Head Chef

Executive Chef

Danville, Kentucky

On-site

A growing farm-to-table prepared-foods business is hiring an Executive Chef to lead its kitchen and help build the next stage of the company.

This is farm-to-table in practice, not as a sourcing claim. Beef, pork, chicken, lamb, and eggs are raised on the family farm. The chef selects the cuts and builds the menu from that product. Prepared foods, seasonal specials, and value-added items are produced for a Main Street market and additional sales channels.

The kitchen is small, the standard is high, and the business is outgrowing its current production. This role owns today’s kitchen and has a direct hand in what the operation becomes.

The role

You will be a working chef, not a corporate executive removed from production. You lead a team of four to five, set the menu, and cook. You are not limited to a fixed protein list. You draw from what the farm raises and turn it into food that carries the business.

Front-of-house leadership is already in place. You own the kitchen and partner daily on production for the market and other outlets. A chef who has a trusted sous chef is welcome to bring that person. The sous chef role can be built into the opening team.

Responsibilities

• Select meats and cuts from the farm and develop prepared foods, specials, and retail items for the market and other channels.
• Lead daily production from planning through packaging and display.
• Write menus and recipes that use the farm’s product as the point of difference.
• Hire, schedule, train, and lead a kitchen team of up to four or five, including a sous chef you may bring with you.
• Hold standards for food safety, consistency, waste, and food cost.
• Develop new items that support growth beyond the current menu.
• Manage kitchen purchasing and inventory in line with farm production.
• Partner with ownership and front-of-house leadership on production planning as the business expands.

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading a kitchen, production kitchen, or prepared-foods program, with the ability to cook and to manage.
• A creative range suited to building dishes around farm production rather than a fixed purchasing list.
• Interest in joining a business that is still growing, not a finished concept.
• Comfort in a small-city, owner-operated company.
• Working knowledge of food cost, sanitation, and team leadership.
• Candidates from outside the immediate area are encouraged. Louisville, Lexington, Nashville, and Cincinnati are priority markets.

Compensation

Base salary is $65,000 to $75,000, depending on experience, with bonus potential for a chef who can run the kitchen and help grow the business.