Executive Chef | Kitchen Manager | Culinary Director

Heritage Senior Living; Port Washington (WI); On-site; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

Health, dental, and vision insurance

Paid time off

Paid holidays and/or holiday pay

Retirement savings opportunities

Employee assistance and wellness

Job summary

Lincoln Village Senior Living seeks an experienced Executive Chef to lead the culinary team and deliver exceptional dining for residents. This hands-on role combines creativity in the kitchen with strong operational leadership to enhance the living experience.

You will oversee menu execution, nutrition standards, staff training, and compliance while maintaining high food safety and service quality.

Qualifications

• We’re looking for a culinary leader who can balance great food with great leadership.
• The ideal Executive Chef is organized, dependable, creative, financially responsible, and comfortable leading from the kitchen.
• Experience in leading a culinary team and managing resident dining programs.

Responsibilities

• Lead the preparation and service of high-quality, appealing meals for residents.
• Oversee food preparation, production, presentation, portioning, and service.
• Ensure meals follow established recipes, menus, and nutritional needs.
• Maintain menu cycles and nutritional program; stay current with culinary trends.
• Hire, train, coach, supervise, and develop kitchen staff; manage labor costs.
• Partner with other departments for events and celebrations; lead safety and sanitation practices.

Skills

Culinary Leadership

Team Leadership

Food Safety

Budgeting

Staff Development

Interpersonal Skills

Problem Solving

Education

High school diploma or GED

Job description

Job Details: Job Location: 403 - Lincoln Village - Port Washington, WI 53074, Job Category: Restaurant - Food Service, Executive Chef | Kitchen Manager | Culinary Director

Lincoln Village Senior Living

Lead the Kitchen. Inspire Your Team. Create an Exceptional Dining Experience.

At Lincoln Village Senior Living, dining is more than a meal—it’s an important part of our residents’ daily experience.

We are seeking an experienced, hands‑on Executive Chef who is passionate about great food, exceptional service, and leading a successful culinary team. This is an opportunity for a culinary professional who enjoys combining creativity in the kitchen with strong operational leadership while making a meaningful difference in the lives of older adults.

Reporting to the Executive Director, the Executive Chef oversees all aspects of resident dining services, including culinary operations, menu execution, food quality, staffing, training, sanitation, inventory, budgeting, and regulatory compliance.

What You’ll Do

Culinary Leadership & Resident Experience

• Lead the preparation and service of high-quality, appealing meals for our residents.
• Oversee food preparation, production, presentation, portioning, and service.
• Ensure meals are prepared according to established recipes, menus, nutritional standards, and resident dietary needs.
• Maintain Lincoln Village Senior Living’s established menu cycle and nutritional program.
• Bring creativity to the dining experience by staying current with culinary techniques, presentation ideas, and industry trends.
• Conduct daily dining room table touches to connect with residents, gather feedback, and ensure satisfaction.
• Partner with other departments to support celebrations, activities, special events, and other community experiences.

Team Leadership

• Hire, train, coach, supervise, and develop culinary team members.
• Provide clear direction and accountability to kitchen employees and culinary leadership.
• Educate team members on food preparation, service standards, ingredients, allergies, therapeutic diets, sanitation, and safe food‑handling practices.
• Manage employee performance and address performance or disciplinary concerns when necessary.
• Create a positive, professional, and service‑focused kitchen environment.
• Maintain appropriate staffing levels while effectively managing labor and payroll expenses.

Food Safety & Compliance

• Maintain the highest standards for food safety, sanitation, and infection control.
• Ensure compliance with applicable Lincoln Village Senior Living policies and local, state, and federal requirements.
• Follow HACCP, ServSafe, FIFO, day‑dot labeling, food temperature, and safe food‑handling practices.
• Monitor food temperatures throughout preparation, production, holding, and service.
• Ensure special diets and physician‑ordered dietary requirements are followed appropriately.
• Maintain required food, equipment, sanitation, cleaning, in‑service, OSHA, and compliance logs.
• Ensure kitchen and food‑service areas remain clean, organized, sanitary, and inspection‑ready.
• Maintain required emergency food supplies.

Operations & Financial Management

• Purchase food, beverages, and supplies through approved vendors and established ordering processes.
• Manage inventory levels, product rotation, and purchasing using historical data and forecasting.
• Monitor food costs, portions, waste, and other expenses to maintain established per‑person‑per‑day (PPD) budgets.
• Manage labor costs and staffing within established budgets.
• Maintain accurate department records and complete required monthly reports.
• Monitor kitchen equipment and coordinate maintenance and repairs when necessary.
• Oversee dinnerware, linens, seating, and other dining supplies to ensure they are maintained appropriately.
• Participate in food committee/panel meetings, including scheduling, facilitating discussions, and maintaining meeting minutes.

Community Leadership

• Serve as an active member of the community leadership team.
• Participate in leadership and care coordination meetings as needed.
• Collaborate with nursing, life enrichment, administration, and other departments to support resident needs.
• Respond to resident feedback and continuously look for opportunities to improve the dining experience.

What We’re Looking For

We’re looking for a culinary leader who can balance great food with great leadership.

The ideal Executive Chef is organized, dependable, creative, financially responsible, and comfortable leading from the kitchen—not just from an office. You should enjoy developing employees, solving problems, interacting with residents, and creating a dining program your team can be proud of.

• High school diploma or GED.
• At least three years of kitchen management experience or two years of experience in the production of an institutional food‑service program.
• Current ServSafe certification or equivalent food manager certification accepted by the applicable state.
• Strong knowledge of culinary techniques, food preparation, sanitation, and infection‑control practices.
• Knowledge of FIFO practices and appropriate food labeling and rotation procedures.
• Experience with P&L accountability, budgeting, food‑cost management, and labor‑cost calculations.
• Previous experience hiring, training, supervising, and managing employee performance.
• Strong leadership and interpersonal skills with the ability to successfully manage a diverse team.
• Excellent organizational, time‑management, problem‑solving, and decision‑making skills.
• Strong customer‑service orientation and professional communication skills.
• Willingness and ability to learn and follow therapeutic diets and nutritional programs.
• Knowledge of current culinary, restaurant, and food‑service trends.
• Creativity and a passion for delivering an excellent dining experience.

Senior living, healthcare, hospitality, restaurant, or institutional food‑service experience is especially valuable.

Schedule

The Executive Chef is a hands‑on leadership position and requires flexibility based on the needs of the residents, culinary department, and community. The position generally works within daytime operational hours but may require additional hours, weekends, holidays, or special‑event coverage based on community needs.

Benefits & Perks

• Competitive compensation
• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• Paid time off
• Paid holidays and/or holiday pay
• Retirement savings opportunities
• Employee assistance and wellness resources
• Professional development and leadership opportunities
• Career growth and advancement opportunities
• Employee recognition programs
• A collaborative and supportive leadership team
• The opportunity to influence culinary operations across multiple communities
• Meaningful work that directly impacts residents and culinary teams

Benefit availability and eligibility may vary based on employment status, location, plan requirements, and other applicable criteria.

Why Lincoln Village Senior Living?

You’ll lead a team, shape the dining experience, build relationships with residents, and create meals that residents genuinely look forward to each day.

If you’re an experienced culinary leader who believes great food, strong leadership, and exceptional service belong at the same table, we’d love to meet you.

Lincoln Village Senior Living is an equal opportunity employer. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position. Employment is subject to applicable pre‑employment, training, certification, and ongoing requirements in accordance with federal and state law.