Chef de Cuisine

General Description of Work

The Chef de Cuisine is the operational and financial leader of Amara at Paraiso’s culinary program. Reporting to the Owner, General Manager, and Director of Operations, this position leads consistent execution across a la carte service, brunch, and private events while owning food and labor costs, recipes, purchasing, inventory, production, sanitation, staffing, and training. This role requires a hands-on leader who identifies issues early, implements solutions, communicates proactively, and follows through without repeated direction.
Essential Functions and Responsibilities:

Financial Management and Cost Control

• Own food-cost performance. Manage COGS to approved budgets through disciplined purchasing, receiving, inventory, recipe costing, yields, portions, waste controls, and product utilization.
• Analyze results and correct variances. Review purchasing, theoretical-versus-actual usage, inventory variances, waste, credits, transfers, and high-cost items; explain unfavorable results and implement corrective action.
• Maintain accurate inventory systems. Keep count sheets, pack sizes, units, pricing, and item lists current; lead accurate counts and submit all documentation on time.
• Control purchasing and receiving. Maintain appropriate pars, verify product and invoice accuracy, and ensure discrepancies are resolved promptly with vendors.
• Manage labor productivity. Build schedules and deployment plans aligned with forecasts, reservations, events, and business levels while meeting labor objectives.

Recipe, Production, and Service Operations

• Maintain complete recipes. Ensure every menu item has a current, accurately costed recipe with yields, portions, preparation methods, allergens, plating standards, and photographs when required.
• Control menu implementation. Recipes, costing, approvals, system entries, training, and communication must be completed before launch.
• Partner on profitable menus. Work with the Executive Chef to balance creativity, seasonality, guest appeal, product utilization, operational feasibility, and profitability.
• Plan production from the forecast. Convert reservations, historical demand, menu mix, brunch projections, and BEOs into accurate prep lists, pars, assignments, quantities, and timelines.
• Lead daily execution. Direct prep, line checks, production, expediting, service, breakdown, and closing; resolve quality, timing, staffing, and product issues quickly.
• Execute events successfully. Review BEOs in advance and confirm quantities, staffing, equipment, dietary needs, timelines, and interdepartmental handoffs.

Cleanliness, Food Safety, Equipment

• Own kitchen cleanliness. Implement and enforce specific opening, closing, station, deep-cleaning, and preventive-maintenance standards for all culinary, storage, receiving, and support areas.
• Make accountability verifiable. Cleaning assignments must identify the area or equipment, required method, responsible person, frequency, and manager verification.
• Maintain compliance. Enforce health department, HACCP, allergen, temperature-control, chemical-handling, hygiene, labeling, storage, and certification requirements.
• Inspect and correct. Complete documented sanitation and safety inspections, follow through on corrective actions, and ensure equipment is properly operated, cleaned, maintained, and repaired.

People Leadership

• Build and develop the team. Recruit, onboard, train, coach, evaluate, and retain employees who meet Amara’s performance and cultural standards.
• Set and enforce standards. Assign clear responsibilities and deadlines, inspect completed work, and address recurring gaps promptly and consistently.
• Develop culinary leaders. Coach sous chefs and lead cooks in cost awareness, production planning, delegation, service, sanitation, and administrative follow-through.
• Manage performance. Complete evaluations and required documentation on time and take prompt, fair, and consistent corrective action when expectations are not met.
• Promote collaboration. Maintain effective partnerships among BOH, FOH, events, beverage, finance, facilities, vendors, and senior leadership.

Administrative Ownership and Accountability

• Meet deadlines. Complete schedules, inventories, recipe updates, reports, BEO planning, evaluations, corrective actions, and assigned projects accurately and on time.
• Communicate proactively. Report results, risks, staffing, costs, maintenance, menu changes, and project status to leadership, including a recovery plan when a target or deadline is at risk.
• Maintain operating systems. Create, update, and enforce culinary SOPs, checklists, logs, calendars, training materials, and reporting tools.
• Solve problems at the root. Investigate recurring quality, cost, labor, sanitation, and execution issues; assign corrective action and verify sustained improvement.

Competencies:                        

• Interpersonal Skills – Maintains confidentiality; Listens to others without interrupting; Keeps emotions under control; Remains open to others’ ideas and tries new things.
• Oral Communication – Speaks clearly and persuasively in positive or negative situations; Listens and gets clarification; Responds well to questions.
• Written Communication – Writes clearly and informatively; Edits work for spelling and grammar; Varies writing style to meet needs; Presents numerical data effectively; Able to read and interpret written information.
• Organizational Support – Follows policies and procedures; Completes administrative tasks correctly and on time; Supports organization’s goals and values; Benefits organization through outside activities; Supports affirmative action and respects diversity.
• Planning/Organizing – Prioritizes and plans work activities; Uses time efficiently; Plans for additional resources; Sets goals and objectives; Organizes or schedules other people and their tasks; Develops realistic action plans.
• Professionalism – Approaches others in a tactful manner; Reacts well under pressure; Treats others with respect and consideration regardless of their status or position; Accepts responsibility for own actions; Follows through on commitments.
• Dependability – Follows instructions, responds to management direction; Takes responsibility for own actions; Keeps commitments; Commits to long hours of work when necessary to reach goals.; Completes tasks on time or notifies appropriate person with an alternate plan.

Qualifications: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Education and/or Experience:

• A minimum of 5 years of experience in varied kitchen positions including food preparation, line cook, fry cook and expediter.
• A minimum of 2 years of experience in management.
• At least 6 months’ experience in a similar capacity.

Language Skills:                                               

• Ability to read, speak and interpret documents in clear English.
• Must be able to communicate clearly with managers, kitchen and dining room personnel and guests.

Physical Ability

• Be able to reach, bend, stoop and frequently lift up to 50 pounds.
• Be able to work in a standing position for prolonged periods of time (up to 10 hours).

Reasoning Ability                                             

Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form. Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.

Compensation & Benefits:

• Annual salary: $85,000-$100,000, commensurate with experience and qualifications.
• Paid vacation: one week during the first year after six months of service; two weeks after one full year, subject to company policy.
• 401(k); health, life, dental, and vision insurance; Employee Assistance Program; and employee meal.