Head Chef

Job Description

Job Description

Head Chef

Concept Type: High-Volume Italian Eatery & Deli

Location: Scottsdale, AZ

Salary: $70,000 - $80,000 per year, plus bonus

This family-owned Italian eatery and deli has spent decades building something worth protecting. Rooted in authentic Italian-American cooking and a hospitality mindset that treats every guest like family, what began as a neighborhood staple has grown into a high-volume operation with a bustling deli, full-service restaurant, specialty grocery market, catering division, and scratch kitchen all under one roof. Generations-old recipes still anchor the menu—and honoring that legacy while continuing to push the food forward is central to how this organization operates. The culture runs on craft, consistency, and genuine care for the people on both sides of the pass. You'll feel it the moment you walk through the door.

This is a hands-on role. The Head Chef will spend the majority of the week on the line—running production, developing the team, and holding every plate to the standard this kitchen has built its reputation on.

Job Qualifications:

• Five or more years of professional culinary experience, with proven leadership in a high-volume restaurant, deli, Italian concept, catering operation, or similar foodservice environment.
• Strong knowledge of Italian cuisine—sauces, pastas, pizza, sandwiches, and scratch cooking—with experience in traditional Italian-American food strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to hire, train, and develop kitchen staff, building a team that performs at a high level even when the Head Chef isn't on the floor.
• Working knowledge of health and food safety standards, with the discipline to run a kitchen that meets Maricopa County inspection requirements without exception.
• A hands-on, lead-by-example management style paired with the confidence to run expo, train food runners, and minimize order errors during peak volume.
• Strong organizational skills for managing prep, product rotation, perishable storage, and a seamless close-to-open transition.
• A creative approach to menu development, with the ability to balance elevated American Italian dishes with rustic, regional Italian cooking.

Job Responsibilities:

In this role, you'll be responsible for:

• Oversee all production stations—sauté, pizza, cold sandwich, and expo—ensuring every shift runs at the standard this kitchen is known for.
• Lead team training on plating, presentation, quality, and consistency across every station and every shift.
• Build and manage a high-performing kitchen team through hiring, clear communication, and accountability—a team that runs strong whether you're on-site or not.
• Provide hands-on training for new hires and ongoing retraining for current kitchen staff.
• Develop new specials and refine existing menu items, maintaining a 75/25 balance between elevated American Italian dishes and rustic, regional Italian cooking.
• Run expo during peak service, training food runners and minimizing errors on both dine-in and to-go orders.
• Implement closing systems that ensure proper perishable storage, smart product rotation, and a clean transition from close to open.
• Hold the kitchen to Maricopa County health inspection standards under a zero-tolerance policy.
• Identify and develop a second-in-command capable of running the kitchen in your absence—and prepare your own eventual replacement as the company grows.

Company Benefits:

• Competitive salary of $70,000–$80,000 per year, plus bonus
• The opportunity to lead kitchen operations for a respected, high-volume Italian concept with a loyal following
• A culture built on quality, consistency, and treating people like family
• Real growth potential as the company expands into new locations

The right candidate for this Head Chef role needs little to no handholding. You'll be freed from prep oversight and food ordering so you can focus on what matters most: leading a team, sharpening the menu, and running a kitchen that holds its standard whether you're there or not. If you're a culinary leader who wants ownership—not just a shift—this is where that ambition belongs.

If this role aligns with where you want to take your culinary career, we'd like to hear from you. Send your resume to Don Hutcheson to get the conversation started. View email address on ziprecruiter.com

#ZRDH

Since 2000, Gecko Hospitality and its dedicated Franchise Partners and Recruiters throughout the United States have been pioneers in the hospitality recruiting industry. The value that Gecko Hospitality provides to its Clientele is evident in the advanced networking and technology skills our professional recruiters possess in identifying qualified restaurant professionals.

At Gecko Hospitality, we are passionate about making sure that every member of our recruiting team is familiar with our philosophies. In the same way that we learn about people when developing relationships and friendships, we want our people to have a sense of Gecko Hospitality's values and insight into our company's "personality." With this insight comes a greater understanding of how values "fit" with Gecko Hospitality's values, why we do things the way we do as well as providing a basis for making decisions that are appropriate to those values. We all play a part in keeping these traditions and philosophies alive.

We want every member of our recruiting team to understand that we are only as good as how well we follow these philosophies on an every day basis. Gecko Hospitality is all about achieving results by being motivated. This motivation to achieve results comes from within. No one can motivate us, nor can we motivate anyone else. As leaders, all that we can do is provide an environment where people motivate themselves to achieve mutually beneficial goals. Along with this philosophy, each team member possesses the following traits for which we are proud: honesty, integrity, desire, determination, listening skills, rapid learning, responding in a timely manner, effective communication skills, thoroughness, empathy, compassion, and most of all we want every team member to have a strong work ethic that motivates them to produce superior results both for our candidates and for our Clients.

At Gecko Hospitality, you certainly have... more choices

As part of our recruiting process, we may contact you regarding positions we feel are a good fit or engage with you via SMS text message. By clicking to submit your application, Gecko Hospitality has your consent to communicate via SMS text message moving forward.
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Company Description

Since 2000, Gecko Hospitality and its dedicated Franchise Partners and Recruiters throughout the United States have been pioneers in the hospitality recruiting industry. The value that Gecko Hospitality provides to its Clientele is evident in the advanced networking and technology skills our professional recruiters possess in identifying qualified restaurant professionals.\r\n\r\nAt Gecko Hospitality, we are passionate about making sure that every member of our recruiting team is familiar with our philosophies. In the same way that we learn about people when developing relationships and friendships, we want our people to have a sense of Gecko Hospitality's values and insight into our company's "personality." With this insight comes a greater understanding of how values "fit" with Gecko Hospitality's values, why we do things the way we do as well as providing a basis for making decisions that are appropriate to those values. We all play a part in keeping these traditions and philosophies alive.\r\n\r\nWe want every member of our recruiting team to understand that we are only as good as how well we follow these philosophies on an every day basis. Gecko Hospitality is all about achieving results by being motivated. This motivation to achieve results comes from within. No one can motivate us, nor can we motivate anyone else. As leaders, all that we can do is provide an environment where people motivate themselves to achieve mutually beneficial goals. Along with this philosophy, each team member possesses the following traits for which we are proud: honesty, integrity, desire, determination, listening skills, rapid learning, responding in a timely manner, effective communication skills, thoroughness, empathy, compassion, and most of all we want every team member to have a strong work ethic that motivates them to produce superior results both for our candidates and for our Clients.\r\n\r\nAt Gecko Hospitality, you certainly have... more choices\r\n\r\nAs part of our recruiting process, we may contact you regarding positions we feel are a good fit or engage with you via SMS text message. By clicking to submit your application, Gecko Hospitality has your consent to communicate via SMS text message moving forward.\r\nTerms of Service are available at Policy can be found at and data rates may apply, depending on your mobile phone service plan. For more help reply “HELP” to your texts or you can opt-out by replying STOP