Five Star Catering in Watsonville is looking for an experienced culinary leader—not just a great cook.For more than 30 years, Five Star Catering has built a reputation for exceptional food, quality ingredients, consistency, and professional execution. We produce approximately 100 weddings each year, along with corporate events, private parties, and other large-scale catered events. On our busiest days, we may execute four or five events simultaneously for up to 600 guests. We are looking for a Head Chef who can lead our kitchen team, protect the culinary standards that have made Five Star successful, and help us build the systems and processes needed for our next stage of growth.
This is a hands-on leadership position for someone who understands that running a successful catering kitchen requires much more than cooking great food.
The Head Chef will work closely with the owner to preserve Five Star's long-standing recipes, quality standards, and culinary identity while bringing fresh ideas and new menu concepts to the company.You will lead a team of approximately 15 full-time kitchen employees, as well as additional part-time and on-call staff during busy periods. Our kitchen has been successful for many years, but we are ready to become more organized, consistent, and efficient. The right person will help us build the infrastructure to make that happen.
You will be responsible for:
Leadership & Team Management
Lead, coach, train, and hold kitchen employees accountable.
Establish clear expectations for performance, communication, teamwork, cleanliness, and professionalism.
Delegate effectively and make sure employees understand both what needs to be done and why.
Develop employees and identify opportunities for growth.
Address performance and personnel issues directly and professionally.
Create a kitchen culture based on respect, accountability, teamwork, and pride in the work.
Work closely with the owner on staffing, performance, and operational issues.
Culinary Operations:
Oversee daily kitchen production for weddings, corporate events, private parties, and other catered functions.
Document and Maintain Five Star's established recipes and food-quality standards.
Develop and introduce new menu items and recipes in collaboration with the owner.
Ensure food is consistently prepared and presented to Five Star standards.
Taste and evaluate food throughout production.
Coordinate multiple event productions and deadlines, sometimes simultaneously.
Systems & Process Improvement
Create and maintain documented recipes, production standards, and kitchen procedures.
Improve organization, prep systems, labeling, storage, production flow, and communication between in the kitchen.
Identify inefficiencies and develop better ways to accomplish the work.
Establish systems that allow the kitchen to produce consistent results regardless of which employees are working.
Help Five Star move from processes that have historically been learned "by experience" toward clear, documented, repeatable systems.
Food Safety & Quality:
Maintain excellent food safety, sanitation, and cleanliness standards.
Ensure compliance with applicable health department regulations and food safety requirements.
Monitor food handling, storage, temperatures, labeling, and sanitation practices.
Maintain a clean, organized, professional kitchen.
Purchasing & Inventory
Manage food ordering, inventory levels, receiving, storage, and product rotation.
Work with vendors to maintain quality and control costs.
Minimize waste and improve food-cost management.
Help establish more consistent systems for inventory and purchasing.
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR:
The ideal candidate is:
An experienced kitchen leader who has successfully managed a professional kitchen team.
An excellent cook with strong knowledge of food, technique, flavor, and presentation.
A strong communicator who can give direction clearly and respectfully.
Comfortable holding employees accountable and having difficult conversations when necessary.
Highly organized and naturally inclined toward systems and process improvement.
Able to manage multiple priorities and deadlines without becoming overwhelmed.
Someone who takes pride in consistency and understands that great catering requires the same quality every time, for every event.
Creative and interested in developing new menu ideas while respecting an established culinary history.
Comfortable working in a fast-paced catering environment where schedules and priorities can change quickly.
Someone who leads by example and is willing to jump in and work alongside the team on a daily basis.
Required Qualifications:
Bilingual English/Spanish — required.
Valid driver's license — required.
Computer Skills and comfort with scheduling and ordering software.
Significant professional kitchen experience.
Proven experience managing and leading kitchen employees.
Experience with high-volume food production.
Strong understanding of food safety and sanitation.
Ability to organize production for multiple events and deadlines.
Strong communication, delegation, and problem-solving skills.
Ability to work variable hours, including some evenings, weekends, and holidays based on the event schedule.
Experience managing multiple events in catering, banquet operations, or other high-volume culinary environments is strongly preferred. Experience managing in some are of food service required.
THIS POSITION IS NOT FOR EVERY CHEF. We are not simply looking for someone who can cook great food.We need someone who can lead people, create accountability, build systems, solve problems, improve processes, and maintain high standards—while also being an excellent chef. If you love cooking but don't enjoy managing people, organizing a team, documenting processes, giving feedback, or holding employees accountable, this probably isn't the right position for you. If you are the kind of chef who sees a disorganized process and thinks, "There has to be a better way to do this," we want to hear from you.
Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.