Executive Chef

Sea Watch on the Ocean; Fort Lauderdale (FL); On-site; USD 125,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Sea Watch on the Ocean, Fort Lauderdale, seeks an Executive Chef to lead the back-of-house culinary operations. You will oversee the Sous Chef team, drive quality, and ensure financial performance while maintaining the restaurant’s signature seafood-leaning menu and guest favorites.

This role requires strong leadership, menu development and cost-control skills, with hands-on involvement in service during peak periods and major events to sustain excellence.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of progressive culinary-management experience in a high-volume, upscale or fine-dining restaurant.
• Experience as an Executive Chef or senior culinary leader with P&L responsibility.
• Proven ability to recruit, train, coach, evaluate and develop culinary leaders and employees.
• Strong high-volume à-la-carte and private-event execution experience; holiday staffing experience is a plus.
• Culinary degree or formal culinary training; equivalent professional experience will also be considered.

Responsibilities

• Lead daily BOH operations, including production, service, expo/pass, quality control and consistency.
• Maintain a visible, hands-on presence in the kitchen during service and high-volume periods.
• Direct, coach, schedule and develop the Sous Chef team and culinary staff; set standards and succession plans.
• Partner with the General Manager and HR on hiring, promotion, performance evaluation and disciplinary actions.
• Maintain a professional kitchen culture and address employee concerns with leadership.
• Plan BOH staffing based on volume, reservations, events and business needs; control overtime and productivity.
• Own culinary financial performance: food cost, labor, waste, inventory and purchasing; review with GM.
• Forecast production for private events and major holidays; adjust inventory and orders accordingly.
• Keep standardized recipes, plating specs, allergen info, prep procedures and portion controls.
• Use historical sales data and events to forecast production and minimize waste.

Skills

Culinary leadership

Budgeting & forecasting

Staff development

Food cost management

High-volume service

Menu development & costing

Education

Culinary degree or equivalent

Tools

Toast POS

Job description

About Sea Watch

Established in 1974, Sea Watch on the Ocean is a longstanding Fort Lauderdale oceanfront restaurant serving generations of guests. Our culinary identity is rooted in upscale coastal American cuisine with a strong seafood focus, classic preparations, signature dishes and longtime guest favorites.

Position Summary

The Executive Chef is the senior culinary leader and department head for all back-of-house culinary operations. Reporting directly to the General Manager, this role is accountable for culinary quality, people leadership, financial performance, food safety, systems, staffing, purchasing, inventory, private-event execution and the overall condition of the kitchen. The Executive Chef directly leads the Sous Chef team and is responsible for the performance and development of the culinary department. The successful candidate will balance creativity and innovation with thoughtful stewardship of Sea Watch's established menu, signature dishes and longtime guest favorites. Responsibilities may be delegated, but accountability for the culinary department remains with the Executive Chef.

Essential Functions & Responsibilities

• Lead daily culinary and BOH operations, including production, service, expo/pass execution, qualty control, consistency and timely execution.
• Maintain a visible, hands-on presence in the kitchen and actively lead service, expo/pass, quality and execution, stepping in where needed during high-volume or operationally critical periods; this expectation is leadership-focused and does not mean routinely functioning as scheduled line coverage.
• Direct, coach, schedule and develop the Sous Chef team and culinary staff; establish clear standards, cross-training, accountability and succession planning.
• Exercise meaningful input into hiring, promotion, performance evaluation, discipline and separation decisions for culinary employees, in partnership with the General Manager and Human Resources.
• Maintain a professional, respectful and accountable kitchen culture; address employee concerns appropriately and partner with the General Manager and Human Resources on employee relations, performance management and corrective action.
• Plan BOH staffing based on projected volume, reservations, events and business needs while controlling overtime, productivity and coverage.
• Own culinary financial performance, including food cost, BOH labor, waste, yields, purchasing, inventory variance and other controllable expenses; review results and corrective action with the General Manager.
• Participate in annual budgeting and ongoing forecasting for culinary labor, food cost, equipment and other BOH operating needs.
• Oversee purchasing, receiving, inventory, storage, product specifications, vendor performance, pricing, credit and accurate system records.
• Maintain standardized recipes, plating specifications, allergen information, prep procedures, pars, yields, portion standards and recipe costing.
• Use reservations, historical sales and event counts to forecast production and reduce shortages, overproduction and waste.
• Evaluate menu performance using food cost, contribution, popularity operational complexity, waste and guest feedback; recommend thoughtful menu improvements.
• Bring creativity and fresh ideas to menu development while honoring Sea Watch’s culinary identity, longstanding menu tradition and guest favorites.

