Executive Chef/Food Service Manager

Description

Cumberland Village is Aiken’s premier independent living community, known for restaurant-style, made-to-order dining and genuine hospitality. 

We are seeking an Executive Chef / Food Service Manager to lead our dining program: a hands-on culinary leader who can run a professional kitchen, develop a strong team, manage a budget with discipline, and treat every plate as a reflection of the community’s reputation. This is a highly visible leadership role with full ownership of both the culinary and dining-service sides of the department.

• Direct all daily food production and dining-room service, from breakfast through dinner, ensuring consistency in taste, temperature, presentation, and timing.

• Design seasonal, resident-driven menus that balance variety, nutrition, cost, and the made-to-order standard our residents expect.

• Accommodate therapeutic, allergen-related, and personal-preference requests without compromising quality or service flow.

• Lead, schedule, and develop a department of up to 20 team members, including a sous chef, dining room manager, cooks, servers, and dishwashers.

• Own the full people cycle: recruiting, onboarding, training, coaching, performance evaluations, corrective action, and retention.

• Build a culture of accountability, professionalism, and pride in the work — and a bench of talent ready for the next step.

• Manage purchasing, vendor relationships, receiving, daily and weekly invoicing, and monthly inventory.

• Partner with the Executive Director on daily PPD tracking, monthly cost analysis, labor management, and annual departmental budgeting.

• Maintain equipment, sanitation, and overall department condition; identify and justify capital needs.

• Ensure full compliance with federal, state, and local health, safety, and food-handling regulations, and maintain readiness for inspection at all times.

• Enforce HACCP-aligned practices, documentation, and staff food-safety training.

• Host quarterly resident food-and-service forums, and act on the feedback you receive.

• Coordinate catering and private-event requests for residents and their families.

• Collaborate with Marketing, Life Enrichment, and other departments on signature events, tours, and community programming.

Requirements

Qualifications  

Five or more years of progressive culinary leadership experience, including at least two years as an executive chef, chef manager, or dining services director.

• Proven ownership of a food and labor budget, with a track record of hitting cost targets without sacrificing quality.

• Demonstrated success hiring, training, and retaining kitchen and service staff.

• Working knowledge of food-safety regulation and sanitation standards; ServSafe Manager certification (or ability to obtain within 60 days of hire).

• Comfort in a resident-facing role — you are visible in the dining room, not only in the kitchen.

• Availability to support a seven-day operation, including periodic weekends, holidays, and special events.

Preferred

• Senior living, hospitality, restaurant, club, resort, or hotel food-and-beverage background.

• Culinary degree or equivalent formal training.

• Experience with therapeutic or modified diets and dietary-manager certification (CDM).

• Familiarity with catering, banquet, and event execution.

Why Cumberland Village

• Real creative control — your menus, your standards, your kitchen, with leadership support rather than a corporate script.

• An engaged, appreciative resident base that gives you direct feedback every single day.

• A predictable, community-based schedule instead of the late-night grind of a restaurant.

• A leadership seat at the table: dining is central to how residents choose and stay in our community.

Compensation and Benefits

• Salary range: [$85,000 – $90,000] annually, commensurate with experience.

• Performance incentive: Annual bonus opportunity tied to resident satisfaction and departmental cost performance.

• Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision; life insurance; 401(k); paid time off and paid holidays; meals provided on shift.

Education and Experience:

· Degree in Culinary Arts Preferred 

· Prior related 5 years experience preferred. 

Physical Requirements: 

· Ability to move throughout the kitchen and serving areas independently. 

· Ability to perform all food preparation, service and sanitation functions for demonstration purposes and assistance to staff as necessary. 

· Ability to smell and taste food to determine quality and palatability. 

· Reasonable accommodation in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) will be considered for any individual deemed disabled by the Act.