Corporate Executive Chef - Tufts University

Tufts Dining is a self-operated food service provider managing a comprehensive collegiate dining program on the Tufts University Medford/Somerville and SMFA/Fenway campus, delivering high quality, contemporary and innovative food and hospitality services to meet the diverse needs of students, staff, faculty, administrators and visitors in a fiscally responsible manner. Our team provides a progressive resident dining program as well as innovative retail services, and a distinctive university catering program, utilizing a central kitchen, serving a campus community comprised of 6600 undergraduates, 2100 graduate students, and 2300 staff, faculty and administrators. 

The Corporate Executive Chef will inspire and inform the culinary process. Must be committed to excellence with a desire to learn, grow and teach. Contributes to centralized planning, implementation, and evaluation of overall Tufts Dining programs. The Corporate Executive Chef is a mentor to a large and diversity-valued organization.

• Ensures authentic culinary standards and techniques which reflect the Tufts community.
• Provides oversight for planning all cycle and standard menus as well as special events.
• Plays a critical role in concept development, recipe testing, ingredient specification, supplier relations, quality, and cost of food.
• Must be a great communicator, trainer, and celebrator of people with a passion and hunger to be the best.
• Must be a multi-tasker who is well versed in using technology to simplify daily tasks and enable a world class hospitality experience.
• Develop and maintain an effective rapport for mutually beneficial business relationships.
• Responsible for assisting teams in delivering food and labor model targets.
• Understands financial metrics, data, consumption and inventory trends, with consistent focus on margin improvement.
• Ensures effective preparation, presentation, and delivery of all food line products in the daily menu.
• Maintains integrity of Tufts Dining standards in all food that is offered.
• Understands end to end supply chain and procurement process and systems, ensuring only authorized suppliers are used.
• Serves as a member of the Tufts Dining Team collaborating and communicating effectively with all team members to move the program forward.

Basic Requirements:

• Knowledge and experience typically acquired through the completion of an Associate’s degree in culinary arts, hospitality management or related area on equivalent combination of education and experience and 5-7 years of experience in university dining or large, multi-unit on-site dining program
• Experience planning residential dining menus as well as retail concepts, and for creation of menus used for high-end catered functions
• Proven experience developing new concepts and working with leadership to create or renovate spaces to deliver these new concepts
• Demonstrated abiltiyt to use performance metrics, data, consumption and inventory trends as well as customer feedback data to inform new programs
• Responsibility for developing budgets for multiple units, and holding these units accountable for food and labor costs as defined
• A great communicator with excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Uses effective interpersonal communication skills to motivate and inspire superior results
• Experienced trainer who develops team members to increase their culinary skills and come together as effective teams
• Demonstrated knowledge of HACCP principles, analytical cost control methods and analytical computer software systems

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in culinary arts, hospitality management with CEC or ACF affiliation
• Experience with food manufacturing, packaging and transport equipment and systems
• Cook chill operations and kosher food preparation experience
• Experience in a union work environment

Special Work Schedule Requirements:

• Some travel is required for training and seminars to advance professional development
• A 50 hour work week is anticipated during the academic terms. Typically work is conducted in five days with two days off
• Must be able to work flexible hours with notice, including peak service periods of Matriculation, Graduation, Alumni Reunions and university events that may take place in the evenings or on weekends
• Dining operates seven days a week, requiring flexibility in scheduling that may change based on business needs