Specialty Chef - Steakhouse

Position Summary
The Specialty Chef - Steakhouse Concept is responsible for developing, executing, and maintaining Don Julio Restaurant Group's distinctive steakhouse culinary program. This role serves as the subject-matter expert for beef selection, fabrication, aging, seasoning, cooking techniques, sauces, accompaniments, and plate presentation. The Specialty Chef leads by example on the line, protects food quality and consistency, trains culinary employees, controls food and labor costs, and maintains a safe, sanitary, high-performing kitchen.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Steakhouse Concept and Menu Development

• Develop and refine the steakhouse menu in alignment with the restaurant's brand, guest profile, service model, and financial objectives.
• Create signature steaks, chef specials, sauces, compound butters, side dishes, appetizers, and seasonal features that distinguish the concept.
• Prepare standardized recipes, plating guides, cooking specifications, yield standards, and production procedures for all assigned menu items.
• Evaluate guest feedback, sales mix, market trends, and product performance; recommend menu improvements while protecting the integrity of the concept.
• Coordinate tastings and menu rollouts and ensure front-of-house employees understand cuts, flavor profiles, preparation methods, and recommended pairings.

Meat Selection, Fabrication, and Execution

• Select and evaluate beef by cut, grade, marbling, aging method, yield, flavor, and intended menu application.
• Oversee receiving, inspection, storage, rotation, fabrication, portioning, labeling, and inventory of steaks and other high-value proteins.
• Demonstrate expert proficiency with grills, broilers, planchas, cast iron, smokers, sous vide equipment, and other approved cooking methods.
• Ensure steaks are prepared accurately to requested temperatures and are properly rested, seasoned, finished, and presented before service.
• Establish controls to reduce trim loss, over-portioning, overcooking, refires, spoilage, and unauthorized product use.

Kitchen Leadership and Service

• Direct assigned culinary employees during preparation and service; communicate priorities clearly and maintain calm, professional leadership during high-volume periods.
• Train and coach cooks on knife skills, meat fabrication, temperature control, station setup, recipe execution, plating, sanitation, and equipment care.
• Conduct pre-shift checks and tastings to confirm mise en place, seasoning, portioning, product quality, and readiness for service.
• Collaborate with culinary and restaurant leadership on staffing, scheduling, purchasing, banquets, special events, and daily operational needs.
• Respond promptly to quality concerns and guest complaints, determine the cause, and implement corrective action.

Financial and Inventory Management

• Support approved food-cost, labor-cost, waste, purchasing, and profitability targets.
• Maintain accurate inventories, production pars, order quantities, transfer records, waste logs, and recipe-costing information.
• Work with approved vendors to confirm product specifications, quality, availability, substitutions, and competitive pricing.
• Analyze yield and usage of premium proteins and recommend purchasing or preparation changes when variances occur.

Food Safety, Sanitation, and Compliance

• Follow and enforce all applicable food-safety, sanitation, allergen-control, workplace-safety, and alcohol-service requirements relevant to the position.
• Maintain required temperature logs, cooling and reheating controls, cleaning schedules, date marking, storage standards, and cross-contamination safeguards.
• Ensure knives, slicers, grills, broilers, refrigeration, and other equipment are used safely and maintained in proper working condition.
• Immediately report injuries, equipment concerns, food-safety risks, suspected contamination, and policy violations to management.

Qualifications

• Minimum [5] years of progressive culinary experience, including at least [2-3] years in a steakhouse, chophouse, fine-dining, or high-volume premium-protein environment.
• Demonstrated expertise in beef cuts, grading, aging, fabrication, portioning, cooking temperatures, resting, seasoning, sauces, and classic steakhouse accompaniments.
• Prior experience leading, training, and evaluating culinary employees.
• Working knowledge of recipe costing, food cost, inventory, purchasing, production planning, and waste control.
• Ability to read and follow recipes, safety rules, operating procedures, and equipment instructions.
• Food Manager Certification or ability to obtain certification within the employer's required timeframe.
• Culinary degree or formal apprenticeship preferred; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.
• Bilingual English/Spanish communication skills preferred, if relevant to the operation.

Core Competencies

• Steakhouse culinary expertise and attention to detail
• Leadership, coaching, accountability, and professional communication
• Speed, organization, consistency, and sound judgment under pressure
• Cost awareness, inventory discipline, and responsible product stewardship
• Guest focus, teamwork, adaptability, and commitment to quality

Physical and Scheduling Requirements

• Ability to stand and walk for extended periods and work in a hot, humid, noisy, and fast-paced kitchen environment.
• Ability to bend, reach, twist, push, pull, and safely lift or move up to [50] pounds, with or without reasonable accommodation.
• Ability to use knives and commercial kitchen equipment and to work around heat, flames, steam, smoke, cold storage, and wet or slippery surfaces.
• Availability to work a flexible schedule based on business needs, including evenings, weekends, holidays, opening or closing shifts, and special events.

Performance Expectations

• Consistent steak temperatures, portion sizes, flavor, appearance, and ticket execution.
• Achievement of established food-cost, labor, waste, inventory, and quality targets.
• Clean, organized, fully prepared stations and compliance with food-safety requirements.
• Effective training, teamwork, communication, and timely correction of performance concerns.
• Successful execution of specials, menu changes, private events, and peak-volume services.

Pay: Starting Salary: $72,800 annually, based on experience (BOE).

Benefits:

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision