Hotel Equities, a multi-award-winning hotel development and hospitality management company, is currently searching for a remarkable Executive Chef for the Delta Hotels Guelph Conference Centre in Guelph, ON.

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Red Seal Certification in Cook/Culinary Trade is strongly preferred.
• Previous Executive Chef, Chef, or senior culinary leadership experience in a full-service hotel environment in Ontario.
• Proven experience managing hotel restaurants, banquet, catering, and high-volume culinary operations.
• Strong knowledge of Ontario food safety, sanitation, occupational health and safety, and applicable regulatory requirements.
• Demonstrated experience with food cost control, menu planning, purchasing, inventory management, labor management, and culinary budgeting.
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to recruit, train, coach, and develop culinary team members.
• Ability to maintain consistently high standards of food quality, presentation, service, and guest satisfaction.
• Flexible availability, including evenings, weekends, holidays, and peak business periods, based on operational requirements.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, high-volume hotel environment and respond to changing business demands.
• Strong communication, organization, problem-solving, and leadership skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively with Food & Beverage, Operations, Sales & Catering, and other hotel departments.
• Food Handler Certification and other applicable Ontario food-safety certifications are required.

ESSENTIAL JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Overall Culinary Operations

• Lead and oversee all culinary operations for the hotel, including restaurant, banquets, catering, room service/IRD
• Ensure consistent food quality, presentation, portion control and execution across all outlets.
• Establish and maintain culinary standards, recipes, preparation procedures and plating standards.
• Be hands-on and visible in the operation, particularly during peak periods and major events.

2. Banquet & Catering Operations

• Take overall culinary responsibility for all banquet and catering events.
• Work closely with Sales, Catering and Banquets to review BEOs, menus, guarantees and special requirements.
• Plan food production, staffing, timing and execution for weddings, conferences, meetings and other large functions.
• Ensure banquet food is delivered on time, at the correct temperature and according to contracted specifications.
• Develop and maintain banquet menus that are competitive, profitable and operationally practical.
• Control banquet food waste, overproduction and spoilage.
• Ensures KPI for Banquet Food Quality are met in line with Marriott benchmarks

3. Restaurant Operations

• Oversee daily restaurant kitchen operations and ensure consistent execution during breakfast, lunch and dinner.
• Develop seasonal and profitable menus in conjunction with the F&B/Restaurant leadership.
• Monitor guest feedback, food quality and presentation and take corrective action.
• Ensure appropriate staffing and production levels based on forecasted covers and business levels.

4. Financial Management – Very Important

• Own the culinary department's food cost and kitchen labour performance.
• Develop and manage the annual culinary budget and forecasts.
• Establish food-cost targets and monitor actual results against budget.
• Review food cost, labour cost, waste, spoilage, portion control and purchasing variances.
• Implement corrective action when food or labour costs exceed budget.
• Identify opportunities to reduce costs without compromising guest experience or quality.
• Participate in menu engineering to maximize contribution margins.

5. Purchasing & Inventory

• Manage purchasing in line with Avendra for HE, receiving, storage and inventory controls.
• Work with approved vendors to obtain competitive pricing and consistent quality.
• Maintain appropriate par levels for restaurant and banquet operations.
• Conduct regular physical inventories and investigate significant variances.
• Minimize waste, spoilage, theft and unnecessary purchases.
• Ensure proper rotation and storage of all food products.

6. Labor Management

• Develop kitchen schedules based on occupancy, restaurant covers, banquet volume and forecasted business.
• Manage labor productivity and staffing levels against budget.
• Ensure appropriate staffing for large banquet events without excessive overtime.
• Recruit, train, coach and develop culinary employees.
• Cross train staff to improve flexibility and productivity.
• Conduct performance reviews and address performance issues promptly.

7. Food Safety & Ontario Compliance

• Ensure compliance with all applicable Ontario food safety, public health, workplace safety and sanitation requirements.
• Maintain proper food temperatures, storage, labelling and handling procedures.
• Ensure required food-handler/food-safety certifications are maintained.
• Maintain clean and sanitary kitchens, coolers, freezers, preparation areas and stewarding areas.
• Correct deficiencies identified through health inspections or internal audits.

8. Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, coach and develop the culinary leadership team, including Sous Chefs, Banquet Chef and line-level culinary staff.
• Establish clear performance expectations and hold team members accountable.
• Create a culture of teamwork, professionalism and accountability.
• Conduct regular kitchen meetings and training.
• Develop succession plans and internal culinary talent.
• Maintain strong communication collaboration with F&B, Banquets, Sales, Engineering and the General Manager.

9. Guest Experience

• Personally monitor food quality and guest satisfaction.
• Respond to significant guest complaints relating to food quality or service.
• Review guest satisfaction and banquet/event feedback and implement improvements.
• Maintain consistent standards across both high-volume banquet production and à-la-carte restaurant service.
• Creates a culture of chefs coming out and speaking with guests

10. Menu Development

• Create and update restaurants, banquets and catering menus, being innovative.
• Ensure menus reflect market demand, seasonality and hotel positioning.
• Calculate recipe costs and selling margins.
• Standardize recipes and portion sizes, and establish pickup charts as needed.
• Introduce new products and concepts while maintaining financial discipline.

OTHER DUTIES

PLEASE NOTE THIS JOB DESCRIPTION IS NOT DESIGNED TO COVER OR CONTAIN A COMPREHENSIVE LISTING OF ACTIVITIES, DUTIES OR RESPONSIBILITIES THAT ARE REQUIRED OF THE EMPLOYEE FOR THIS

DUTIES, RESPONSIBILITIES, AND ACTIVITIES MAY CHANGE AT ANY TIME WITH OR WITHOUT NOTICE.

DESIRED SOFTWARE PROFICIENCIES: NONE

EDUCATION / EXPERIENCE:

• High school or equivalent education strongly preferred.
• 3 years of culinary management experience required.
• Catering experience in a managerial capacity required.
• Experience managing a kitchen, developing staff, and managing food costs required.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Ability to stand and maintain well-paced mobility for up to 4 hours.
• Ability to bend, stoop, squat, stretch, and lift to 50 lbs. regularly.
• Ability to lift and carry food items or trays weighing up to 30 lbs.
• Ability to push and pull carts and equipment weighing up to 250 lbs.

WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU:

• The salary range for this position will be $75,000 to $80,000.
• Health and dental insurance
• RRSP with company match
• Vacation and Sick Pay
• Paid Holidays
• Daily Pay
• Hotel Brand discounts
• Discount programs for shopping, travel, tickets and more.
• Access to our Talent team to help you reach your career growth goals.