What does a corporate executive chef do?
A Corporate Executive Chef is responsible for the day-to-day operation and culinary standards of a restaurant. They also are responsible for the development of policies and procedures to enhance and measure quality.
Corporate executive chef responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real corporate executive chef resumes:
- Manage 4-5 chefs , 2 caf managers , 2 meat managers and 70-80 hourly associates.
- Manage a kitchen of military personal and Japanese civilian chefs.
- Implement HACCP to ensure efficient, safe and sanitary food production are followed.
- Develop ready-to-eat and microwavable sandwiches, wraps, pastas, soups and sauces for national and local foodservice businesses.
- Oversee daily operations of the chef de cuisine driven teams.
- Conduct training sessions for the staff to maintain the HACCP and ISO standards.
- Aid with the development of bench samples for sauces and dressings using industry standards.
- Work as team lead on the creation and execution of demonstration for the 2017 RCA conference.
- Motivate RCA members to volunteer & assist in the creation of programs & selection of the speakers.
- Create, select, and prepare a variety of top quality cuisine, supervise kitchen staff and planned/prepare menus.
- Train variety of customers' staff FOH & BOH, on cooking techniques and proper use of POS systems.
- Determine improvement opportunities by assessing BOH procedures.
- Used highly-developed creative culinary and artistic skills to provide consistent menu ideas relate to concept needs and objectives.
- Own and operate successful gourmet restaurant/bakery/catering service
- Design and prepare decorated foods and artistic food arrangements for buffets in formal restaurants.
Corporate executive chef skills and personality traits
We calculated that 20% of Corporate Executive Chefs are proficient in Culinary, Menu Development, and Food Safety. They’re also known for soft skills such as Business skills, Communication skills, and Creativity.
We break down the percentage of Corporate Executive Chefs that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Culinary, 20%
Offered effectual guidance to the Marketing Department on projects requiring culinary resource which include photo shoots or specific public relations initiatives.
- Menu Development, 8%
Contract corporate cafeteria company assisting, training and supporting new ideas for cooking methods and menu development.
- Food Safety, 7%
Oversee food safety inspection audits ensuring adherence to local/state/federal health code requisites covering all risk categories.
- Kitchen Operations, 7%
Directed kitchen operations for three different concept restaurants.
- Corporate Chef, 5%
Started as executive chef and in 1 year became Corporate Chef of this pasta and martini concept.
- Food Preparation, 5%
Direct all food preparation and planning for company parties, special events and regularly scheduled meetings.
Most corporate executive chefs use their skills in "culinary," "menu development," and "food safety" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential corporate executive chef responsibilities here:
Business skills. One of the key soft skills for a corporate executive chef to have is business skills. You can see how this relates to what corporate executive chefs do because "executive chefs and chefs who run their own restaurant need to know how to budget for supplies, set prices, and manage workers so that the restaurant is profitable." Additionally, a corporate executive chef resume shows how corporate executive chefs use business skills: "conduct all facets of new business development utilizing culinary knowledge and product development to target markets in georgia. "
Communication skills. Another essential skill to perform corporate executive chef duties is communication skills. Corporate executive chefs responsibilities require that "chefs must convey their instructions clearly and effectively to staff so that patrons' orders are prepared correctly." Corporate executive chefs also use communication skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "direct all communications between culinary staff and owners group. "
Creativity. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of corporate executive chefs is creativity. This skill is critical to many everyday corporate executive chef duties, as "chefs and head cooks need to develop and prepare interesting and innovative recipes." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "maintain the professional condition of the corporate test kitchen, keep ingredient inventory fresh and rotational. "
Dexterity. For certain corporate executive chef responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "dexterity." The day-to-day duties of a corporate executive chef rely on this skill, as "chefs and head cooks need agility to handle knives properly for cutting, chopping, and dicing." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what corporate executive chefs do: "develop pos material, information for boh operations, hands-on education, goals for sales staff. "
Leadership skills. Another crucial skill for a corporate executive chef to carry out their responsibilities is "leadership skills." A big part of what corporate executive chefs relies on this skill, since "chefs and head cooks must be able to motivate kitchen staff and to develop constructive and cooperative working relationships." How this skill relates to corporate executive chef duties can be seen in an example from a corporate executive chef resume snippet: "provide global culinary vision and leadership for 22 independent and unique restaurant and banquet facilities. "
