Executive Chef, Assistant Director

Purdue University; West Lafayette (IN); On-site; USD 100,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Purdue University Dining & Culinary is seeking an Executive Chef and Assistant Director to provide strategic culinary leadership for one of the nation’s largest collegiate residential dining programs, serving millions of meals annually. You will lead the culinary vision and execution across residential dining locations, ensuring exceptional quality, affordability, innovation, and guest satisfaction.

The role requires a Bachelor's degree in Culinary Arts or related field, seven years of

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Culinary Arts or related field; equivalent experience may be considered.
• Seven years of progressive culinary leadership experience in high-volume food service.
• Experience managing multiple production kitchens and large teams.
• Knowledge of food safety regulations, menu engineering, cost controls, and inventory management.
• Strong leadership, communication, and organizational skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic culinary leadership for one of the nation’s largest collegiate residential dining programs.
• Lead culinary vision and execution across residential dining locations to ensure quality and guest satisfaction.
• Collaborate with dining operations leadership to drive culinary consistency, efficiency, and staff development.

Skills

Culinary leadership

Staff management

Communication

Operations management

Food safety

Education

Bachelor's in Culinary Arts or related field

Job description

Job Title: Executive Chef, Assistant Director

City: West Lafayette

Job Description:

Job Summary

Support the mission of Purdue Dining & Culinary by providing strategic culinary leadership for one of the nation’s largest collegiate residential dining programs, serving more than 5 million meals annually. This position is responsible for leading the culinary vision and execution within residential dining operations while ensuring exceptional food quality, operational excellence, affordability, innovation, and guest satisfaction.
The Executive Chef serves as the senior culinary leader for residential dining and works closely with Executive Sous Chefs and dining operations leadership to strengthen culinary consistency, operational efficiency, staff development, and student dining experiences across all residential dining locations.

What We’re Looking For:

• Bachelor’s degree in Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management, Food Service Management, or related field; equivalent experience may be considered.
• Seven years of progressive culinary leadership experience in high-volume food service operations.
• Experience managing multiple production kitchens and large teams.
• Knowledge of food safety regulations, menu engineering, cost controls, and inventory management.
• Strong leadership, communication, and organizational skills

What is helpful:

• Certified Executive Chef (CEC) or equivalent culinary certification.
• ServSafe Manager Certification.
• Experience in higher education dining, healthcare, hospitality, or contract food service.
• Experience supporting residential dining programs serving 10,000+ meals daily
• Experience with sustainability initiatives and special dietary programs

Additional Information:

• To learn more about Purdue’s benefits summary
• https://www.purdue.edu/hr/Benefits/employeebenefits/benefits_enrollment/pdf/summaries/2023/Benefits-summary-Admin-Op-2023.pdf
• Purdue will not sponsor employment authorization for this position
• A background check will be required for employment in this position
• FLSA: Exempt (Not Eligible For Overtime)
• EOE: Purdue University is an EO/EA University
• Retirement Eligibility: Defined Contributions immediately

Who We Are at Purdue University:

When you join Purdue University, you join a community that keeps moving forward. For more than 150 years, we’ve been known for not only our groundbreaking work in STEM research, but also for our collective imagination, ingenuity and innovation.

EOE: Purdue University is an EO/EA University