Banquet Chef

About the role

We seek the “best of the best” culinary professionals who are passionate about exceptional food, elevated service, and creating memorable guest experiences. Recess Hotel & Club is seeking a highly driven and attentive Banquet Chef to lead the planning, preparation, and execution of all banquet and catered culinary operations.

Responsibilities

• Direct and oversee all banquet culinary operations, ensuring exceptional food quality, consistency, presentation, and execution for every event.
• Lead banquet kitchen operations from planning through execution, ensuring readiness for all meetings, weddings, social events, member functions, and special programming.
• Maintain and uphold the culinary and brand standards of Recess Hotel & Club across all banquet and catered experiences.
• Collaborate with the Executive Chef and culinary leadership team to execute menus, seasonal offerings, and special event programming.
• Manage banquet food preparation, production schedules, inventory levels, purchasing, and food cost controls.
• Assist in monitoring labor costs and staffing levels to ensure efficient and productive operations.
• Partner with Banquets, Sales, and Brand teams to review event details, anticipate guest needs, and ensure seamless event execution.
• Conduct pre-event planning meetings and communicate culinary requirements to the kitchen team.
• Lead, mentor, train, and develop banquet culinary team members while fostering a culture of accountability, teamwork, and continuous improvement.
• Support recruitment, onboarding, training, and performance management initiatives within the banquet culinary team.
• Ensure all culinary team members adhere to established recipes, portion standards, presentation guidelines, and operating procedures.
• Monitor food quality, presentation, taste, and temperature throughout all stages of production and service.
• Ensure compliance with all sanitation, food safety, HACCP, and local health department regulations.
• Conduct regular inspections of banquet kitchen areas, equipment, and storage spaces to maintain cleanliness and operational excellence.
• Assist with completing daily, weekly, and monthly administrative responsibilities, including scheduling, inventory management, food cost reporting, and operational documentation.
• Support culinary leadership in educating front-of-house teams on menu offerings, ingredients, allergens, and event-specific culinary details.
• Respond professionally and effectively to guest feedback and operational challenges, implementing solutions that enhance the guest experience.
• Foster strong cross-departmental relationships and serve as a collaborative partner to all operational teams.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Executive Chef.

Qualifications

• Passion for culinary excellence, hospitality, and creating memorable guest experiences.
• Minimum of 3 years of progressive culinary leadership experience in banquet, hotel, resort, club, or high-volume event operations.
• Strong knowledge of banquet production, event execution, food costing, purchasing, inventory management, and labor management.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, coach, and develop culinary teams while maintaining high standards of performance and accountability.
• Strong understanding of food safety, sanitation standards, and health department regulations.
• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities and execute large-scale events in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong organizational, planning, and time management skills with exceptional attention to detail.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with culinary, banquet, sales, and hotel leadership teams.
• Track record of delivering exceptional guest experiences while maintaining operational and financial performance goals.