Executive Chef & Menu Architect for Multi-Concept Brands

Confidential Company; New York (NY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Dining discounts

Professional development

Training program

PTO

Benefits package

Job summary

Vandelay is seeking an experienced Corporate Chef to lead menu development across multiple concepts, focusing on curation, recipe creation, testing, costing, and scalable execution. The role partners with senior culinary leadership to ensure each menu reflects its concept’s identity.

You will drive culinary R&D with a deep understanding of ingredients and technique, balancing creativity with operational feasibility, and guiding training and documentation for consistent execution.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in Executive/Corporate Chef roles across multiple concepts.
• Strong ability to develop menus from ideation to execution.
• Deep knowledge of ingredients, technique, and seasonality.
• Experience aligning culinary development with brand identity and guest experience.
• Ability to create clear recipes, specifications, and plating standards.

Responsibilities

• Partner with senior culinary leadership on menu curation, development, and evolution across concepts.
• Develop new dishes and refine existing items focusing on quality, flavor, technique, presentation, and concept relevance.
• Ensure culinary development remains authentic to each brand's identity and point of view.
• Lead culinary R&D activities: ideation, testing, tastings, refinement, final implementation.
• Create recipes that balance creativity with consistency, scalability, and operational feasibility.
• Produce and maintain detailed recipe specs, prep methods, portioning, plating standards, and documentation.
• Assess menu composition considering balance, seasonality, guest preferences, and brand identity.
• Research and source exceptional ingredients and purveyors to support quality and consistency.

Skills

Menu development

Recipe creation

Culinary R&D

Recipe costing

Training materials

Education

Culinary degree

Job description

Vandelay is seeking an experienced Corporate Chef to lead menu development across multiple concepts, focusing on curation, recipe creation, testing, costing, and scalable execution. The role partners with senior culinary leadership to ensure each menu reflects its concept’s identity.

You will drive culinary R&D with a deep understanding of ingredients and technique, balancing creativity with operational feasibility, and guiding training and documentation for consistent execution.