Customer Dedicated Executive Chef

Gate Gourmet; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 145,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

401k with company match

Company sponsored life insurance

Medical, dental, vision plans

Disability insurance

Life, accident and hospital plans

Employee Assistance Program

Commuter benefits

Employee Discounts

Job summary

Gate Gourmet is seeking a senior culinary leader to oversee menu development and production services for a strategic airline customer, ensuring signature culinary standards across global operations.

Responsibilities include guiding kitchen operations, developing food philosophies, and coordinating with regional chefs to meet customer expectations while maintaining quality and cost efficiency. Travel to designated units and lead tender presentations as required.

Qualifications

• Apprenticeship or equivalent in Culinary Arts
• Catering diploma or City & Guilds qualification
• Bachelor's degree in Business or Hospitality

Responsibilities

• Ensures Gate Gourmet can deliver world class menu development and production services to a strategic customer that reflects the Airlines signature culinary style
• Be the gategroup expert with respect to the customer experience the airline creates and consistently deliver to its passengers through in-flight meals
• Secures the confidence of the customer and strengthen the levels of consistent quality service.
• Assists the customer with the development of food philosophies and standards and ensure gategroup has the capability to deliver consistently against the customers culinary standards
• Builds relationships with Regional Executive Chefs and Airline Unit Chefs to ensure clear communication of expectations and deliverables
• Partners with the Customer Lead Executive Chefs and Regional Executive Chefs to ensure seamless integration of menu requirements into production and ensure menus are consistently executable in-flight
• Be a trusted point of contact for the customer regarding Menus, Food and Kitchen service requirements.
• Works closely with gategroup's Total Cost Management (TCM) organization. Assure new specifications, recipes and photos are properly documented and delivered for pricing analysis

Education

Culinary Arts Apprenticeship / AOS

Bachelor's Degree in Business and/or Hospitality

Catering diploma or City & Guilds

Job description

We're looking for motivated, engaged people to help make everyone's journeys better. Dedicated to strategic airline partner for development of new menus and culinary concepts globally across a range of cuisines (Asian, Modern European and Ethnic etc.) for the client in line with their brand values and corporate identity with the use of approved suppliers taking into account budget, dietary and operational needs. Joint responsibility for kitchen operations globally related to the dedicated customer with influence in training in multiple units to deliver the customers' expectations whilst ensuring quality and culinary standards are consistently upheld by actively supporting operational execution on a regular basis.

Annual Hiring Range/Hourly Rate:

• $145,000 - $150,000/Per Year
• This position is eligible for incentive pay of 20% of the annual base salary, dependent upon successful attainment of company, team, and individual goals.

Benefits

• Paid time off
• 401k, with company match
• Company sponsored life insurance
• Medical, dental, vision plans
• Voluntary short-term/long-term disability insurance
• Voluntary life, accident, and hospital plans
• Employee Assistance Program
• Commuter benefits
• Employee Discounts

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

• Ensures Gate Gourmet can deliver world class menu development and production services to a strategic customer that reflects the Airlines signature culinary style
• Be the gategroup expert with respect to the customer experience the airline creates and consistently deliver to its passengers through in-flight meals
• Secures the confidence of the customer and strengthen the levels of consistent quality service.
• Assists the customer with the development of food philosophies and standards and ensure gategroup has the capability to deliver consistently against the customers culinary standards
• Builds relationships with Regional Executive Chefs and Airline Unit Chefs to ensure clear communication of expectations and deliverables. Articulate the customer needs with respect to raw materials, identify and secure suppliers to meet the requirements, potentially outside gategroup's supplier list
• Partners with the Customer Lead Executive Chefs and Regional Executive Chefs to ensure seamless integration of menu requirements into production and ensure menus are consistently executable in-flight via gate gourmet or supplier partner production environment
• Be a trusted point of contact for the customer regarding Menus, Food and Kitchen service requirements.
• Works closely with gategroup's Total Cost Management (TCM) organization. Assure new specifications, recipes and photos are properly documented and delivered for pricing analysis
• Monitors customer feedback and ensure appropriate corrective actions are taken in a timely manner.
• Measures success based on KPI's that are mutually agreed by gategroup and the customer including but not limited to margin, customer satisfaction, quality and recipe management
• Travels to designated units and fly specified routes to learn, inspect, audit, train and make recommendations for improvements
• Prepares all culinary aspects of the presentation to the customer during a tender including but not limited to the food presentation, messaging, ingredients and physical appearance of the local kitchen
• Actively participates as a member of the account management team that includes and Executive Management Board sponsor, VP Group Culinary Excellence and Global Account Director making contributions that result in winning, retaining and/or building the business
• Actively participates as a member of the Gate Gourmet global dedicated S.P.I.C.E (Sustaining Progress in Culinary Excellence) program
• Creates a joint responsibility for the customer satisfaction between the local kitchens and the dedicated chef team
• Maintains the standard of skill and service levels of multiple customer dedicated production chefs and support these dotted line reports in the operations at key locations to balance the need to meet the dedicated customers' requirements
• Develops and refreshes all menus globally in line with the Airlines culinary style to create an appealing customer experience
• Prepares menu and food reports by collecting, analyzing and summarizing food, dining and customer trend data
• Represents the customer and Gate Gourmet at media events, special affairs, inaugural events, food fairs, exhibitions and seminars as requested
• Acts as an Ambassador for gategroup

Qualifications

Education:

• Apprenticeship, AOS or compatible degree in Culinary Arts and/or Bachelor's Degree in Business and/or Hospitality
• Catering diploma or City and Guilds, or other appropriate qualification

Work Experience:

• 3-5 years of experience within in-flight catering preferred
• 4 years of Menu Development and operational experience
• Global style, proficiency in fusion cooking
• Previous menu development responsibility in a fine dining environment
• A sound knowledge and experience of Asian cuisines and modern European cuisines

Working