Traveling Executive Chef HighVolume Fine Dining Performance Incentives

Sharp Spoon Network; Louisville (KY); On-site; USD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Lodging provided during deployments

Company laptop and corporate credit.

Per diem during deployments

Company-paid travel

Job summary

Sharp Spoon Network is seeking Traveling Executive Chefs to lead high-volume, fine-dining quality operations across the United States. You will supervise large culinary teams while actively cooking, tasting, coaching, and ensuring top-tier quality for 1,000+ meals per service.

Ideal candidates bring 10+ years as Executive Chef, a track record of leading 30+ cooks, and the ability to manage purchasing, costs, and schedules while traveling extensively for deployments.

Qualifications

• Ten years+ holding the actual Executive Chef title.
• Experience producing 1,000+ meals in a single meal service.
• Leadership of 30+ kitchen employees.
• Fewer than four employers in the last ten years.
• Hands-on cooking and culinary leadership at scale.
• Experience delivering fine-dining or upscale culinary quality.
• Strong scratch-cooking, menu development, and plating skills.
• Purchasing, inventory, staffing, scheduling, food costs and kitchen operations.
• Willingness to travel nationwide for extended deployments.

Responsibilities

• Lead production of 1,000+ meals during individual meal services.
• Develop and execute menus reflecting fine-dining standards.
• Direct scratch cooking and large‑batch recipe execution to maintain quality.
• Train cooks to reproduce quality-focused dishes consistently.
• Balance production speed, cost and quality across high-volume services.
• Own purchasing, inventory management, and vendor coordination.

Job description

Traveling Executive Chef -- High-Volume Scratch Cooking

Fine-Dining Culinary Standards at Exceptional Volume

Nationwide Travel | $70,000 Base Salary + Monthly Performance Incentive | Six-Figure Total Compensation Potential

Approximately 30 Days On / 14 Days Off | Lodging Provided During Qualifying Deployments

PLEASE READ — STRICT QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

We are seeking an accomplished Executive Chef who can deliver fine-dining-quality food while leading culinary operations producing 1,000 or more meals during a single service.

Volume is essential. Quality is non-negotiable.

This is not a position for a chef whose primary experience is simply producing large quantities of food. We need an Executive Chef with sophisticated culinary skills, a background in fine dining or comparable upscale, quality-focused culinary operations, and the leadership ability to maintain exceptional food standards at scale.

Minimum requirements:

• 10+ years holding the actual Executive Chef title. Head Chef, Sous Chef, Kitchen Manager, and Food Service Director experience cannot substitute for this tenure requirement.
• 1,000+ meals produced during ONE meal service , not combined across a full day.
• Leadership of at least 30 kitchen employees.
• Fewer than four employers during the past ten years.
• Substantial hands‑on professional cooking and culinary leadership experience.
• Demonstrated experience delivering fine-dining or comparable upscale culinary quality.
• Strong scratch‑cooking skills, menu development, recipe execution, and food presentation.
• Direct responsibility for purchasing, inventory, staffing, scheduling, food costs, labor costs, and kitchen operations.
• Willingness to travel nationwide for extended assignments.

Candidates whose experience is primarily administrative management, basic food assembly, reheating prepared meals, or high-volume production without demonstrated culinary quality will not meet the expectations of this position.

The Opportunity

Sharp Spoon Network is recruiting Traveling Executive Chefs on behalf of a nationally recognized leader in disaster response, remote workforce support, and large-scale culinary operations.

Assignments may support data centers, disaster recovery, military-support operations, remote workforce camps, and temporary large-scale culinary facilities throughout the United States.

The challenge is distinctive: deliver the quality, technique, consistency, and presentation associated with fine dining while producing meals at a scale far beyond a traditional restaurant.

We need Executive Chefs who understand that serving 1,000 or more guests does not justify compromising the food.

Successful candidates will bring both culinary craftsmanship and operational discipline. They must know how to create quality‑focused menus, lead scratch‑food production, develop professional cooks, and maintain high standards throughout demanding meal services.

This is a working Executive Chef position. You will lead large culinary teams while remaining actively involved in cooking, tasting, coaching, and quality control.

What You’ll Do

Deliver Exceptional Culinary Quality at Volume

• Lead production of 1,000 or more meals during individual meal services.
• Develop and execute menus reflecting fine-dining or comparable upscale culinary standards.
• Maintain excellent flavor, seasoning, texture, freshness, temperature, and presentation across large-scale production.
• Direct scratch cooking, ingredient preparation, professional cooking techniques, and large‑batch recipe execution.
• Scale recipes without compromising ingredient quality, culinary technique, or finished‑product consistency.
• Establish tasting, quality‑control, and presentation standards throughout preparation and service.
• Personally evaluate food quality and correct deficiencies before meals reach guests.
• Train cooks to reproduce quality‑focused dishes consistently across hundreds or thousands of portions.
• Balance production speed, operational efficiency, and food quality without treating quality as expendable.
• Adapt sophisticated culinary techniques to high‑volume production equipment and operating conditions.

Lead and Develop Large Culinary Teams

• Lead, supervise, train, and develop kitchen teams of 30 or more employees.
• Direct Sous Chefs, cooks, kitchen assistants, and other culinary personnel.
• Demonstrate proper cooking techniques, recipe execution, seasoning, and presentation.
• Establish clear culinary standards and hold team members accountable.
• Organize staffing, production assignments, and meal‑service workflows.
• Step into hands‑on cooking and production when needed.
• Build effective culinary teams in unfamiliar and demanding environments.

Manage Culinary Operations and Financial Performance

• Own food purchasing, inventory management, and vendor coordination.
• Manage food costs, labor costs, budgets, staffing, and scheduling.
• Develop menus that balance culinary quality, ingredient availability, nutrition, and operational requirements.
• Control waste and portioning without reducing established food‑quality standards.
• Forecast production needs for large meal services.
• Maintain food safety, sanitation, and applicable HACCP procedures.
• Troubleshoot staffing, equipment, ingredient, and production challenges.
• Make independent operational decisions while maintaining culinary standards.

Lead Nationwide Deployments

• Assume culinary leadership at assigned project locations throughout the United States.
• Adapt to temporary kitchens, remote facilities, unfamiliar equipment, and changing teams.
• Establish professional culinary standards quickly at each new assignment.
• Coordinate with project leadership to maintain quality, service, and operational performance.
• Lead production during extended shifts, emergency‑response operations, and high‑pressure service periods.

Required Culinary Background

Candidates must demonstrate both exceptional culinary quality and exceptional production scale.

We especially seek Executive Chefs with substantial experience in:

• Fine‑dining restaurants and chef‑driven culinary operations.
• Luxury hotels, upscale resorts, and high‑end hospitality kitchens.
• Premium banquet and catering operations with scratch‑prepared menus.
• High‑end casino, cruise‑ship, and convention culinary operations.
• Comparable quality‑focused culinary environments with sophisticated menus and professional cooking standards.

Candidates must demonstrate the ability to translate these culinary standards into very high‑volume production.

Fine‑dining experience without the required high‑volume production does not qualify. High‑volume experience without demonstrated culinary quality is also insufficient.

Mandatory Operational Qualifications

Applicants must also establish:

• At least ten years of documented Executive Chef tenure.
• Experience producing at least 1,000 meals in a single meal period.
• Leadership of at least 30 kitchen employees.
• Fewer than four employers in the most recent ten years.
• Substantial hands‑on cooking and culinary leadership.
• Financial responsibility for food and labor costs.
• Purchasing, inventory, staffing, scheduling, menu, and operational responsibility.

Travel & Deployment Requirements

• Nationwide travel.
• Approximately 30 days on assignment followed by 14 days off.
• Approximately 12‑hour shifts while deployed.
• Flexibility for extended assignments and changing operational requirements.
• Hotel or camp‑style accommodations depending on the project.
• Valid driver's license and reliable transportation.
• Completion of applicable background screening, drug testing, and onboarding requirements.

Company‑paid travel and lodging are provided for qualifying deployments.

Compensation & Benefits

• $70,000 annual base salary.
• Exceptional qualifications may be considered when determining final compensation. All compensation decisions are subject to client approval.
• Monthly performance incentive, subject to program terms.
• Potential for six‑figure total annual compensation through base salary and performance incentives; not guaranteed.
• $45 daily per diem during qualifying deployments.
• Lodging provided during qualifying assignments.
• Company‑paid travel when applicable.
• Company laptop, cell phone, and corporate credit card.
• Opportunities for advancement based on performance and business needs.

Incentive compensation is subject to program terms and is not guaranteed. Final compensation and deployment arrangements are confirmed by the client.

About Sharp Spoon Network

Sharp Spoon Network has been retained to recruit qualified candidates on behalf of our client. Selected candidates will become employees of the client, not Sharp Spoon Network.

Final employment terms, compensation, schedules, assignments, and benefits are established by the client.