Physical stamina. While "physical stamina" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to corporate executive chef responsibilities. Much of what a corporate executive chef does relies on this skill, seeing as "chefs and head cooks often work long shifts and sometimes spend entire evenings on their feet, overseeing the preparation and serving of meals." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of corporate executive chefs: "direct impact on food quality, food cost, full operational functions as well as the human and physical resources. "
The three companies that hire the most corporate executive chefs are:
- Compass Group USA14 corporate executive chefs jobs
- Kohl's3 corporate executive chefs jobs
- Hunter2 corporate executive chefs jobs
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Compare different corporate executive chefs
Corporate executive chef vs. Pastry cook
The Pastry Cook's responsibilities include preparing quality pastry items such as breakfast items, desserts, breads, ice creams, creams, simple syrups, amenities, and others. They are also responsible for minimizing waste and maintaining control to attain forecasted food cost.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, corporate executive chef responsibilities require skills like "kitchen operations," "corporate chef," "r," and "recipe development." Meanwhile a typical pastry cook has skills in areas such as "cleanliness," "food handling," "customer service," and "wine." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Pastry cooks tend to make the most money working in the hospitality industry, where they earn an average salary of $36,443. In contrast, corporate executive chefs make the biggest average salary, $75,137, in the manufacturing industry.On average, pastry cooks reach similar levels of education than corporate executive chefs. Pastry cooks are 3.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Corporate executive chef vs. Chef/kitchen manager
A kitchen manager or chef is someone who oversees the overall operations in the kitchen as well as the food operations. Kitchen managers make certain that food and related products are well prepared, cooked, and served to customers. They maintain a fully-stocked kitchen inventory and comply with the cleanliness and safety standards. It is their responsibility to manage the kitchen staff and aid them in delivering quality food at the right time. They need to possess management skills, leadership skills, and attention to detail.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, corporate executive chef responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "food safety," "corporate chef," "r," and "food quality." Meanwhile, a chef/kitchen manager has duties that require skills in areas such as "wine," "servsafe," "food service," and "quality food." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, chef/kitchen managers earn a lower salary than corporate executive chefs. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, chef/kitchen managers earn the most pay in the hospitality industry with an average salary of $44,258. Whereas corporate executive chefs have higher pay in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $75,137.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Chef/kitchen managers tend to reach similar levels of education than corporate executive chefs. In fact, they're 2.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for corporate executive chefs in the next 3-5 years?
Patti Stobaugh
Corporate executive chef vs. Head cook
A head cook is responsible for organizing the food preparation, organizing the kitchen operations, and ensuring the quality of the food presented. Head cooks' duties include monitoring the food inventory, creating new recipes, researching current market trends, responding to guests' inquiries and complaints, distributing kitchen tasks to the staff, and maintaining budget goals while maintaining the highest food quality. A head cook must always adhere to the sanitary procedures and hygienic standards, as well as have a broad knowledge of the food industry.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a corporate executive chef is likely to be skilled in "culinary," "menu development," "food safety," and "corporate chef," while a typical head cook is skilled in "meal preparation," "food service," "safety standards," and "quality food."
Head cooks make a very good living in the manufacturing industry with an average annual salary of $43,083. On the other hand, corporate executive chefs are paid the highest salary in the manufacturing industry, with average annual pay of $75,137.head cooks typically earn similar educational levels compared to corporate executive chefs. Specifically, they're 3.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Corporate executive chef vs. Chef de cuisine
A chef de cuisine, also known as an executive chef, oversees a kitchen's daily operations in public and private establishments to ensure food quality and efficient services. Their duties require cooking and leadership skills because they involve leading menu development and meal preparation, coordinating staff, delegating responsibilities, selecting and sourcing ingredients, and handling customer issues and concerns promptly and professionally. Moreover, a chef de cuisine leads and empowers staff to reach the kitchen's daily goals while implementing health standards and regulations.
Types of corporate executive chef
Updated January 8, 2025
