Brunch Chef

Head Chef/Line Cook
About us

At Ophelia’s, we're more than just a café or a restaurant. We are a destination featuring a cute 1900s house with second store boutique style bar and beautiful patio space. Our guests come not just for our craft spirits or made-from-scratch culinary offerings, but for a taste of ambiance, history, and community.

At Ophelia’s, we're more than just a café or a restaurant. We are a destination featuring a cute 1900s house with second store boutique style bar and beautiful patio space. Our guests come not just for our craft spirits or made-from-scratch culinary offerings, but for a taste of ambiance, history, and community.

Are you a culinary professional with a passion for serving up flavorful selections while building and developing a dedicated team of cooks and kitchen staff? Are you eager to make a name for yourself in a rapidly-growing and exciting organization? Keep reading. We'd love to talk!

Ophelia’s Café/ restaurant is in team-building mode with an eye on the immediate future. The Lead Chef will be integral in ensuring our location continues to serve our loyal customer base while championing our efforts to keep developing our next generation of culinary superstars.

The Lead Chef will oversee the daily operations of Ophelia’s including staff productivity and food production, menu development inventory and ordering of supplies, and cost control. The Sous Chef shall exemplify the Culinary Team’s highest standards of quality, consistency, and joyful service to the guests.

Principal Duties:

Maintain responsibility for the hiring, training, and proficiency of culinary employees, including performance reviews and formal development plans in the restaurant kitchen and catering departments.

Monitor and train the culinary staff, sanitation and safety, as well as related production activities to ensure all procedures are completed to the department standards; rectify deficiencies with respective personnel.

Participate fully in food preparation to consistently produce food that is of high quality in taste and presentation within established guidelines; work on line during service and assist wherever needed.

Ensure that all items needed for menu preparation are in stock.

Maintain purchase order system, ordering and receiving programs to ensure proper quality and price on all purchases.

Ensure adherence to recipes, correct food preparation methods, portion control, and presentation of menu items.

Inspect the cleanliness/mise en place of all kitchen areas (floor, stations, coolers, store room, dish washing, etc.) and immediately direct respective culinary staff to correct any deficiencies; Ensure that quality and details are being maintained.

Ensure that culinary staff maintain and strictly abide by state sanitation/health regulations and Ophelia's requirements.

Maintain proper storage procedures as specified by Health Department and Ophelia’s requirements (wrap, label, and date).

Ensure that applicable kitchen equipment is in proper working order prior to shift; Communicate any maintenance, repair, or upkeep issues to the Executive Chef and Head of Maintenance.

Instruct culinary staff in the correct usage and care of all equipment in the kitchen operation, with a focus on safety.

Minimize waste and maintain controls to attain forecasted food and labor costs.

Foster and promote a cooperative working climate, maximizing productivity and employee morale.

Evaluate all food products received to maintain quality specifications.

Meet with Executive Chef to review schedules, assignments, anticipated business levels, changes, and other information pertinent to the job performance.

Promote positive guest relations at all times.

Conduct monthly inventories, cost controls, and requisitioning/ordering of supplies.

. Requirements:

Physical, Mental, and Visual Skills:

• Culinary Degree preferred but not necessary and/or a minimum of 2-3 years culinary supervisory position in a reputable restaurant
• Up-to-date ServSafe certification, with a clear understanding and commitment to impeccable sanitation practices
• Thorough knowledge and understanding of proper cooking techniques, ingredients, and equipment; Ability to work all stations in kitchen
• Ability to perform moderate physical work; may be required to lift up to 70 pounds occasionally, up to 50 pounds frequently, and up to ten pounds constantly; Ability to perform such activities as bending, stooping, kneeling, crouching, climbing, reaching, standing, walking, pushing, pulling, lifting, and grasping for up to five hours without sitting.

Required Work Habits:

• Must have reliable transportation.
• Work habits include regular attendance, teamwork, initiative, dependability, and promptness.
• Must be able to work most holidays and weekends, as these are the busiest times for Ophelia’s.

Educational, Development and Work-Related Experience:

• Thorough knowledge of food preparation, kitchen maintenance, sanitation, nutrition, and operation procedures as would normally be acquired through a high school education or equivalent, plus two to three years additional college-level course of study or culinary trades training or equivalent experience.
• Knowledge of general business administration practices as applied to food preparation and kitchen maintenance operational practices and procedures as would be acquired through three to six years of similar experience in progressively responsible positions. Prior supervisory experience preferred but not required.
• Experience managing seasonal business flow, developing creative seasonal offerings, seasonal menu engineering, and continual development of catering menu is a plus.
• Experience developing culinary staff members in areas of leadership, menu development, and creativity.

Working Conditions:

• Works primarily indoors in food preparation and a kitchen maintenance environment.
• Potential exposure to sharp and rapid equipment movement hazards, sharp utensils, extremely hot stoves, grills and food and dangerous chemicals/solvents if proper safety procedures are not followed.

Job Types: Full-time, Part-time, Contract

Pay: $15.00 - $19.00 per hour

Benefits:

• Employee discount
• Flexible schedule
• Referral program

Physical setting:

• Bar
• Casual dining restaurant
• Fine dining restaurant

Schedule:

• 10 hour shift
• 8 hour shift
• Day shift
• Holidays
• Night shift
• Weekend availability

Supplemental pay types:

• Signing bonus
• Tips

Ability to commute/relocate:

• Fort Wayne, IN 46808: Reliably commute or planning to relocate before starting work (Preferred)

Experience:

• Culinary experience: 1 year (Preferred)
• Cooking: 1 year (Preferred)

Work Location: One location