CHEF | Catering - Charlie's Cafe - Pendergast School, Phoenix, AZ

Chartwells School Dining Services K12; Phoenix (AZ); On-site; USD 50,000 - 52,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical

Dental

Vision

Life Insurance/ AD

Disability Insurance

Retirement Plan

Paid Time Off

Holiday Time Off

Associate Shopping Program

Health and Wellness Programs

Discount Marketplace

Identity Theft Protection

Pet Insurance

Commuter Benefits

Employee Assistance Program

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)

Paid Parental Leave

Personal Leave

Job summary

Chartwells K12 is seeking a dynamic Catering Chef to lead a thriving café and strong catering program at a Phoenix area school. This role blends daily café service with elevated catering, from board dinners to golf events, offering a creative kitchen leadership opportunity and work-life balance.

You will oversee culinary operations for the café and catering program, maintain food safety and inventory, manage a small team of café associates, and drive exceptional guest experiences and client

Qualifications

• 2+ years of culinary management experience.
• Hands-on chef experience is required.
• Extensive catering experience is required.
• High volume batch cooking and complex food service operations experience is preferred.
• Comprehensive knowledge of food and catering trends with focus on quality, production, sanitation, food cost controls, and presentation.
• ServSafe Certification is preferred.
• Computer skills and knowledge of MS Office products including Excel.

Responsibilities

• Provides frontline culinary resources and support.
• Assists with food cost control, menu planning, purchasing, and ensures food quality guidelines are followed.
• Assists with planning and creating menus.
• Produces and executes catering events.
• Rolls out new culinary programs in conjunction with marketing and culinary team.
• Assists with managing cost controls and control expenditures for the account.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Skills

Culinary management

Hands-on chef

Catering experience

High volume cooking

Food safety

Menu planning

Cost controls

MS Office

Excel

Tools

MS Office

Excel

Job description

Chartwells K12

Salary: $50,000 - $52,000

Other Forms of Compensation: Medical, dental & vision insurance, PTO, 401K

Chartwells K12's goal is to make sure students leave the cafeteria happier and healthier than they came in, by serving food kids love to eat and creating custom dining programs. With more than 16,000 associates in 4,500 schools, ranging from large public institutions to small charter and private schools, Chartwells K12 is built on decades of food, education and operational experience driven by top culinary, nutrition, wellness, and sustainability talent. For more information, visit www.ChartwellsK12.com.

Job Summary: Charlie's Café at Pendergast Elementary School District in Phoenix, AZ

Chartwells K12 is seeking a dynamic Catering Chef to lead a thriving café and strong catering program. This is an exciting opportunity for a culinary professional who enjoys creating exceptional food experiences, from daily café service to elevated board dinners, golf brunches, and special events. With large annual catering volume, a consistent summer catering business, and primarily daytime hours, this role offers the perfect blend of creativity, leadership, and work-life balance.

The Catering Chef oversees all culinary operations for the café and catering program, ensuring outstanding food quality, presentation, customer service, and financial performance. In addition to planning and executing catering events, you'll lead and support a small team of café associates, helping to create an exceptional experience for daily café guests while maintaining food safety, inventory, and operational standards. If you're a hands-on chef who thrives on hospitality, innovation, customer service satisfaction and building client relationships through great food, we'd love to hear from you.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Provides frontline culinary resources and support.
• Assists with food cost control, menu planning, purchasing, and ensures food quality guidelines are followed.
• Assists with planning and creating menus.
• Produces and executes catering events.
• Rolls out new culinary programs in conjunction with marketing and culinary team.
• Assists with managing cost controls and control expenditures for the account.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of culinary management experience.
• Experience in restaurants, hotels, corporate dining, education, military, health care, and/or related food service operations.
• Hands-on chef experience is required.
• Extensive catering experience is required.
• High volume batch cooking and complex food service operations experience is preferred.
• Comprehensive knowledge of food and catering trends with a focus on quality, production, sanitation, food cost controls, and presentation.
• ServSafe Certification is preferred.
• Computer skills and knowledge of MS Office products including Excel.

Chartwells Schools is a member of Compass Group USA

Equal Opportunity

Compass Group is an equal opportunity employer. At Compass, we are committed to treating all Applicants and Associates fairly based on their abilities, achievements, and experience without regard to race, national origin, sex, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other classification protected by law.

Additional Information

Qualified candidates must be able to perform the essential functions of this position satisfactorily with or without a reasonable accommodation. Disclaimer: this job post is not necessarily an exhaustive list of all essential responsibilities, skills, tasks, or requirements associated with this position. While this is intended to be an accurate reflection of the position posted, the Company reserves the right to modify or change the essential functions of the job based on business necessity. We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with a criminal history (including relevant driving history), in a manner consistent with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles' Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, and the New York Fair Chance Act.

Chartwells K-12 maintains a drug-free workplace.

Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis.

Benefits

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Life Insurance/ AD
• Disability Insurance
• Retirement Plan
• Paid Time Off
• Holiday Time Off (varies by site/state)
• Associate Shopping Program
• Health and Wellness Programs
• Discount Marketplace
• Identity Theft Protection
• Pet Insurance
• Commuter Benefits
• Employee Assistance Program
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)
• Paid Parental Leave
• Personal Leave

Associates may also be eligible for paid and/or unpaid time off benefits in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. For positions in Washington State, Maryland, or to be performed Remotely, click here or copy/paste the link below for paid time off benefits information.

https://www.compass-usa.com/wpcontent/uploads/2023/08/2023_WageTransparency_ChartwellsK12.pdf

Background Screening

Certain positions may require Florida Level 2 background screening. Details: https://info.flclearinghouse.com/