Chef de Cuisine

Location: Evanston, IL — Alleyway Grill
Employment Type: Full-Time / Salaried
Salary: $90,000–$120,000/year
Reports To: Executive Chefs/Owners Johnny Clark and Beverly Kim

Starting compensation will be determined based on experience, leadership background, scope of previous operations, and other job-related factors.

Alleyway Grill is our contemporary Midwestern restaurant, inspired by our own Midwestern upbringings and centered around seasonal ingredients, responsibly raised meats, handmade pastas, and live-fire cooking. Set in Evanston’s historic Varsity Theater, we’re creating an all-day neighborhood gathering place that feels warm, approachable, and personal to the way we love to cook and eat.

We’re looking for an experienced Chef de Cuisine to lead the kitchen day to day and help us bring Alleyway Grill to life.

Working closely with us as Executive Chefs/Owners, the CDC will translate our culinary vision into a kitchen that operates consistently at a high level — owning daily execution, service, prep systems, ordering, scheduling, training, food cost, and the development of a strong kitchen team.

This is a hands-on leadership position. Our CDC should be equally comfortable expediting a busy Saturday night, developing systems with us, coaching a young cook, reviewing food cost, or jumping onto a station when the kitchen needs it.

Alleyway Grill will be a roughly 100-seat restaurant serving brunch and dinner seven days a week, so we’re looking for someone who has experience leading a serious, high-volume kitchen and understands how to build systems that can perform consistently across multiple services.

• Lead the kitchen day to day and oversee execution across brunch and dinner
• Expedite service and maintain quality, pacing, organization, and consistency
• Execute our culinary vision and collaborate with us on menu development
• Build and manage prep systems, pars, ordering, inventory, and food-cost controls
• Hire, train, schedule, mentor, and develop the BOH team
• Establish clear recipes, plating specifications, prep procedures, and kitchen standards
• Maintain food-safety, sanitation, and health-code standards
• Build a kitchen culture rooted in professionalism, accountability, respect, and hospitality
• Work closely with FOH leadership to create smooth, thoughtful service
• Take ownership of the kitchen when the Executive Chefs are not onsite
• Lead from the line and step in wherever the team needs support

Required

• 7+ years of professional kitchen experience
• At least 2–3 years in a meaningful kitchen leadership role such as Sous Chef, Executive Sous Chef, or Chef de Cuisine
• Strong command of the line and experience expediting high-volume service
• Experience managing prep systems, ordering, inventory, and food cost
• Proven ability to hire, train, schedule, and lead a kitchen team
• Strong organizational and communication skills
• Ability to remain calm, decisive, and solutions-oriented during service
• ServSafe Manager certification or ability to obtain certification shortly after hire
• Availability to work nights, weekends, and holidays as the restaurant requires

Especially Valuable

• Experience opening a restaurant
• Experience in chef-driven, high-volume, or fine-dining kitchens
• Strong understanding of live-fire cooking
• Experience with whole-animal butchery, pasta, or seasonal Midwestern cooking
• Menu-development experience
• Experience building systems and teams rather than simply inheriting them

• $90,000–$120,000 annual salary, based on experience
• Paid time off
• Dining benefits across our restaurants
• Professional development and certification support
• The opportunity to work directly with James Beard Award–winning chefs Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark
• Significant responsibility and creative involvement in the opening and growth of a new restaurant
• Opportunity for long-term growth within our hospitality group

This is an active kitchen leadership position requiring prolonged standing and walking, frequent bending and reaching, and the ability to safely lift and carry up to 50 lbs. The position involves working around heat, steam, refrigeration, noise, knives, and commercial kitchen equipment.

Please submit your resume along with a brief introduction telling us about the kitchens you’ve helped lead and what you’re looking for in your next role.

Alleyway Grill is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive workplace. We comply with all applicable federal, state, and local employment laws.