Chef / Kitchen Manager - Founding Culinary Leadership Team

Job Description

Job Description

Help Us Build Something Worth Repeating

Via Roma is a new elevated neighborhood Italian bistro, bakery, market and wine bar opening in North Tacoma.

But we're not simply opening another restaurant.

We're building Via Roma with purpose—from our recipes and production systems to our hospitality culture, training standards and guest experience—with the intention of creating an exceptional restaurant today and a foundation capable of growing tomorrow.

We're looking for an experienced Chef / Kitchen Manager who wants the rare opportunity to join us at the beginning and help establish the culinary foundation of Via Roma.

This is not a position for someone simply looking for a kitchen to run.

It's an opportunity for a culinary leader who loves the craft of food, understands the discipline of restaurant operations, knows how to develop people, and gets excited about building something that can become bigger than any one person.

The Via Roma Experience

Via Roma is inspired by the Italian tradition of gathering around the table.

Our kitchen will feature scratch cooking, house-made fresh pasta, artisan pizza, Italian classics, seafood, meats, seasonal dishes and bakery production. Our broader concept brings together a bistro, bakery, Italian market, espresso and wine under one roof.

Our philosophy is simple:

Crafted Daily. Shared Often. Remembered Always.

We believe extraordinary guest experiences are created through ordinary disciplines practiced exceptionally well.

The Opportunity

You'll join Via Roma before we open our doors and work directly with our founding leadership team to turn an established culinary vision into an exceptional operating kitchen.

Much of the foundation is already underway: menu development, recipes, equipment planning, ingredient standards, food-safety systems, vendor relationships and operating procedures.

We aren't looking for someone to throw that work away.

We are looking for an experienced culinary professional who can bring expertise to it, challenge us when appropriate, improve it, operationalize it and ultimately own its execution.

You'll have an opportunity to help establish how Via Roma cooks, trains, leads and operates from Day One—and help create culinary systems designed to grow with the organization.

What You'll Own

• Lead all day-to-day back-of-house operations and culinary execution.
• Recruit, train, coach and develop an exceptional BOH team.
• Establish prep, production and service systems for a scratch Italian kitchen.
• Maintain consistency in recipes, presentation, portions and quality.
• Manage food cost, purchasing, inventory, waste and vendor relationships.
• Manage BOH scheduling, productivity and labor performance.
• Maintain rigorous sanitation, food-safety and kitchen-organization standards.
• Help refine recipes and production methods for fresh pasta, pizza, sauces, proteins, seafood and other Via Roma offerings.
• Collaborate with bakery, bar and FOH leadership to create one cohesive guest experience.
• Build repeatable recipes, procedures, training tools and quality standards.
• Work closely with ownership and the founding leadership team on continuous improvement.
• Help develop a culinary operation capable of supporting future Via Roma growth.

Who We're Looking For

We're less interested in an impressive title than in what you've actually built and led.

You may currently be an Executive Chef, Chef de Cuisine, Kitchen Manager, Sous Chef ready for the next step, or an experienced culinary operator whose title doesn't tell the whole story.

The right person will bring significant professional kitchen experience; demonstrated leadership of people and production; strong understanding of food and labor cost; experience with inventory, purchasing and sanitation; excellent organizational skills; and the ability to remain calm and lead during demanding service.

Italian culinary experience is highly desirable. Experience with scratch kitchens, fresh pasta, pizza, bakery production or multi-unit restaurant operations would be especially valuable.

Most importantly, we're looking for someone who combines culinary skill with operational discipline, humility, curiosity and leadership.