Chef de Cuisine

Whale Harbor Restaurant Group is seeking an experienced, passionate, and highly disciplined Chef de Cuisine to join our culinary leadership team in Islamorada, Florida.

We are looking for a hands-on culinary professional.  This position is for a leader who takes pride in exceptional food, develops people, controls costs, maintains an immaculate kitchen, and understands that consistency is what turns a great dish into a successful restaurant.

Our restaurant group includes high-volume waterfront dining, an upscale steakhouse, BBQ and sports-bar operations, private events, and developing culinary concepts. This is an opportunity for a talented chef who wants to make an impact and grow with an expanding restaurant organization in the Florida Keys.

The ideal Chef de Cuisine is equally comfortable leading the line during a busy service, developing a new dish, training a cooks, reviewing food cost, inspecting the walk-in, and working with management to improve profitability.

• Lead day-to-day kitchen operations and set the standard for culinary excellence.
• Maintain exceptional food quality, consistency, flavor, presentation, and portion control .
• Lead from the line and remain highly visible during service.
• Train, coach, develop, and hold BOH employees accountable.
• Develop and execute recipes, specials, seasonal dishes, and menu items.
• Ensure every recipe has accurate ingredients, yields, portions, procedures, and plating specifications.
• Manage food cost, labor cost, purchasing, inventory, waste, and product utilization .
• Maintain proper pars and ordering levels without unnecessary overstock.
• Conduct and oversee accurate inventories.
• Work with management systems to monitor actual vs. theoretical food cost .
• Inspect deliveries for quality, weight, specifications, and proper pricing.
• Maintain strong relationships with seafood, meat, produce, and specialty-food purveyors.
• Properly utilize trim, by-products, and cross-utilization opportunities while maintaining quality standards.
• Create effective prep and production systems.
• Develop BOH schedules based on forecasted sales and business demand.
• Control overtime and unnecessary labor while maintaining appropriate staffing levels.
• Enforce FIFO, labeling, dating, storage, temperature, sanitation, and food-safety standards.
• Maintain an exceptionally clean and organized kitchen, walk-in, freezer, dry storage, and prep areas .
• Conduct effective pre-shift meetings and communicate specials, 86'd items, VIPs, events, and operational priorities.
• Work closely with FOH management to provide a seamless guest experience.
• Participate in tastings, menu development, special events, banquets, and restaurant promotions.
• Develop Sous Chefs, supervisors, and cooks into stronger culinary professionals.
• Establish a culture of urgency, accountability, respect, teamwork, and pride .

We are seeking candidates with:

• 5+ years of progressive professional kitchen experience .
• Previous experience as a Chef de Cuisine, Executive Sous Chef, Executive Chef, or comparable kitchen leadership position .
• High-volume restaurant experience strongly preferred.
• Strong knowledge of proteins, seafood, sauces, butchery, grilling, roasting, sauté, and proper cooking techniques.
• Experience with upscale dining and steakhouse operations is highly desirable.
• Strong understanding of food cost, recipe costing, inventory, purchasing, yields, waste, and kitchen labor management .
• Proven ability to recruit, train, motivate, and retain a strong culinary team.
• Excellent organization and communication skills.
• Current food-safety certification or ability to obtain required certification.
• Ability to work nights, weekends, holidays, and peak business periods.

This is an active, hands-on culinary leadership position. Candidates must be able to:

• Stand and walk for extended periods.
• Work in hot, humid, refrigerated, and fast-paced kitchen environments.
• Frequently bend, reach, stoop, push, pull, and perform repetitive movements.
• Safely lift and carry up to 50 pounds .
• Work around hot cooking equipment, knives, wet surfaces, refrigeration, and other commercial-kitchen equipment.
• Maintain the physical stamina necessary to lead and participate in high-volume services.

• Competitive compensation based on experience
• Opportunity for advancement within a growing restaurant group
• Creative involvement in menus and culinary development
• Professional leadership environment
• The opportunity to work with premium Florida seafood, steaks, fresh ingredients, and specialty products
• A unique opportunity to live and work in Islamorada in the Florida Keys

We want a chef who tastes the food, checks the walk-in, knows the numbers, develops the cooks, works the line when needed, respects the product, protects the company's profitability, and refuses to send out a plate that doesn't meet the restaurant's standards.

If you are a culinary professional who believes that great kitchens are built through leadership, discipline, consistency, cleanliness, and passion , we would like to hear from you.

To Apply:
Please submit your résumé along with a brief introduction describing your culinary background, leadership experience, and why you would be interested in joining Whale Harbor Restaurant Group in Islamorada, Florida.

Whale Harbor Restaurant Group
Islamorada • Florida Keys