Executive Chef

Position Overview

The Executive Chef serves as the senior culinary leader for International House Berkeley, overseeing culinary operations across Residential Dining, Catering & Events, and food production supporting Edmonds’ café. Reporting to the Head of Food & Beverage, this position is responsible for culinary excellence, operational efficiency, financial stewardship, food safety, and the development of innovative, culturally diverse dining experiences that reflect I-House's international community.

The Executive Chef directly supervises three Sous Chefs and one Banquet Sous Chef, providing strategic direction, establishing performance expectations, and ensuring consistent execution across culinary operations. Working collaboratively with Food & Beverage leadership and other departments, the Executive Chef fosters a high-performing culinary team while supporting the organization's commitment to hospitality, community, and financial sustainability.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Culinary Strategy, Menu Development & Quality

• Lead culinary strategy and menu development across Residential Dining, Catering, and café food production, ensuring quality, consistency, creativity, and cultural relevance.

• Develop innovative, nutritionally balanced menus that reflect the International I-House community and accommodate diverse dietary needs.

• Establish culinary standards for recipes, preparation, presentation, portion control, and food quality.

• Evaluate menus and culinary offerings based on resident feedback, customer preferences, food costs, seasonality, and operational efficiency.

• Collaborate with Dining, Café, and Catering leadership to enhance the overall dining experience through menu innovation and culturally significant culinary programming.

Financial & Operational Management

• Oversee all culinary operations, including production, purchasing, inventory, equipment, and kitchen organization across Dining, Catering, and café food production.

• Manage food costs, culinary labor, purchasing, inventory, and waste within established budgets and financial targets.

• Analyze operational and financial performance to identify opportunities for efficiency, cost savings, sustainability, and continuous improvement.

• Establish and maintain effective purchasing practices, vendor relationships, production systems, and operational procedures.

• Partner with the Head of Food & Beverage on budgeting, forecasting, equipment needs, and financial performance.

Team Leadership & Organizational Development

• Directly supervise, coach, and evaluate a team of at least three, establishing clear expectations and accountability for culinary performance.

• Oversee culinary staffing, scheduling, training, and workforce development to ensure efficient operations and consistent service delivery.

• Develop culinary leadership capabilities through mentoring, professional development, and succession planning.

• Address employee performance and workplace concerns in collaboration with the Head of Food & Beverage and Human Resources, in accordance with organizational policies and applicable collective bargaining agreements.

• Foster a respectful, inclusive, collaborative, and high-performing kitchen culture.

Food Safety, Compliance & Risk Management

• Ensure compliance with applicable food safety, sanitation, workplace safety, and regulatory requirements across all culinary operations.

• Establish and enforce standards for safe food handling, storage, preparation, allergen management, and sanitation.

• Oversee food safety training, kitchen inspections, compliance documentation, and timely corrective actions.

• Maintain operational readiness for health department and other regulatory inspections.

Catering, Events & Organizational Collaboration

• Provide culinary leadership for catering, banquets, conferences, special events, and institutional programs.

• Oversee the Banquet Chef to ensure effective event menu development, production planning, staffing, cost management, and culinary execution.

• Collaborate with Catering & Events, Dining, and Café leadership to align culinary production with service expectations and operational needs.
• Partner with the Head of Food & Beverage and other departments to support organizational initiatives and enhance resident and guest experiences.

Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Required

• Culinary degree or equivalent combination of professional education, training, and experience.

• Minimum of seven years of progressively responsible culinary experience, including leadership experience in high-volume food service operations.

• Demonstrated experience of supervising and developing culinary managers and staff.

• Strong knowledge of international cuisines, specialized dietary requirements, food safety, and sanitation standards.

• Proven experience managing food costs, labor, purchasing, inventory, and operational budgets.

• Current ServSafe Manager Certification or equivalent recognized food safety certification.

• Strong leadership, communication, organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills.

• Proficiency with culinary management, purchasing, inventory, and menu management systems.

Preferred

• Experience in university, residential, institutional, or comparable high-volume dining environments.

• Experience overseeing catering and banquet culinary operations.

• Experience working in a unionized environment.

• Demonstrated commitment to cultural awareness, inclusion, and hospitality.

Working Conditions

This is a full-time, exempt position requiring flexibility to work early mornings, evenings, weekends, holidays, and special events as operationally necessary. Work is primarily performed in a commercial kitchen and dining environment and requires extended periods of standing, walking, and occasional lifting consistent with culinary operations.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS