Executive Chef – Japanese Cuisine (Airline Catering)

Gate Gourmet; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

gategroup is seeking an Executive Chef, Japanese Cuisine, to oversee daily meal preparation for airline catering across multiple client accounts. You will manage chefs, sous chefs and cooks, ensuring quality, safety and budget adherence in a high-volume environment.

You will lead menu design and production, mentor staff, and drive improvements in process efficiency and product presentation, while maintaining compliance with HACCP and regulatory standards.

Qualifications

• Associate or Bachelor in Culinary Arts or related field, or 4+ years in an Executive Chef role.
• Minimum 10 years as a chef; at least 4 years as Executive Chef; supervisory experience.
• Experience in high-volume food production, in-flight catering or similar.
• Strong leadership and ability to train 2–3 sous chefs and 10+ cooks.

Responsibilities

• Lead daily kitchen operations for multiple accounts with Japanese cuisine offerings.
• Monitor preparation against pre-designed menus and quality standards.
• Develop and control menus, recipes, portions, and costs.
• Coach, counsel, and discipline staff; manage performance and labor costs.
• Ensure HACCP, FDA, safety compliance and sanitation requirements.
• Prepare reports on food production, trends, and costs for management.

Skills

Executive leadership

Menu design

Food safety

Staff supervision

Budgeting

Bilingual Japanese/English

Education

Culinary degree (Assoc or Bach)

Tools

ServSafe Certified

Job description

gategroup is seeking an Executive Chef, Japanese Cuisine, to oversee daily meal preparation for airline catering across multiple client accounts. You will manage chefs, sous chefs and cooks, ensuring quality, safety and budget adherence in a high-volume environment.

You will lead menu design and production, mentor staff, and drive improvements in process efficiency and product presentation, while maintaining compliance with HACCP and regulatory standards.