{"schemaVersion":"jobsearcher.job.v1","id":"9c19f19bf9c6332b7e012d5f","url":"https://jobsearcher.com/jobs/9c19f19bf9c6332b7e012d5f","canonicalUrl":"https://jobsearcher.com/jobs/9c19f19bf9c6332b7e012d5f","title":"Head Chef","description":"Lead the kitchen at one of West Texas' premier brewpubs, where scratch-made food, craft beer, and a great team come together every day.\nLocation: 202 Pine Street, Suite 201, Abilene, TX 79601 Job Type: Full-Time Compensation: Competitive salary + performance bonuses Benefits: Health, vision, dental, and employee discounts\nAbout Grain Theory\nGrain Theory is Abilene’s neighborhood brewpub where exceptional craft beer and scratch-made food come together. We brew our own beer on-site and pair it with a chef-driven menu in a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere. Our concept is intentionally different—guests order at the bar and pick up their meals from our kitchen window, creating an indoor food truck experience inside a modern brewery.\nWe’re passionate about quality, hospitality, creativity, and building a team that enjoys coming to work every day. If you love great food, craft beer, leading people, and creating memorable guest experiences, we’d love to meet you.\nThe Role\nWe’re looking for an experienced Head Chef who leads by example and thrives in a hands-on kitchen. This is not a desk job—it’s a working chef position for someone who enjoys cooking alongside the team while providing leadership, coaching, and accountability.\nYou'll oversee every aspect of our scratch kitchen—from menu development and recipe standardization to staffing, inventory management, food costs, catering, and maintaining exceptional quality and food safety standards.\nYou’ll have the opportunity to shape our food program while working closely with ownership to continue growing one of West Texas’ premier brewpub destinations.\nThe Responsibilities\nMenu & Recipe Development\nDesign and evolve breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus\nWrite and standardize recipes for consistency across shifts and staff\nDevelop specials that keep regulars coming back and give us something worth posting about\nEnsure every dish meets Grain Theory’s quality standards.\nContinuously improve menu offerings based on guest feedback, seasonality, and profitability.\nKitchen Leadership & Staff Development\nLead and inspire the kitchen team through positive, hands-on leadership.\nRecruit, train, mentor, and develop kitchen staff.\nBuild schedules that balance labor efficiency with operational excellence.\nFoster a culture built on accountability, professionalism, mutual respect, high standards, and leaving egos at the door.\nLead by example during every service.\nOperations & Cost Control\nOversee daily kitchen operations from prep through service.\nManage inventory, ordering, and vendor relationships\nMonitor food cost, labor cost, and kitchen performance metrics.\nIdentify opportunities to improve efficiency without sacrificing quality.\nHelp achieve profitability goals through smart purchasing, inventory management, and waste reduction.\nAssist with planning and executing in-house catering and special events.\nMaintain equipment and communicate maintenance needs before they become emergencies.\nHealth, Safety & Compliance\nMaintain the highest standards of sanitation and food safety.\nEnsure compliance with all local, state, and health department regulations.\nKeep the kitchen organized, clean, and inspection-ready at all times.\nTrain staff on proper food handling and safety procedures.\nYour Qualifications\n5+ years of professional chef experience\n2+ years of consistent kitchen management and leadership experience (scheduling, hiring, training, running a team)\nCurrent Food Manager Certification\nA scratch-cooking background — you build flavor from real ingredients, not shortcuts\nStrong knowledge of inventory management, ordering, and food costing.\nComfort working in a fast-paced, order-at-the-counter environment\nProven leadership skills with a passion for coaching, mentoring, and developing others.\nFlexibility to work evenings, weekends, and occasional events\nA personality that fits a brewery — professional where it counts, laid-back where it doesn't\nAbility to lift up to 60 pounds\nWhat Makes You Successful\nYou’re someone who:\nLoves being in the kitchen and leading from the front.\nTakes pride in developing people and building strong teams.\nHolds yourself and others to high standards.\nStays calm under pressure.\nThinks creatively while remaining disciplined with costs.\nCares as much about consistency as creativity.\nWants to build something special with a team that enjoys working together.\nEnjoys collaborating with owners, bartenders, and kitchen staff to create a great guest experience.\nWhy Grain Theory\nCompetitive salary with performance bonuses\nHealth, vision, and dental coverage\nEmployee discounts on food and beer\nCreative ownership over the menu—we'll collaborate, but you'll have the opportunity to make the kitchen your own.\nA brewery family that shows up for the community and for each other\nWe’re an independent brewery that believes great beer deserves equally great food. Our team values collaboration, creativity, continuous improvement, and genuine hospitality. We work hard, have fun, and are always looking for ways to make our guest experience even better.\nIf you’re looking for a place where your ideas matter, your leadership is valued, and your food can make an impact every day, we’d love to hear from you.\nHow to Apply\nWe hire talented people because we trust them. You'll have the opportunity to bring ideas, improve systems, create memorable dishes, and help shape the future of our food program alongside ownership.\nReady to lead our kitchen? We'd love to hear from you. Complete our employment application and upload your resume at www.graintheory.beer/employment\nWant to get a feel for who we are? Follow @graintheorybeer on Instagram and Facebook to see our food, beer, and community.\nPay: From $60,000.00 per year\nBenefits:\nDental insurance\nFlexible schedule\nFood provided\nHealth insurance\nPaid time off\nVision insurance\nExperience:\nKitchen management & head chef: 2 years (Preferred)\nLicense/Certification:\nfood manager certification (Preferred)\nWork Location: In person","company":"Grain Theory","rawCompany":"grain theory","city":"Abilene","state":"TX","isRemote":false,"isActive":false,"createdAt":"2026-07-23T13:22:46.347Z","occupations":[{"code":"35-1011.00","title":"Chefs and Head Cooks","slug":"chefs-and-head-cooks"},{"code":"35-1012.00","title":"First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers","slug":"first-line-supervisors-of-food-preparation-and-serving-workers"},{"code":"11-9051.00","title":"Food Service Managers","slug":"food-service-managers"}],"industries":[{"code":"722511","title":"Full-Service Restaurants","slug":"full-service-restaurants"},{"code":"722513","title":"Limited-Service Restaurants","slug":"limited-service-restaurants"},{"code":"722514","title":"Cafeterias, Grill Buffets, and Buffets","slug":"cafeterias-grill-buffets-and-buffets"}],"jobPosting":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"JobPosting","title":"Head Chef","description":"Lead the kitchen at one of West Texas' premier brewpubs, where scratch-made food, craft beer, and a great team come together every day.\nLocation: 202 Pine Street, Suite 201, Abilene, TX 79601 Job Type: Full-Time Compensation: Competitive salary + performance bonuses Benefits: Health, vision, dental, and employee discounts\nAbout Grain Theory\nGrain Theory is Abilene’s neighborhood brewpub where exceptional craft beer and scratch-made food come together. We brew our own beer on-site and pair it with a chef-driven menu in a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere. Our concept is intentionally different—guests order at the bar and pick up their meals from our kitchen window, creating an indoor food truck experience inside a modern brewery.\nWe’re passionate about quality, hospitality, creativity, and building a team that enjoys coming to work every day. If you love great food, craft beer, leading people, and creating memorable guest experiences, we’d love to meet you.\nThe Role\nWe’re looking for an experienced Head Chef who leads by example and thrives in a hands-on kitchen. This is not a desk job—it’s a working chef position for someone who enjoys cooking alongside the team while providing leadership, coaching, and accountability.\nYou'll oversee every aspect of our scratch kitchen—from menu development and recipe standardization to staffing, inventory management, food costs, catering, and maintaining exceptional quality and food safety standards.\nYou’ll have the opportunity to shape our food program while working closely with ownership to continue growing one of West Texas’ premier brewpub destinations.\nThe Responsibilities\nMenu & Recipe Development\nDesign and evolve breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus\nWrite and standardize recipes for consistency across shifts and staff\nDevelop specials that keep regulars coming back and give us something worth posting about\nEnsure every dish meets Grain Theory’s quality standards.