Operational Controls, Safety & Compliance

• Maintain all BOH areas in inspection-ready condition and enforce food safety, sanitation, labeling, temperature control, storage, rotation, allergen-management and cleanliness standards.
• Actively maintain a strong BOH safety culture by identifying and correcting hazards, enforcing safe equipment and work practices, and promptly reporting employee injuries, incidents, near misses and safety concerns in accordance with company procedures.
• Maintain orderly walk-ins, freezers, dry storage, prep areas, culinary workspaces, smallwares and secure product storage.
• Review waste, spoilage, returns, refires and food-related guest feedback; identify trends and implement corrective action.
• Review BEs and event requirements in advance and develop production, staffing, ordering, equipment and execution plans for private events and major holidays.
• Identify equipment issues early, support preventive maintenance practices and recommend repair, replacement or capital priorities before failures disrupt operations.
• Ensure accurate culinary scheduling, timekeeping, inventory, receiving, invoicing, waste and other required operational records.
• Follow and enforce applicable laws, food-safety requirements, workplace-safety procedures, company policies, SOPs and lawful management directives.
• Safeguard confidential and proprietary information, including employee information, payroll information, recipes, vendor pricing, financial data and company records.
• Maintain ethical vendor relationships, disclose potential conflicts of interest and comply with company policies regarding gifts, purchasing and vendor selection.
• Operate within approved budgets and delegated authority; obtain appropriate approval before committing the company to material expenditures, contracts, vendor changes or capital purchases.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of progressive culinary-management experience in a high-volume, multi-illion-dollar, full-service upscale or fine-dining restaurant.
• Prior experience as an Executive Chef, Chef de Cuisine, Executive Sous Chef or comparable senior culinary leader with responsibility for financial performance and a substantial BOH team.
• Demonstrated responsibility for food cost, BOH labor, budgeting, forecasting, purchasing, inventory and departmental financial performance.
• Proven ability to recruit, train, coach, evaluate and develop culinary leaders and employees.
• Strong high-volume a-la-carte experience; private-event and major-holiday execution experience strongly preferred.
• Strong culinary fundamentals with menu development, recipe standardization, costing and operational execution experience.
• ExtraCHEF experience or substantial experience with a comparable purchasing, inventory and recipe-costing platform required.
• Experience using restaurant POS systems and operational reporting; Toast experience preferred.
• Proficiency with scheduling payroll/timekeeping, spreadsheets, email and restaurant-management systems.
• Current food manager certification or ability to obtain required certification promptly.

Preferred Qualifications

• Significant seafood-focused culinary experience.
• Experience leading an established and long-tenured culinary team.
• Culinary degree or formal culinary training; equivalent professional experience will also be considered.
• Multilingual ability, particularly Haitian Creole and/or Spanish, is considered a plus.

Schedule, Attendance & Physical Requirements

• Regular and reliable attendance and on-site presence are essential functions of this position.
• Flexible availability is required based on business and operational needs, including early mornings, days, evenings, weekends, holidays, private events and other high-volume periods.
• Ability to stand and walk for extended periods, work in hot/cold commercial-kitchen environments, use stairs as necessary, and perform the physical functions customary to active kitchen leadership, with or without reasonable accommodation.
• Ability to lift and carry up to 40 pounds and occasionally move heavy items with assistance, with or without reasonable accommodation.

Compensation & Benefits

• $125,000-$140,000 base salary, commensurate with experience and internal equity.
• Eligible for performance-based bonus incentives in accordance with applicable company program terms.
• Eligible employees may participate in company benefit plans, including PTO, medical and dental plan options, and MassMutual plan options, subject to applicable eligibility requirements and plan terms.
• Annual performance review with opportunity for merit increase; increases are not guaranteed and are based on performance and company practices.

Performance Expectation

The Executive Chef is expected to meet company-established financial and operational targets/KPIs. Performance will be evaluated using established standards and measures that may include culinary quality and consistency, food cost, BOH labor and productivity, inventory accuracy, sanitation and regulatory compliance, team development and retention, private-event and holiday execution, guest feedback, menu performance, documentation, operational readiness and partnership with restaurant leadership. Where applicable, established KPIs may also be used as part of annual performance reviews and performance-based bonus determinations in accordance with company program terms.

Conditions of Employment & Job Description Disclaimer

Employment may be contingent upon satisfactory completion of applicable reference and/or background checks conducted in accordance with company policy and applicable law.

The Executive Chef is expected to comply with all applicable CALM Companies and Sea Watch policies, procedures and standards, as amended from time to time.

This job description identifies the general nature and essential functions of the position and is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every duty or responsibility. Duties may be modified, added or reassigned based on business and operational needs.

Nothing in this job description creates a contract of employment or alters the terms and conditions of employment.

The Executive Chef may be assigned other duties reasonably related to the position and restaurant operation.

Equal Opportunity

Sea Watch