About this position
CONFIDENTIAL EXECUTIVE SEARCH
Target Base Compensation: $120,000 - $140,000+/yr + Structured Performance Bonus & Full Benefits
Executive Chef - Privately owned, high-volume fine dining restaurant, Jersey Shore, NJ
The Opportunity
A premier, privately-owned waterfront fine-dining restaurant on the Jersey Shore (Monmouth County, NJ), a true destination kitchen doing serious volume: up to 600 covers a day in peak season. Ownership invests heavily in the staff, the kitchen infrastructure, and the guest experience, not in squeezing every point. The kitchen still has to hit quality, ticket time, and cost - this is a restaurant job, not a hotel or corporate dining job. This is a rare shot to run a prominent, high-profile independent kitchen with real authority and real backing.
What it takes
Pedigree: 3+ years current/recent experience as a standing Executive Chef or a heavy-hitting CDC in a verified, upscale fine-dining kitchen - not rooms F&B.
Plating: Strong on menu development and modern plate composition - can hold high-aesthetic plating at the speed a high-volume pass demands.
Volume: Proven track record running a brigade through intense weekend and seasonal spikes (several hundred covers a night) while holding quality and ticket times.
Presence: An active leader who commands the pass on busy nights - not a clipboard-only chef.
The role
Full charge of the kitchen. You own the food, the line, the schedule, the ordering discipline, and the standard. About 90–95% of the menu can be yours; a short list of house items stays. World cuisine is welcome if the plate is consistent and the station can execute it at volume.
You will
· Run daily kitchen operations at high volume
· Raise and hold food quality, plating, and ticket times
· Organize the team: stations, prep, specials, private dining, and scheduling
· Manage food cost and labor cost without starving the plate or the crew
· Write and cost recipes; train to spec; stop portion and recipe drift on the line
· Maintain equipment and a clean, accountable kitchen
· Coach cooks; keep people; replace who will not meet the standard
· Work with ownership on the floor - they still walk the kitchen
You are
· Organized. Detail-oriented. Present on busy nights
· Comfortable with menu freedom inside a house that already works
· Direct on quality without burning the culture the owners care about
This is not
A hotel chef role, a corporate multi-unit desk, or a trial to “see how it goes.” Full kitchen authority. Restaurant pedigree only.
How to apply
Message or apply through this listing. Do not contact the restaurant. Qualified candidates get the location, volume detail, and interview process (resumes and write-ups to ownership; finals on site).
Location
New Jersey .
The source lists New Jersey but does not specify a city. Check the original listing for the work location and any remote-work conditions.
How to apply
Review the vacancy and complete the application on the employer or recruitment partner’s website. Requisition ID: WJ-3188639872.