An executive chef is one of the senior and strategic roles within a restaurant. They will help shape the brand of the restaurant by crafting ideas for menus, which the head chef will research and develop. The executive chef typically acts as a face for the business; they’ll essentially craft the experience that guests will have in the establishment. Like a head chef, they won’t work in the kitchen but will oversee the operations that make the kitchen run smoothly.
Executive chefs can either be employed as a senior member of staff or, in some cases, will have a stake in the business.
Working hours for this role can vary depending on the setup and scale of the business. Stakeholders may take a more hands‑off approach, working part‑time hours. Whereas employed executive chefs are more likely to work full‑time, around 40 hours a week. The hours can be flexible with adjustments made around supplier meetings, menu planning, public events and staff.
What skills do you need to be an executive chef?
Those interested in a career as an executive chef need to demonstrate they possess the following skills to confidently and successfully perform in the role:
* An ability to maintain their personal, kitchen and food hygiene to the highest standard
* Outstanding culinary knowledge and skills
* A strong ability to communicate and effectively work in a team and lead one
* Adept in a restaurant environment, particularly with the ongoing operation of both front and back of house.
* Outstanding organisation and management skills
* Possesses a creative flair, being able to ideate and construct menus to brief the executive chef.
* The ability to inspire and lead a team while aligning with the brand’s vision
What salary can an executive chef expect?
An executive chef’s salary can vary depending on the establishment’s size and structure; the industry average for this role is £70,000- £100,000.
Job Summary
Employment type:
Employed or sometimes have a stake in the business
Working hours:
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Work/Life Balance
Since you’re on site less, the work / life balance of this role lies in just how much you have on your plate rather than being needed during early mornings or late services.
Head chef Josh Hunter has an eye for detail and a love of fresh, seasonal and delicious food. Josh’s team create mouth‑watering menus that are quintessentially British, comforting and authentic. Josh learnt his trade working at several Michelin starred restaurants in London including La Trompette, Murano and Kitchen W8. His focus is on using the very best of British produce sourced from the finest suppliers in the UK, enabling the creation of menus and recipes that will excite the most demanding of tastes.
"Some things you do at Leiths you won’t see for the first couple of years you’re working, but then a few years later you’ll do something and you’ll think “I haven’t done that since Leiths”. I went to look around another cookery school and just much preferred the atmosphere at Leiths. It was one of the best years of my life I think."
Alice Staple trained at Leith’s School of Food and Wine in 1999 and has travelled and cooked her way around Italy since. It was here that she learned the importance of seasonality, the quality of the produce and the strength of flavours both of these provide.
"I absolutely loved Leiths. It was like going back to school. It was wonderful. When you enjoy cooking and you enjoy eating, what’s not to like, to be honest?"
Henry Harris is a highly acclaimed chef, restaurateur and food writer with 30+ years experience in the food and hospitality sector. He is chef and co‑owner of critically acclaimed Bouchon Racine and the Three Compasses in Farringdon.
Henry began his career as an apprentice at Hilaire under Simon Hopkinson where he started his ascent to becoming Head Chef at a number of London’s most acclaimed restaurants, including Bibendum and Harvey Nichols’ Fifth Floor Restaurant. Henry opened his own restaurant Racine in 2002, which soon became a multi‑award‑winning, London institution for serving gutsy French cuisine.
More careers in Restaurants and Hospitality
A chef with junior responsibilities for the running of a particular section, answerable to the head of that section – the chef de partie.
A chef whose role in the brigage is to successfully run one section of the kitchen, from ensuring readiness for service, making sure ingredients are ordered in advance and giving tasks to more junior chefs working on your station.
Usually in charge of ensuring kitchen operations run smoothly, running the pass during service and freeing up the sous chef to focus on menu development.
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