Executive Chef - Waco

Waco, TX, USA|Travel, Onsite

Job Overview

Employment Type

Full-time

Compensation

Salary

Range $70,550.00 - $99,600.00

Work Schedule

Flexible

Day Shifts

Weekend Shifts

Benefits

Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

Paid Time Off

Retirement Plan

Professional development opportunities

Employee assistance program

Paid holidays

Job Description

The Central Texas Food Bank (CTFB) is a leading hunger-relief organization based in Austin, Texas, serving a 21-county region in Central Texas. As a proud member of the Feeding America network, CTFB is dedicated to fighting hunger through comprehensive and innovative approaches. The organization supports over 612,000 food-insecure individuals annually by providing nutritious food, leading hunger and poverty advocacy efforts, and transforming lives with education, programs, and community partnerships. With a network of approximately 250 nonprofit community partners, CTFB is committed to ensuring food access for those in need, anchoring its work in core values such as Service, Integrity, Dignity, Collaboration, and Innovation.

The Executive Chef role is a vital and newly created position to lead the launch and ongoing operations of CTFB's new commercial kitchen scheduled to open in Waco in May 2026. This leadership role involves building, training, and managing the kitchen team to deliver high-quality culinary services aligned with CTFB's mission. The Executive Chef will oversee the development and execution of various food programs, including core meal production for partner agencies, meals for existing food bank initiatives, summer meal programs, and medically tailored meals, ensuring that all food preparation meets stringent quality, safety, and nutrition standards.

This role demands a strong foundation in commercial kitchen management, culinary expertise, and the ability to direct kitchen operations effectively. Responsibilities include managing food forecasting, standardizing production recipes, establishing presentation and quality benchmarks, menu planning and pricing, and maintaining all kitchen equipment in excellent working condition. Ensuring full compliance with all relevant food safety, sanitation, and handling regulations is critical to the role, which requires close collaboration with multiple departments and external partners.

Reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer, the Executive Chef will play a high-profile role within the organization, fostering a culture of professionalism, teamwork, and continuous improvement. The position calls for exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, with responsibilities extending beyond kitchen operations to include financial oversight, staff development, and serving as the primary liaison with chefs, restaurants, and catering companies involved with the food bank's kitchen programs.

The Executive Chef will lead efforts to create a high-performance team focused on leadership, accountability, and goal achievement. This includes recruiting, training, motivating, and evaluating kitchen staff while setting performance goals aligned with the broader organizational strategy. With a work environment based in a fast-paced kitchen setting, the candidate must exhibit strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.

Overall, the Executive Chef role offers the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on hunger relief efforts in Central Texas by ensuring high culinary standards that support nutrition and wellness for vulnerable populations. The role operates Monday through Friday with occasional evening and weekend hours for peak times or special events and requires some travel within CTFB's service area. This is a unique chance to contribute to a respected organization dedicated to improving food access and community health through innovative food service programming.

Job Requirements

Associate's degree in culinary arts required
Bachelor's degree in nutrition, public health or related field preferred
Minimum 4+ years of experience managing a commercial kitchen including supervising kitchen staff
Food Manager's Certification required
Proficiency in MS Office and ability to move between programs
Strong interpersonal skills
Excellent written and verbal communication skills including public speaking
Ability to work independently with minimum supervision
Organized and able to manage multiple projects simultaneously
Ability to work cooperatively with others across departments and job levels
Orientation to detail, accuracy and meeting deadlines
Ability to represent the Food Bank in a courteous professional manner
Ability to manage time efficiently

Job Qualifications

Associate's degree in Culinary Arts
Bachelor's degree in nutrition, public health or related field preferred
Minimum 4+ years of experience in managing a commercial kitchen, including supervising kitchen staff
Food Manager's Certification
Proficiency in MS Office
Strong interpersonal skills
Excellent written and verbal communication skills including public speaking
Ability to work independently and manage time efficiently
Ability to remain organized while managing multiple projects
Ability to work cooperatively with staff, volunteers, and agency personnel
Detail orientation and accuracy
Professional demeanor
Leadership and team management skills

Job Duties

Lead menu-planning, working with network programs and client services teams to procure and prepare food that meets program guidelines
Production of daily meals for clients following all USDA and Texas Department of Agriculture program guidelines for components, nutrition content and portion sizes
Organize, oversee and manage all food prep operations in daily operations
Order food based on food production schedules
Supervise regular inventory control of specific product lines, placing orders and supervising check-in to assure accuracy for production and culinary programs
Have knowledge of all current local health department, organizational HACCP and Food Safety SOPs, State and Federal Guidelines
Maintain accurate files: meal production, programming, inventory and licenses/certification and other documentation as necessary, computer and hard copy
Work with kitchen and operations staff to maintain and repair kitchen facility and equipment, with operations scheduling repair services as needed
Ensure a clean, safe and organized work environment
Approve kitchen/program expenditures and be accountable for financials for all kitchen programs
Supervise and demonstrate professional culinary techniques and methods
Research and implement new food bank program initiatives related to the kitchen
Maintain and report all outcomes as required by grants and funders
Establish and maintain a working environment conducive to positive morale, individual style, quality, creativity and teamwork
Serve as the Food Bank's primary liaison with chefs, restaurants, catering companies, and food associations as they pertain to the operation of the kitchen programs
Plan menus and oversee venue, equipment, food and service preparations
Oversee catering to include the review of catering orders, monitoring catering stock and supplies, ordering replenishments and negotiating prices
Develop a high-performance team culture focused on leadership and accountability at all levels, continuous learning, collaboration, measurement, and goal achievement by modeling the way and enabling others to act
Interview, hire, train, motivate, manage and evaluate kitchen staff
Set performance goals for team members that align to CTFB's strategy and evaluate performance against goals on a regular basis
Effectively coach team members and provide supportive and developmental feedback to enhance performance
Actively supports organization's values, goals and objectives by leading by example
Demonstrates support of organizational message without blaming other departments, leaders or providing personal opinions