Executive Chef

Meadow Ridge, a Benchmark Senior Living community, is the premier life care retirement community in Fairfield County, located on 136 acres in beautiful Redding, Connecticut. Our goal, every day, is to make our residents feel at home, because when they are with us at Meadow Ridge, it is their home. In this unique and enriching environment, we offer Independent and Assisted Living apartment homes, as well as a skilled Health Center where we provide our residents with quality care and services.

Meadow Ridge is seeking an experienced and skilled Executive Chef to join our growing team of professionals at Benchmark Senior Living. As the Executive Chef you will oversee and direct all food procurement and production, food presentation, and all back-of-the-house activity. Expected to always meet or exceed community food service standards, adhering to budgetary requirements, and managing kitchen operations in a cost-effective manner.

Responsibilities

• Plans, staffs, organizes and coordinates the preparation of all meals in all levels of care
• Plans menus and menu cycles according to cultural and regional food preferences, and resident dietary guidelines. Adjusts recipes to appropriate yield
• Procures all food product in accordance with menu cycles and budgetary guidelines
• Procures all cleaning and paper goods as needed in accordance with budgetary guidelines
• Monitors the quality and consistency of the food to include food temperatures, portion control, palatability and attractiveness of food, and implements changes to ensure quality according to established standards
• Maintains all regulatory documentation on dining standards to ensure Federal, State and Local regulatory compliance
• Ensures compliance with resident dietary restrictions
• Observes workers engaged in preparing, portioning, and garnishing foods to ensure that methods of cooking and garnishing and sizes of portions are as prescribed
• Receives and validates all food deliveries against order form
• Inventories food items monthly
• Conducts regular Quality Assurance Audits
• Practices safe and sanitary food handling
• Practices all safety and loss prevention procedures
• Attends regularly scheduled resident or family "Food" meetings
• Monitors budgeted line items and keeps variance within targeted range

Requirements

• Associate's degree in culinary arts program preferred
• Minimum of three years' experience as a Chef/Kitchen Manager in a food service environment
• Successful completion of recognized food safety course
• Consistently participates in professional/in-service training to maintain a current understanding of best practices
• Stays connected to professional developments in the field by reading, attending conferences and learning sessions

As a community Executive Chef at Benchmark, you will have access to a variety of benefits including, but not limited to, the following:

• 8 holidays & 3 floating holidays
• Vacation and Health & Wellness Paid Time Off
• Discounted Meal Program
• Associate Referral Bonus Program, up to $1,500
• Physical & Mental Health Wellness Programs
• Medical, Vision & Dental Benefits; no enrollment waiting period
• 401k Retirement Plan with Company Match
• Company-provided Life Insurance & Long-Term Disability

Benchmark Senior Living is committed to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

We embrace and encourage our associates' differences in age, color, disability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, and other characteristics that make our associates unique.