Life’s Patina is looking for a Head Café & Coffee Shop Chef for the Life’s Patina Mercantile & Café. Our Head Café & Coffee Shop Chef will be responsible for the successful management of the café’s kitchen from end to end, including creation and execution of our menu, budgeting, inventory, staff management and enforcing food safety standards.  

This is an exciting and unique opportunity for an experienced chef to get in on the ground floor of our café & coffee shop business and play a foundational, influential role in helping to create a café experience unlike any other in our area, where food is art.  

The ideal candidate should have a passion for developing creative and beautiful menu options, strong kitchen management skills, a positive attitude and a proven track record of success in driving growth and profitability in the hospitality business.  

Key Responsibilities:  

Recipe and Menu Development 

• Work very closely with Founder & Creative Director to create and develop unique, healthy recipes and bring them to fruition in a beautiful way that fits with our overall aesthetic and mission to celebrate the beauty in the everyday 
• Create recommendations for how food should be creatively presented, displayed and packaged, in partnership with Founder & Creative Director  
• Plan menus, including daily specials, seasonal and special events menus, and set pricing in accordance with competition and profit goals  
• Conduct ongoing research on price points and product offerings at competing local cafés to inform our prices and product offerings 
• Source and utilize seasonal, organic, locally grown and responsibly sourced ingredients for café recipes 
• Suggest new menu items based on customers' preferences and feedback 
• Stay current with developing trends in the industry  

 Café and Kitchen Management 

• Forecast and monitor labor and food costs to ensure profitability and budget goals are met 
• Price out and order all ingredients, produce, condiments etc.  
• Manage relationships with food vendors  
• Maintain safety and sanitary conditions in kitchen at all times with strict adherence to all health department regulations. Be the point person for all health department inspections 
• Coordinate necessary maintenance to kitchen equipment to ensure it continues to run properly and is fixed in a timely fashion when broken 
• Recruit, train, manage and supervise all kitchen and café staff 
• Optimize kitchen staff productivity  
• Prepare weekly work schedules for staff and find suitable replacements for staff absences  
• Ensure all café expenses are within budget and identify ways to decrease operational costs 
• Take inventory of café supplies and order new stock as needed 
• Receive café supply deliveries and verify that the correct items and quantities have been delivered  

Customer Service 

• Identify and help execute new strategies to retain and attract customers
• Resolve customer complaints regarding food quality and customer service 
• Collaborate with front-of-house staff to ensure seamless service and guest satisfaction

• High school diploma or GED 
• Degree from a culinary school OR at least 2 years of experience working as a Head or Executive Chef in a small-scale restaurant, café or coffee shop
• Credentials in health and food safety training and a food handler’s license
• Highly collaborative team player and pro-active problem solver
• Strong business acumen 
• Excellent organization and time management skills  
• Excellent leadership skills to motivate and coach staff    
• Expert communicator who can both manage kitchen staff for a productive and successful kitchen and provide exceptional customer service when interfacing with clients 
• Creative with food, recipes and presentation and sees food as art