Executive Chef

Executive Chef

Salary: $85,000 to $105,000. Eligible for a 10% Incentiv Bonus.

CULINAIRE provides upscale food and beverage management services to a very diverse collection of national accounts to include art museums, cultural landmarks, hotels, performing arts centers, restaurants, and special event venues. While our portfolio is diverse, the one constant in every operation that we manage is our total commitment to our associates to put their career path, safety and success as our top priority, as well as to provide sophisticated, delicious food and warm service to our guests.

Job Summary

The Executive Chef will be responsible for establishing the culinary identity of the operation, developing a compelling and seasonally driven menu, and building a kitchen culture grounded in hospitality, creativity, excellence, and operational discipline. The ideal candidate brings a sophisticated culinary point of view, strong leadership skills, and the ability to translate a creative vision into an exceptional, consistently executed guest experience. This position is located at the Denver Art Museum and you will be a chef partner with Jen Jasinski.

Key responsibilities include:

• Developing and executing a compelling culinary vision that reflects Canyon Museum's mission and guest experience.
• Creating seasonal, ingredient-driven menus that balance creativity, quality, and operational excellence.
• Leading, mentoring, and developing a high-performing culinary team while fostering a culture of professionalism, accountability, and collaboration.
• Overseeing all kitchen operations, including staffing, scheduling, purchasing, inventory management, food preparation, production, and service execution.
• Establishing and maintaining recipes, training programs, culinary standards, and operational systems to ensure consistency and efficiency.
• Partnering with front-of-house leadership to deliver seamless hospitality experiences for daily visitors, private events, exhibitions, and special programming.
• Managing food and labor costs, culinary budgets, vendor relationships, purchasing strategies, and inventory controls.
• Maintaining exceptional standards for food quality, presentation, sanitation, safety, and regulatory compliance.
• Continuously evaluating guest feedback, culinary trends, and operational performance to enhance the overall culinary program.

Preferred Qualifications:

• A.S. or equivalent experience
• 5+ years of progressive culinary/kitchen management experience, depending upon formal degree or training
• Extensive catering experience a plus
• High volume, complex foodservice operations experience - highly desirable
• Institutional and batch cooking experiences
• Hands-on chef experience a must
• Comprehensive knowledge of food and catering trends with a focus on quality, production, sanitation, food cost controls, and presentation
• Must be experienced with computers; to include Microsoft Office (Word, Excel and Power Point), Outlook, E-mail and the Internet
• Must be willing to participate in client satisfaction programs/activities
• ServSafe certified - highly desirable

Associates at Culinaire are offered many fantastic benefits including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, disability insurance, retirement plan, paid time off, holiday time off, associate shopping program, health and wellness programs, discount marketplace, identity theft protection, pet insurance, commuter benefits, employee assistance program, flexible spending accounts, paid parental leave, and personal leave.

Compass Group is an equal opportunity employer. At Compass, we are committed to treating all Applicants and Associates fairly based on their abilities, achievements, and experience without regard to race, national origin, sex, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other classification protected by law.