Executive Chef

The Sunny; Florida; On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

The Sunny is seeking an Executive Chef to lead culinary direction for the hotel’s restaurants, cafés, pool/beach dining, in-room dining, and banquets. You will own menu development, standards, planning, financial results, and the growth of kitchen leaders.

With 10+ years in cuisine and at least five years as an Executive Chef, you will drive high-quality dining across formats, manage budgets, coach chefs, and ensure food safety and excellence in a vibrant seaside setting.

Qualifications

• Ten or more years in professional culinary roles with senior leadership experience.
• Experience leading multi-outlet hotel or resort food & beverage operations.
• Track record of managing budgets, staffing, and culinary costs.
• Proven ability to mentor chefs and standardize quality across formats.
• Strong planning, communication, and problem-solving skills.
• Current food manager certification or ability to obtain.

Responsibilities

• Establish culinary direction across the portfolio while preserving each outlet’s concept.
• Develop and approve menus, recipes, portions, and presentation standards.
• Ensure dishes are tested, costed, and trained prior to launch.
• Set allergy and dietary communication protocols between kitchen and service teams.
• Review quality, service, and guest feedback; drive improvements.
• Maintain a visible kitchen presence and support production and service.
• Develop budgets, staffing plans, and operating priorities with hotel leadership.
• Own culinary performance against food cost, labor, and waste objectives.
• Oversee hiring standards and development of Chef de Cuisine and leaders.
• Ensure food safety, sanitation, and equipment standards across kitchens.

Skills

Executive Chef leadership

High-volume operations

Budgeting & cost control

Staff development

Menu development

Communication skills

Food safety certification

Bilingual EN/ES

Job description

Executive Chef

The Sunny

Sunny Isles Beach, Florida

Full-Time

Department: Food & Beverage

Reports to: General Manager

About The Sunny

The Sunny is a newly transformed, 340-room oceanfront hotel in Sunny Isles Beach. Formerly the historic Newport Beachside Hotel, this family-owned property is entering a new chapter, bringing thoughtful design, lively social spaces, and an ambitious food and beverage program to a beachfront setting with decades of history.

At the heart of that next chapter is the soon-to-open Julene, a modern American neighborhood restaurant created to become a gathering place for hotel guests and the local community. Alongside the hotel’s cafés, pool and beach dining, in-room dining, and private events, Julene offers an opportunity to help establish The Sunny as a dining destination as well as a beachside retreat.

Family-owned for three generations, The Sunny pairs a longstanding hospitality legacy with the energy of a new opening. We’re looking for culinary leaders who want to help shape this next chapter—building strong teams, delivering food people return for, and establishing a reputation that lasts.

About the Role

The Executive Chef leads culinary direction and performance across The Sunny’s entire food and beverage portfolio, including restaurants, cafés, pool and beach dining, in-room dining, and banquets and catering.

This position owns menu development, culinary standards, departmental planning, financial results, and the development of kitchen leaders. Working with the General Manager and hotel leadership, the Executive Chef establishes the priorities, resources, and operating expectations that guide the culinary department. The Chef de Cuisine manages daily operations against those expectations.

The Executive Chef remains actively involved in the kitchens, combining culinary expertise with the business judgment and leadership needed to build a successful multi-outlet operation.

What you’ll be doing:

• Establish culinary direction across the portfolio while preserving each outlet’s distinct concept, audience, and service format.
• Develop and approve menus, recipes, ingredient specifications, portions, preparation methods, and presentation standards.
• Ensure dishes are tested, costed, documented, and supported by training before introduction.
• Establish procedures for accommodating allergies and dietary needs, including accurate communication between kitchen and service teams.
• Review food quality, service execution, and guest feedback across outlets; direct improvements with the Chef de Cuisine.
• Maintain a visible presence in the kitchens, supporting production, expediting, and service when needed.
• Develop culinary budgets, staffing plans, and operating priorities with the General Manager and hotel leadership.
• Own overall culinary performance against approved food cost, labor, productivity, inventory, and waste objectives.
• Review financial and operational results with the Chef de Cuisine, identify underlying issues, and establish corrective plans.
• Approve culinary purchasing specifications and vendor arrangements within hotel procurement procedures.
• Establish controls for ordering, receiving, inventory, storage, product rotation, and waste.
• Plan culinary capacity around occupancy, outlet demand, group business, and events, ensuring simultaneous services can be delivered successfully.
• Establish food safety, sanitation, cleaning, and equipment care standards; verify compliance across kitchens.
• Coordinate equipment repair and replacement priorities with Engineering and hotel leadership.
• Establish the culinary organization, leadership responsibilities, and staffing requirements.
• Select, develop, and evaluate the Chef de Cuisine and other culinary leaders; oversee hiring standards throughout the department.
• Ensure performance management, corrective action, and employment practices follow hotel policies in coordination with Human Resources.
• Build a respectful kitchen culture with clear expectations for accountability, communication, and professional conduct.
• Own culinary readiness for new outlets and services, including menu approval, staffing, training, equipment, and operational preparation.
• Partner with outlet management, Sales, and Events on banquet planning, private dining, and guest experience.
• Collaborate with Brand and Marketing on culinary storytelling, tastings, promotions, and events.
• Perform other duties consistent with the position as assigned.

What we are looking for:

Required

• At least 10 years of professional culinary experience, including five years as an Executive Chef or equivalent senior culinary leader, with demonstrated success managing high-volume, multi-outlet operations.
• Demonstrated success leading high-volume, multi-outlet hotel or hospitality culinary operations.
• Proven responsibility for departmental budgets, staffing strategy, food and labor costs, purchasing, and financial results.
• Experience developing chefs who independently manage kitchens and daily operations.
• Excellent culinary skills, menu development experience, and the ability to establish consistent standards across service formats.
• Strong planning, communication, and problem-solving skills.
• Current food manager certification, or ability to obtain the certification required for the position before starting.
• Ability to work evenings, weekends, and holidays according to business needs.

Preferred

• Experience opening or repositioning a hotel or restaurant.
• Experience with upscale American cuisine, restaurant dining, and banquet operations.
• Culinary education or equivalent professional training.
• Ability to communicate in both English and Spanish.