Job Description
**Role Overview**
**Lead with Flavor. Inspire with Passion.**
Let your love for people and food be the driver of your success. As an **Executive Chef** **with Sodexo in Costa Mesa, California** , you'll bring culinary creativity, leadership, and hands-on expertise to a high-profile account where every plate makes an impact. Through your leadership, your team will deliver unforgettable dining experiences and elevate hospitality every single day.
**About the Role**
We're seeking a polished, professional, and hands-on culinary leader who thrives in the kitchen and on the floor. You'll be accessible to staff during service, guiding and mentoring with confidence, while also collaborating with clients to ensure seamless catering experiences-especially within the on-site conference center. This is a high-level culinary management role, but one that keeps you close to the action, supporting operations and inspiring excellence.
At Sodexo, food is more than nourishment-it's an experience. Join us and showcase your creativity, leadership, and passion in a role where your impact is felt every day.
**What You'll Do**
+ **Lead the Kitchen:** Be hands-on in the kitchen, accessible to staff during service, and set the tone for culinary excellence.
+ **Create Menus:** Develop menus that balance creativity, food costs, dietary needs, and client expectations.
+ **Stay on Trend:** Bring fresh, innovative ideas to the table, keeping menus aligned with current culinary trends and impressing clients with creativity.
+ **Inspire & Mentor Staff:** Train, coach, and elevate the skills of the culinary team, ensuring high standards of quality, presentation, and safety.
+ **Collaborate with Clients:** Partner with the client to deliver seamless catering experiences and build strong relationships.
+ **Ensure Safety & Standards:** Oversee daily production with a focus on food safety, sanitation, and consistent excellence.
+ **Balance Operations & Creativity:** Manage the operational side of the kitchen while still being hands-on, ensuring smooth service and innovation coexist.
**What We Offer**
Compensation is fair and equitable, partially determined by a candidate's education level or years of relevant experience. Salary offers are based on a candidate's specific criteria, like experience, skills, education, and training. Sodexo offers a comprehensive benefits package that may include:
+ Medical, Dental, Vision Care and Wellness Programs
+ 401(k) Plan with Matching Contributions
+ Paid Time Off and Company Holidays
+ Career Growth Opportunities and Tuition Reimbursement
More extensive information is provided to new employees upon hire.
**What You Bring**
+ **Culinary flair and creativity** to impress clients and lead your team with trending, innovative ideas.
+ **Knowledge of current food trends** and the skill to compete at the highest level of culinary artistry.
+ **Leadership and mentorship skills** to inspire, train, and elevate kitchen staff, ensuring quality, presentation, and safety standards are consistently met.
+ **Strong communication and collaboration abilities** to build trust with staff and clients.
**Who We Are**
At Sodexo, our purpose is to create a better everyday for everyone and build a better life for all. We believe in improving the quality of life for those we serve and contributing to the economic, social, and environmental progress in the communities where we operate. Sodexo partners with clients to provide a truly memorable experience for both customers and employees alike. We do this by providing food service, catering, facilities management, and other integrated solutions worldwide.
Our company values you for you; you will be treated fairly and with respect, and you can be yourself. You will have your ideas count and your opinions heard because we can be a stronger team when you're happy at work. This is why we embrace diversity and inclusion as core values, fostering an environment where all employees are valued and respected. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to individuals regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender identity, pregnancy, disability, sexual orientation, military status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. If you need assistance with the application process, please completethis form ( .
**Qualifications & Requirements**
Minimum Education Requirement - Bachelor's Degree or equivalent experience
Minimum Management Experience - 3 years
Minimum Functional Experience - 3 yearswork experience in food or culinary services including restaurants, fast food, vending, catering services, institutional services, mall food courts, etc.
**Location** _US-CA-COSTA MESA_
**System ID** _985234_
**Category** _Culinary_
**Employment Status** _Full-Time_
_Exempt_
**Posted Range** _$68600 to $103620_
**Company : Segment Desc** _CORPORATE SERVICES SEGMENT (US)_
_On-Site_
Job Tags
Full time, Local area, Worldwide,
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