Executive Chef / Culinary Partner at Black Walnut

Company description Black Walnut is a hospitality and lifestyle destination created by The Farmhouse Project, a Catskills-based lifestyle brand rooted in food, design, entertaining, and a connection to the local community. Located in a restored 19th-century building in the historic hamlet of Callicoon, Black Walnut brings together an intimate fine dining restaurant, cocktail lounge, and mercantile under one roof. Our restaurant offers seasonal, farm-to-table dining rooted in Mediterranean and Italian-inspired cooking, with a strong emphasis on sustainability and relationships with local farms and regional purveyors. The mercantile is home to The Farmhouse Project’s exclusive collection of artisan-made homewares and goods. Together, The Farmhouse Project and Black Walnut celebrate food, hospitality, design, craftsmanship, and community, creating experiences that feel elevated yet welcoming and deeply connected to life in the Sullivan Catskills. Job description Black Walnut is seeking an experienced, creative, and entrepreneurial Executive Chef to lead the culinary program at our intimate farm-to-table restaurant in the Sullivan Catskills. This is a unique opportunity for a chef looking for more than their next kitchen position. We are seeking someone who can take the reins of an established and highly regarded restaurant while bringing their own culinary perspective, creativity, and leadership to its next chapter. For the right individual, this role has the potential to evolve into a co-ownership position, with additional opportunities to be involved in future hospitality projects as our company continues to grow. In just two years, Black Walnut has established itself as one of the region’s most highly regarded dining destinations, earning consistently strong recognition from guests for its food, service, and distinctive atmosphere. Many of our guests consider Black Walnut among the best dining experiences in the region. At the same time, we are still a young restaurant with tremendous opportunity ahead of us. We see the next several years as an important period of culinary and business growth, giving our next Executive Chef the rare opportunity to join an established and respected restaurant while still having a meaningful voice in shaping its future. The Opportunity We are looking for a chef who understands and respects what Black Walnut has become but is also excited by the opportunity to make the culinary program their own. The next Executive Chef will have significant creative freedom to develop menus, evolve dishes, build relationships with farmers and purveyors, and bring their individual point of view to the restaurant while remaining grounded in Black Walnut’s commitment to seasonality, sustainability, quality, and thoughtful hospitality. We are not looking for someone simply to maintain an existing menu. We are looking for a creative partner and culinary leader who can take ownership of the kitchen, inspire a team, and help lead Black Walnut into its next chapter. Who We’re Looking For The ideal candidate is an experienced culinary leader with a strong point of view and a genuine passion for seasonal, ingredient-driven cooking. They should be equally comfortable creating a beautiful plate, managing food and labor costs, developing a young cook, working directly with a farmer, and leading a busy service. Just as important as culinary talent is how you lead and connect with people. We are looking for someone who is warm, grounded, collaborative, and generous in their leadership—someone who can motivate and mentor a team, communicate with respect, and create a kitchen culture where people are excited to learn and do their best work. Black Walnut is an intimate and highly personal restaurant, and we value a chef who enjoys being part of the guest experience. The ideal candidate should be comfortable stepping into the dining room, speaking with guests, sharing the story behind a dish or ingredient, and developing genuine relationships with our regulars and community. We value creativity, curiosity, humility, leadership, consistency, and an entrepreneurial spirit. Experience in fine dining or a highly regarded independent restaurant is strongly preferred, as is experience managing a kitchen and developing seasonal menus. Most importantly, we are looking for someone who wants to become deeply invested in the restaurant, the team, and the community—someone who sees hospitality as extending beyond the plate and is excited to grow alongside Black Walnut for years to come. Growth & Partnership For the right candidate, this position offers significant long-term potential. Black Walnut is part of the larger vision of The Farmhouse Project, exploring additional hospitality concepts and projects within the region. As the company grows, there will be opportunities for the Executive Chef to play a meaningful role in the development of future projects. For an exceptional candidate who shares our vision, values, work ethic, and commitment to Black Walnut, the Executive Chef position may also provide a path toward becoming a co-owner and long-term partner in the business. We see this as an opportunity to find someone who wants to help us build—not only the next chapter of Black Walnut, but what comes after it. Compensation this position is: salaried, varies DOE, $65,000.00 - $78,000.00 #J-18808-Ljbffr Empregara