\nContinuously improve menu offerings based on guest feedback, seasonality, and profitability.\nKitchen Leadership & Staff Development\nLead and inspire the kitchen team through positive, hands-on leadership.\nRecruit, train, mentor, and develop kitchen staff.\nBuild schedules that balance labor efficiency with operational excellence.\nFoster a culture built on accountability, professionalism, mutual respect, high standards, and leaving egos at the door.\nLead by example during every service.\nOperations & Cost Control\nOversee daily kitchen operations from prep through service.\nManage inventory, ordering, and vendor relationships\nMonitor food cost, labor cost, and kitchen performance metrics.\nIdentify opportunities to improve efficiency without sacrificing quality.\nHelp achieve profitability goals through smart purchasing, inventory management, and waste reduction.\nAssist with planning and executing in-house catering and special events.\nMaintain equipment and communicate maintenance needs before they become emergencies.\nHealth, Safety & Compliance\nMaintain the highest standards of sanitation and food safety.\nEnsure compliance with all local, state, and health department regulations.\nKeep the kitchen organized, clean, and inspection-ready at all times.\nTrain staff on proper food handling and safety procedures.\nYour Qualifications\n5+ years of professional chef experience\n2+ years of consistent kitchen management and leadership experience (scheduling, hiring, training, running a team)\nCurrent Food Manager Certification\nA scratch-cooking background — you build flavor from real ingredients, not shortcuts\nStrong knowledge of inventory management, ordering, and food costing.\nComfort working in a fast-paced, order-at-the-counter environment\nProven leadership skills with a passion for coaching, mentoring, and developing others.\nFlexibility to work evenings, weekends, and occasional events\nA personality that fits a brewery — professional where it counts, laid-back where it doesn't\nAbility to lift up to 60 pounds\nWhat Makes You Successful\nYou’re someone who:\nLoves being in the kitchen and leading from the front.\nTakes pride in developing people and building strong teams.\nHolds yourself and others to high standards.\nStays calm under pressure.\nThinks creatively while remaining disciplined with costs.\nCares as much about consistency as creativity.\nWants to build something special with a team that enjoys working together.\nEnjoys collaborating with owners, bartenders, and kitchen staff to create a great guest experience.\nWhy Grain Theory\nCompetitive salary with performance bonuses\nHealth, vision, and dental coverage\nEmployee discounts on food and beer\nCreative ownership over the menu—we'll collaborate, but you'll have the opportunity to make the kitchen your own.\nA brewery family that shows up for the community and for each other\nWe’re an independent brewery that believes great beer deserves equally great food. Our team values collaboration, creativity, continuous improvement, and genuine hospitality. We work hard, have fun, and are always looking for ways to make our guest experience even better.\nIf you’re looking for a place where your ideas matter, your leadership is valued, and your food can make an impact every day, we’d love to hear from you.\nHow to Apply\nWe hire talented people because we trust them. You'll have the opportunity to bring ideas, improve systems, create memorable dishes, and help shape the future of our food program alongside ownership.\nReady to lead our kitchen? We'd love to hear from you. Complete our employment application and upload your resume at www.graintheory.beer/employment\nWant to get a feel for who we are? Follow @graintheorybeer on Instagram and Facebook to see our food, beer, and community.\nPay: From $60,000.00 per year\nBenefits:\nDental insurance\nFlexible schedule\nFood provided\nHealth insurance\nPaid time off\nVision insurance\nExperience:\nKitchen management & head chef: 2 years (Preferred)\nLicense/Certification:\nfood manager certification (Preferred)\nWork Location: In person","datePosted":"2026-07-23T13:22:46.347Z","dateModified":"2026-07-23T13:22:46.347Z","hiringOrganization":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Grain Theory","sameAs":"https://jobsearcher.com"},"jobLocation":{"@type":"Place","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","addressLocality":"Abilene","addressRegion":"TX","addressCountry":"US"}},"identifier":{"@type":"PropertyValue","name":"JobSearcher","value":"9c19f19bf9c6332b7e012d5f"},"url":"https://jobsearcher.com/jobs/9c19f19bf9c6332b7e012d5f"}}