietary guidelines, and maintains a strong focus on food quality, safety, customer satisfaction, and financial performance.

This operation supports an average daily census of approximately 100 patients, a retail café, and on-site catering services. The Executive Chef leads a team of 5 cooks, 4 cold food preparation associates, and 1 purchaser.

Key Responsibilities

• Oversee daily kitchen operations for patient meal service, retail dining, and catering functions.
• Plan, develop, and execute regular, therapeutic, and modified menus in collaboration with clinical and food service leadership.
• Ensure all food is prepared, presented, and served in accordance with company standards, quality expectations, and regulatory requirements.
• Provide leadership, coaching, and ongoing training to culinary staff on food preparation techniques, safe food handling practices, equipment operation, sanitation standards, and workplace safety.
• Maintain compliance with all federal, state, local, and accreditation-related food safety and sanitation regulations.
• Establish and monitor cleaning, sanitation, and preventive maintenance schedules for kitchen equipment, storage areas, and production spaces.
• Manage food and supply inventories, working closely with the purchaser to control costs, minimize waste, and ensure product availability.
• Monitor food production, labor utilization, and operating expenses to achieve departmental financial goals.
• Partner with leadership teams to support patient satisfaction initiatives, café performance, and catering excellence.
• Assist with special events, catering functions, and other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Associate degree in Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management, or related field preferred; equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered.
• Minimum of 3-5 years of progressive culinary leadership experience, preferably within healthcare, senior living, hospital, or other high-volume food service environments.
• Strong knowledge of patient dining services, therapeutic diets, food production systems, sanitation practices, and regulatory compliance.
• Demonstrated experience managing food costs, inventory controls, labor productivity, and quality assurance programs.
• Proven ability to lead, develop, and motivate culinary teams in a fast-paced healthcare setting.
• Experience supporting retail dining and catering operations preferred.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint) and other food service management systems.
• ServSafe Manager Certification strongly preferred.
• Experience in high-volume, complex food service operations highly desirable.