Chef de Cuisine

Denū Hotel & Spa; Phoenix (AZ); On-site; USD 95,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

Denū Hotel & Spa seeks a Chef de Cuisine for Sartén, its signature restaurant, to lead day-to-day culinary operations and ensure exceptional dining experiences across all meal periods.

You will drive menu development, coach a high-performing kitchen team, control food costs, and maintain top-tier sanitation and consistency in collaboration with hotel leadership.

Qualifications

• 3–5+ years of progressive culinary leadership experience in upscale or luxury hotels/restaurants.
• Experience as Chef de Cuisine or comparable leadership role preferred.
• Knowledge of kitchen operations across breakfast, lunch, brunch, and dinner.
• Ability to lead, coach, and develop culinary teams in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong knowledge of food safety, inventory, food cost, labor management, and kitchen organization.
• Experience with recipe development, menu costing, production planning, and plating standards.
• Excellent communication, organizational, and decision-making skills.
• Ability to collaborate with culinary, F&B, banquet, purchasing, and hotel leadership.
• Culinary degree or equivalent experience; certification a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead daily culinary operations across all meal periods, with strong on-line leadership during peak service.
• Ensure all dishes are prepared, plated, and presented to recipe standards and portion controls.
• Perform daily line checks; keep stations stocked and service-ready.
• Collaborate with Executive Chef on seasonal menus, specials, and menu rollouts.
• Support brunches, chef dinners, private dining, and special events.
• Hire, train, and develop cooks and kitchen staff; set clear expectations.
• Lead pre-shift meetings and communicate menus, VIPs, dietary needs, reservations, and priorities.
• Partner with front-of-house to maintain service timing and guest satisfaction.
• Manage food cost, labor, and inventory; optimize waste and purchasing.
• Maintain sanitation and safety standards per policy and health regulations.
• Respond to guest feedback and dietary restrictions while protecting the guest experience.
• Complete schedules, production sheets, and temperature logs accurately.
• Foster an inclusive, high-performing kitchen culture aligned with Denū and Pacific Hospitality Group standards.

Skills

Culinary leadership

Menu development

Food safety & sanitation

Team coaching & development

Cost control & purchasing

Education

Culinary degree or formal training

Food safety certification

Job description

The Chef de Cuisine of Sartén is responsible for the day-to-day culinary leadership, execution, and financial performance of Denū Hotel & Spa's signature restaurant. This position provides hands‑on leadership to the Sartén culinary team while ensuring consistent execution of the restaurant's menus, recipes, presentation standards, sanitation requirements, and luxury hospitality expectations.

The Chef de Cuisine works closely with the Executive Chef, Food & Beverage leadership, and front‑of‑house management to create a seamless dining experience across breakfast, lunch, brunch, dinner, private dining, and special programming. This leader is expected to maintain a highly visible presence in the kitchen, develop a strong culinary team, protect food quality and consistency, manage costs responsibly, and foster a culture of professionalism, accountability, creativity, and hospitality.

WHAT YOU WILL ACCOMPLISH

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the daily culinary operation of Sartén across all meal periods, maintaining a strong presence on the line during peak service.
• Ensure all food is prepared, cooked, plated, and presented according to established recipes, specifications, portion standards, and presentation expectations.
• Conduct daily line checks and ensure all stations are fully prepared, organized, stocked, and service‑ready before each meal period.
• Partner with the Executive Chef on seasonal menu development, specials, recipe testing, menu rollouts, and culinary programming.
• Support the execution of brunches, holidays, chef dinners, private dining, restaurant buyouts, and other special events and activations.
• Lead, train, coach, and develop cooks, stewards, and other Sartén culinary colleagues; establish clear expectations for preparation, execution, cleanliness, and professionalism.
• Conduct pre‑shift meetings and communicate menu changes, VIPs, dietary restrictions, special requests, reservations, and operational priorities.
• Collaborate closely with front‑of‑house leadership to maintain service timing, communication, food quality, and guest recovery standards.
• Assist in achieving budgeted food cost and labor goals through disciplined purchasing, production planning, portion control, scheduling, waste reduction, and inventory management.
• Monitor product usage, par levels, quality, receiving, storage, labeling, rotation, and utilization; maintain FIFO standards throughout the kitchen.
• Maintain the highest standards of sanitation, food safety, organization, and equipment care in accordance with company policies and applicable health requirements.
• Respond professionally to guest feedback, allergies, dietary restrictions, and service recovery needs while protecting the integrity of the guest experience.
• Complete schedules, production sheets, temperature logs, waste documentation, inventory counts, and other required administrative responsibilities accurately and on time.
• Identify operational opportunities and communicate challenges early, partnering with culinary and F&B leadership on practical solutions.
• Support an inclusive, respectful, accountable, and high‑performing kitchen culture consistent with Denū and Pacific Hospitality Group standards.

Guest Experience & Hospitality

• Support a luxury dining experience consistent with Denū's hospitality philosophy and Forbes‑level service expectations.
• Maintain urgency, composure, and attention to detail throughout service without compromising food quality or presentation.
• Engage with guests when appropriate, especially for VIPs, special occasions, dietary accommodation, and service recovery.

WHAT YOU WILL BRING

Qualifications

• Minimum 3‑5 years of progressive culinary leadership experience, preferably in an upscale, luxury, lifestyle, resort, or high‑volume restaurant environment.
• Previous experience as a Chef de Cuisine, Sous Chef, Executive Sous Chef, or comparable culinary leadership position strongly preferred.
• Strong knowledge of restaurant kitchen operations across multiple meal periods, including breakfast, lunch, brunch, and dinner.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, coach, train, and develop culinary teams in a fast‑paced environment.
• Strong knowledge of food safety, sanitation, inventory management, food cost, labor management, purchasing, and kitchen organization.
• Experience with recipe development, menu costing, production planning, and maintaining recipe and plating standards.
• Strong communication, organizational, problem‑solving, and decision‑making skills.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with culinary, restaurant, beverage, banquet, purchasing, and hotel leadership teams.
• Culinary degree or formal culinary training preferred, with equivalent professional experience considered.
• Current food safety certification or ability to obtain required certification.

Physical & Scheduling Requirements

• Ability to stand and work in a professional kitchen environment for extended periods and perform the physical duties common to a commercial kitchen.
• Ability to lift, carry, push, or pull items commonly required within a professional culinary operation.Ability to work around heat, steam, refrigeration, sharp equipment, and other conditions typical of a commercial kitchen.
• Must be available to work a flexible schedule based on business needs, including early mornings, evenings, weekends, holidays, and special events.

Success in This Role

Success will be demonstrated through consistent food quality and presentation, strong guest satisfaction, effective culinary team development and retention, disciplined food and labor cost management, excellent sanitation standards, smooth collaboration between culinary and front‑of‑house teams, and the successful execution of Sartén's daily service and special programming.

We provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

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We provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.