Production Chef - Banquet - Ventura, CA

Hotel Californian is a renowned luxury hotel located in an iconic destination, offering guests an unparalleled experience in hospitality and fine dining. Known for its elegant accommodations and exceptional service, the hotel has become a premier choice for travelers seeking comfort, style, and an immersive cultural experience. The property features a variety of amenities including upscale restaurants, event spaces, and recreational facilities, each designed to meet the highest standards of quality and guest satisfaction. Dedicated to creating memorable experiences for every visitor, the hotel continuously invests in its staff and facilities to maintain its reputation as a leading hospitality establishment. The Banquet Production Chef role at Hotel Californian plays a critical part in achieving this mission by ensuring the highest quality of food preparation and presentation in banquet and catering services. This position reports to the Executive Sous Chef and works closely with the Executive Chef to oversee kitchen operations, focusing on maintaining excellent food standards while managing cost and productivity. The Chef is tasked with training and motivating culinary staff to meet and exceed operational goals, emphasizing safety, quality, efficiency, and guest satisfaction. This position requires hands-on leadership in preparing and presenting high volumes of food for banquet functions and catered events involving complex menus and timelines. The Banquet Production Chef will coordinate with the Catering department to align menu planning with client requirements and assist in client meetings when needed. They will also be responsible for developing and refining recipes, managing food costs, ensuring compliance with kitchen policies and hygiene standards, and maintaining kitchen equipment for safety and efficiency. By balancing administrative responsibilities such as scheduling and payroll with dynamic kitchen management, the Banquet Production Chef plays a vital role in supporting the hotel’s culinary excellence and operational success. This position demands a leader with extensive experience in fine dining environments, a strong knowledge of food and beverage operations, and the ability to effectively lead a diverse culinary team in a fast-paced, high-volume setting. Proven expertise in production and a la carte cooking styles, along with proficiency in various hospitality software applications, will contribute to success in this role. The Banquet Production Chef must be detail-oriented, innovative, and committed to maintaining impeccable standards that enhance the guest dining experience and uphold the hotel's prestigious brand.

• Minimum 4 years’ experience in a luxury hotel or related field
• High volume fine dining restaurant experience
• Extensive knowledge of wine, spirits and full-service alcohol serving facility
• Outstanding management, organization, communication and leadership skills
• Must be proficient in both a la carte and production cooking
• Ability to develop and maintain effective operating and control processes
• Ability and experience in leading and coordinating staff in high volume, time sensitive environment
• Ability to meet or exceed budgeting labor cost
• Ability to maintain sanitation procedures adhering to OSHA and local health department regulations
• Computer knowledge in hospitality and restaurant software and MS Office