Executive Chef

St. Charles, MO, USA|Onsite

Job Overview

Employment Type

Full-time

Work Schedule

Standard Hours

Job Description

Aramark Student Nutrition is part of Aramark, a global leader in food, facilities, and uniform services, renowned for providing top-quality dining experiences to millions every day across 15 countries. Specifically, Aramark Student Nutrition caters to over 350 school districts throughout the United States, offering comprehensive food and nutrition services to public and private educational institutions. These services include breakfast and lunch programs, after-school snacks, catering, nutrition education, and retail food operations. The company's central mission is to craft culinary experiences that inspire student success, delivering healthy, nutritional meals coupled with stellar dining services to school communities nationwide. Aramark prides itself on innovation, quality, and a commitment to health and wellness, integrating advanced culinary techniques and customer-focused solutions to meet diverse dietary needs and preferences.

The Executive Chef role at Aramark Student Nutrition is a pivotal management position responsible for leading culinary teams, including chef managers and hourly culinary staff, in executing high-quality culinary operations. This role goes beyond standard kitchen duties; it involves strategic oversight of food production, presentation, service, and adherence to safety and quality standards. The Executive Chef ensures that culinary operations align with Aramark’s Executional Framework, applying expert culinary skills and leadership to create an engaging and efficient dining environment. Responsibilities also include training and coaching team members, maintaining compliance with food safety and operational policies, managing food and labor costs, and fostering relationships with clients and guests to ensure mutual satisfaction and business success.

This position requires a robust knowledge of culinary arts, people management, and operational excellence. The Executive Chef plays a critical role in sustaining food quality and safety, driving innovation through awareness of regional culinary trends, and optimizing supply chain and procurement processes. Maintaining the integrity of Aramark’s food offerings is essential, along with ensuring efficient execution of daily menus and effective team communication through meetings and performance tracking. The role demands a balance of creativity and operational discipline, contributing to Aramark’s overarching goal of delivering exceptional food service in educational settings.

At Aramark, employees are encouraged to develop new skills and embrace challenges to make a meaningful impact both for themselves and the customers they serve. The Executive Chef position, therefore, represents not only a management opportunity but a chance to contribute to a respected organization dedicated to service, sustainability, and community enrichment. By joining Aramark Student Nutrition, candidates become part of a company that values equal employment opportunities, fosters diversity, and supports professional growth within a vibrant, global team.

Job Requirements

Culinary degree or equivalent experience
Minimum of 4 years culinary experience
Preferably at least 2 years experience in a management role
Ability to multitask effectively
Strong communication skills including oral, reading, and written
Advanced knowledge of food profession principles and practices
Experience managing people and solving problems
Commitment to food safety and quality standards

Job Qualifications

Requires at least 4 years of culinary experience
At least 2 years in a management role preferred
Requires a culinary degree or equivalent experience
Ability to multi-task
Ability to simplify the agenda for the team
Requires advanced knowledge of the principles and practices within the food profession
This includes experiential knowledge required for management of people and/or problems
Requires oral, reading, and written communication skills

Job Duties

Ensures culinary production appropriately connects to the Executional Framework
Ensures proper culinary standards and techniques are in place for preparation of food items, including production, presentation, and service standards
Manages a culinary team, including chef managers and hourly staff, to ensure quality in final presentation of food
Train and manage culinary and kitchen employees to use best practice food production techniques
Coach employees by creating a shared understanding about what needs to be achieved and how it is to be achieved
Reward and recognize employees
Plan and execute team meetings and daily huddles
Complete and maintain all staff records including training records, shift opening/closing checklists and performance data
Develop and maintain effective client and guest rapport for mutually beneficial business relationships
Interact directly with guests daily
Aggregate and communicate regional culinary and ingredient trends
Responsible for delivering food and labor targets
Consistent focus on margin improvement
understanding performance metrics, data, order, and inventory trends
Ensure efficient execution and delivery of all culinary products in line with the daily menu
Maintain integrity of the standard Aramark food offer
responsible for always maintaining food quality and safety of items
Full compliance with Operational Excellence fundamentals: managing waste, standard menus, recipes and ingredients through managing customer driven menus and labor standards
Understand end to end supply chain and procurement process and systems, ensuring only authorized suppliers are used
Full knowledge and implementation of the Food Framework
Ensure accuracy of estimated food consumption for appropriate requisitions and/or food purchase
Ensure proper equipment operation and maintenance
Ensure compliance with Aramark SAFE food and Quality Assurance standards, occupational and environmental safety policies in all culinary and kitchen operations
Comply with all applicable policies, rules and regulations, including but not limited to those relating to safety, health, wage and hour