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Catering CoutureDesigned Thoughtfully. Crafted Lovingly. Presented Beautifully.
Who should apply
A creative, curious, plan-in-advance chef who wants to put out high quality food and doesn't want advancement to mean getting stuck behind a desk.
Bite Catering Couture is looking for a thoughtful and detail-focused Senior Prep & Event Chef.
We are looking for somebody curious about food who is a strong chef generalist - excited about using a broad range of food, techniques, ingredients, and approaches as befits a caterer constantly creating menus tailored to a variety of client needs and events.
We run in a fairly detail and process-oriented way and we look for somebody who will help us enforce our process and wants to gain some formal training in developing early chef management skills.
You'll want a robust job (approx. 40-50 (+) hours/wk) in the West LA area that spans anything from prep to event work to menu development to planning to sourcing to recipe R&D and creation.
Success in this role generally looks like:
Loves detailed planning and proactive problem solving (mise en place your station and your work)
Passion for your craft
Ability to "play" with food - bringing diverse concepts, techniques, equipment, ingredients, etc into thoughtful conversations on improving recipes and kitchen processes (this includes savory and pastry)
Ability to give and take instruction/ feedback without ego
Excellent food delivered on time and to specification (can vary for same product based on event formats)
Completed prep as outlined by daily and weekly prep plan
A "can-do", "get the job done" and goal-oriented attitude and approach to work
Excellent cooking and presentation skills.
Understanding of food and labor costs and options to improve them
Previous experience in catering, banquet, or fine dining kitchen
Ability to create highly stylized food against a recipe to specification
Passion for constant improvement
Why work at Bite
We offer a great work environment centered in our Culver City-adjacent kitchen (with natural light!) where you will get the chance to grow in a rapidly growing catering company.
Our setup offers structure that will test the quality of your ideas but lacks the bureaucracy that, in other companies, keeps good ideas from seeing the light of day. We also offer the opportunity to attend conferences and learn (and one day hopefully teach) with the best catering chefs in the world.
We're a company well regarded both by the public and the catering industry, as you'll see from our high quality reviews and our industry speaking engagements at conferences like Catersource, WeddingMBA, and the Special Event.
Also note: we value teamwork, curiosity, process, planning, and coaching over yelling and flying by the seat of our pants. We keep a collegial, respectful, quiet kitchen filled with self-motivated chefs.
The role
We seek a talented detail/ process-oriented chef who can help us to produce beautiful and creative food for events, improve our recipes, and continuously improve the processes that run our kitchen. It's a role that mixes time in the kitchen, focus on R&D, quality control, and planning for 15+ events/wk. This is not a role for a chef who wants to be a specialist or is afraid of trying new things.
Our kitchen philosophy/ approach to catering
We are an energetic team focused on providing excellence in food, service and experience for our clients across our catering and event service offerings.Our culture is grounded in four core values:
1) Passion for excellence
2) Devotion to client service
3) Unwavering commitment to quality and presentation
4) An understanding that communication between employees and with clients is at the very heart of what makes us a successful and happy team.We offer a highly-personalized service. By transforming every detail into a unique moment of pure comfort, elegance and beauty, we nurture a relationship with our clients.
With us you will have the opportunity to experience a wide variety of cuisines with a large emphasis on detail and presentation - every day is something new. Every one of our chefs is expected to help with menu ideas. Opinions are encouraged and expected once you understand our philosophy and approach.
We have a warm and welcoming environment where we enjoy our work while still getting the job done. Our passion is creating amazing food and we have a lot of fun doing it. We truly have a special team and want to meet people who fit our culture and work ethic.
We operate with a small core team (and a pool of on-calls) so you will need to learn (where necessary) and coach our team to become proficient at techniques and equipment across the range of cooking. We run a "lean" operation off of detailed recipes, prep and event plans which helps us avoid chaos, surprises and maintain a highly productive kitchen. We believe in continuous improvement, so you'll need to help us plan and find/ solve for any errors.
Requirements
Must have a reliable method of transportation, valid license and clean driving record.
Must be able to lift 50 lbs.
Fluent in English
Able to use Microsoft Excel and kitchen software/ applications
Preferred Education/ Experience
Culinary Degree from a notable institution with a proven record of high achievement
Experience in quality catering operations is a MUST - fine dining is appreciated but catering and fine dining/restaurant are two different animals. You need to have a solid understanding of how catering prep, planning and logistics work to run an efficient kitchen.
IN ORDER TO APPLY:
Please apply by email. No phone calls or "drop-bys"
Email resume in body of email - no attachments please!
Describe your biggest kitchen pet peeve.
What is your favorite hors d'oeuvre to prepare? Why?
Describe a time when you had to give somebody some strong feedback. How did the situation get resolved?
Please provide some examples (three or more) of plating/presentation - can be an hors d'oeuvre, entree, salad, dessert - doesn't matter - something that you are proud of and that you feel is reflective of Bite's brand and presentation. Please describe the items and describe why you think they are interesting
