Executive Chef

Executive Chef Location: Loomis, CA Position: Full-Time Executive Chef Compensation: 70-75k About the Role Reds' Bistro seeks an experienced, passionate, and highly motivated Executive Chef to lead our culinary team. This position is for a chef who understands that running an exceptional kitchen requires more than creating great food. We are looking for a true leader—someone who can develop people, maintain high standards, manage the financial performance of the kitchen, and create a culture of professionalism, accountability, respect, and continuous improvement. The ideal candidate has significant fine dining experience, a strong understanding of seasonal cooking and menu development, and the operational discipline required to run a profitable, organized, and consistently excellent kitchen. Key Responsibilities Culinary Leadership & Menu Development Develop and execute thoughtful, seasonal menus that reflect the concept and standards of the restaurant. Maintain exceptional standards for flavor, technique, presentation, consistency, and execution. Create, test, document, and cost recipes. Maintain appropriate portioning and plating standards across all services. Stay current with seasonal ingredients, culinary techniques, and relevant dining trends while maintaining the identity of the restaurant. Financial & Operational Management Understand and actively manage the kitchen's P&L performance. Manage food cost, purchasing, waste, inventory, and overall kitchen profitability. Conduct regular inventory and maintain accurate food-cost reporting. Develop menu pricing and recipe costing with profitability in mind. Manage kitchen labor and scheduling responsibly while maintaining service standards. Establish strong relationships with vendors and ensure quality, pricing, and consistency of products. Identify opportunities to improve efficiency without compromising food quality or the guest experience. Team Leadership & Development Recruit, hire, onboard, train, coach, and retain a strong culinary team. Lead by example with professionalism, consistency, urgency, and respect. Be a teacher and mentor, not simply a manager. Develop cooks and sous chefs by helping them strengthen their technique, organization, leadership, and understanding of the business. Set clear expectations and hold the team accountable to established standards. Conduct regular training and provide constructive, actionable feedback. Build a kitchen culture where people are expected to work hard, communicate well, respect one another, and continue learning. Be comfortable giving and receiving feedback and working collaboratively with ownership and management. Kitchen Standards, Safety & Organization Maintain an exceptionally clean, organized, and professional kitchen at all times. Establish and enforce opening, closing, cleaning, prep, labeling, storage, and sanitation procedures. Maintain full compliance with health department regulations and food-safety requirements. Ensure proper product rotation, storage, temperature control, allergen procedures, and sanitation practices. Maintain a current Manager Food Safety Certification or equivalent required certification. Ensure kitchen equipment is properly maintained and communicate repair or replacement needs promptly. Restaurant Leadership Work closely with the General Manager, ownership, and front-of-house leadership to create a consistent and exceptional guest experience. Communicate menu changes, ingredients, allergens, preparation methods, and daily features clearly to the FOH team. Handle challenges calmly and professionally during high-volume or high-pressure services. Take ownership of the kitchen's performance rather than waiting to be directed. Balance creativity with consistency, hospitality, financial responsibility, and operational discipline. Qualifications Significant professional culinary experience, including fine dining experience. Previous experience as an Executive Chef, Chef de Cuisine, Executive Sous Chef, or comparable culinary leadership position. Proven experience developing and executing seasonal menus. Strong understanding of food cost, recipe costing, inventory, purchasing, labor management, and kitchen P&L. Demonstrated ability to hire, train, develop, and retain culinary employees. Strong knowledge of food safety, sanitation, and kitchen operating procedures. Current Manager Food Safety Certification or ability to obtain/maintain required certification. Excellent organization, communication, and time-management skills. Ability to lead effectively during demanding and high-volume services. Strong attention to detail and an uncompromising commitment to consistency and cleanliness. The Leader We Are Looking For We are looking for someone who is confident without having an ego. You should be demanding about standards while still treating people with respect. You should enjoy teaching and developing your team and understand that strong leadership means giving people the tools, training, expectations, and accountability they need to succeed. You must be willing to listen, accept feedback, make adjustments, and continue improving. We want a chef who takes pride not only in the dishes leaving the pass, but also in the cleanliness of the walk-in, the accuracy of the inventory, the development of the cooks, the financial health of the kitchen, and the culture of the team. Great food is expected. Great leadership is essential. What Success Looks Like The successful Executive Chef will build a kitchen that delivers: Consistently excellent food Strong seasonal menu development Controlled food and labor costs Clean and organized operations Excellent food-safety standards A trained, motivated, accountable culinary team Strong employee retention and development Productive communication between BOH and FOH A culture of professionalism, respect, learning, and continuous improvement To apply, please submit your résumé along with a brief introduction describing your culinary background, leadership philosophy, and experience managing the financial and operational side of a professional kitchen. Pay: $70,000.00 - $75,000.00 per year Work Location: In person