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Smorgasbord Hospitality
Research & Development Chef
Career Insights for Chef
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Based on California data
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What they do
A Chef oversees food preparation and directs other cooks and kitchen staff. Plans menus, develops recipes, orders ingredients and supplies. May supervise kitchen operations in a restaurant or work for a private household; may work for an executive office or a client that entertains regularly.
$58,805 / year median in California
+10% projected growth
Job Description
We're working with a highly respected, well-established restaurant group looking for an experienced R D Chef to oversee the culinary direction of 5+ locations and across multiple concepts, with exciting growth on the horizon—including a new boutique hotel. This is a true leadership role for a chef who enjoys both the creative and operational sides of the business. You'll work closely with ownership, operations, and the culinary leadership team to elevate menus, strengthen kitchen systems, control costs, and maintain consistently high standards across the group. We're looking for someone with a diverse culinary background, ideally including fine dining, upscale-casual restaurants, and some hotel operations. Boutique hotel experience is a major plus. You should be equally comfortable developing a menu, walking into a kitchen and identifying opportunities, working through food-cost issues, and coaching an Executive Chef on how to become a stronger leader. What You'll Own Culinary Leadership Work closely with the Director of operations to lead and develop the culinary teams across 5+ locations. Recruit, mentor, and retain Executive Chefs, Kitchen Managers, Sous Chefs, and hourly culinary talent while creating accountability and a culture of continuous improvement. Menu & Culinary Development Drive menu development from concept through execution—including ideation, recipe development, costing, testing, training, photography, documentation, and post-launch analysis. Each concept should have its own identity while maintaining the group's overall culinary standards. Cost & Financial Management Work closely with the Director of operations on food and culinary labor costs across the portfolio. Work with Operations and Finance on budgeting, variance analysis, purchasing, inventory, and corrective action. Use tools such as R365 and Toast to ensure the numbers support the food without compromising quality. Systems & Standards Create and maintain consistent culinary systems across the group, including recipes, prep standards, line execution, food safety, training programs, BOH SOPs, and sanitation standards. New Concepts & Openings Play a key role in upcoming restaurant openings, including a new boutique hotel. You'll have a significant voice in kitchen design, equipment selection, opening menus, staffing, training, and culinary standards. The Boutique Hotel Opportunity Another of the exciting parts of this role is helping take a boutique hotel from concept to opening. You'll help develop the hotel's complete culinary program, including the signature restaurant, all-day dining, in-room dining, events and banquet operations, and specialty outlets. You'll work directly with ownership on the hotel's F&B strategy and culinary identity while building the systems and team necessary to deliver a luxury-level experience. Who We're Looking For We're looking for a chef's chef—someone who gets as much satisfaction from developing great culinary leaders as they do from creating great food.