Executive Chef - Lead Creative Menus in High-Volume Dining

Compass Group USA; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical

Vision

Life Insurance/ AD

Disability Insurance

Retirement Plan

Paid Time Off

Holiday Time Off

Associate Shopping Program

Health and Wellness Programs

Discount Marketplace

Identity Theft Protection

Pet Insurance

Employee Assistance Program

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)

Personal Leave

Job summary

Compass Group USA is seeking an Executive Chef to lead culinary operations in a high-volume corporate dining environment and report to the Culinary Director. This hands-on leadership role oversees culinary quality, menu development, purchasing, inventory, cost control, and adherence to Bon Appétit standards.

Develop Sous Chefs and teams, maintain daily operational presence, and drive proactive problem solving and financial accountability.

Qualifications

• Culinary degree preferred or equivalent professional experience.
• 3–5 years of progressive culinary-management experience.
• Experience leading Sous Chefs and culinary teams.
• High-volume, complex foodservice and catering experience strongly preferred.
• Strong experience with menu development, production planning, purchasing, inventory, food cost, safety, and sanitation.
• ServSafe certification is highly desirable.

Responsibilities

• Lead daily culinary operations and maintain high standards for food quality, flavor, presentation, production, organization, and service.
• Lead, coach, and develop Sous Chefs and culinary employees through clear expectations, training, feedback, accountability, and opportunities for growth.
• Maintain a hands-on leadership presence and proactively resolve staffing, production, equipment, ingredient, and service challenges.
• Lead menu planning, menu engineering, and execution in partnership with the Culinary Director while ensuring menus are realistic for labor, equipment, production capacity, inventory, and purchasing.
• Manage food cost, purchasing, inventory, waste, and culinary expenditures while following approved Bon Appétit sourcing standards.
• Maintain appropriate inventory levels and minimize overproduction, waste, and unnecessary stock.
• Lead and reinforce food-safety, sanitation, allergen, workplace-safety, and audit-readiness standards.
• Support appropriate staffing, scheduling, labor deployment, timekeeping, meal-period compliance, and overtime management.
• Maintain the professionalism, responsiveness, culinary quality, and hospitality expected in a high-profile corporate environment.
• Collaborate effectively with the Culinary Director, Sous Chefs, FOH, catering, executive dining, pantry, and other campus teams.

Skills

Culinary management

Menu development

Food safety

Sanitation

Staff development

Education

Culinary degree or equivalent

Job description

Compass Group USA is seeking an Executive Chef to lead culinary operations in a high-volume corporate dining environment and report to the Culinary Director. This hands-on leadership role oversees culinary quality, menu development, purchasing, inventory, cost control, and adherence to Bon Appétit standards.

Develop Sous Chefs and teams, maintain daily operational presence, and drive proactive problem solving and financial accountability.