HEAD CHEF / EXECUTIVE CHEF — PUTNAM’S PUB & COOKER
Clinton Hill, Brooklyn | Full-Time
About Putnam’s
Putnam’s Pub & Cooker is a busy neighborhood gastropub on Myrtle Avenue in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. Open since 2011, we’ve built a loyal following around approachable, high-quality food, a strong bar program, and genuine hospitality.
We are looking for an experienced Head Chef / Executive Chef to lead our culinary team and help shape the next chapter of our food program.
We’re an independent hospitality company with ambitions to grow. There is no corporate structure, red tape, or layers of bureaucracy to navigate. You’ll work directly with ownership and an experienced management team who are passionate about hospitality and, at the end of the day, simply want to make people happy.
For the right chef, there is plenty of room for creativity, ownership, and professional growth as the company grows.
About the Role
This is a hands-on, kitchen-focused leadership role.
We understand the scope of work involved in taking over a new kitchen. Learning the team, understanding the operation, evaluating the existing menu, establishing standards, and earning the trust of the people you’re leading takes time.
For that reason, the initial focus of this role is deliberately on the food, the kitchen, and the culinary team.
Putnam’s already has established systems and experienced people handling scheduling, purchasing, inventory, food cost, and labor management. You won’t be expected to walk in on day one and take ownership of every administrative aspect of the kitchen.
Instead, we want you to spend your time where you can have the greatest immediate impact: working with the cooks, improving execution and consistency, developing the menu, strengthening kitchen standards, and being present during service.
That doesn’t mean our existing systems are set in stone. We welcome a fresh set of eyes, and there will be plenty of opportunity to improve processes, systems, purchasing, organization, and efficiencies as you become familiar with the operation. We simply don’t believe those things need to be the primary focus of a chef coming into a new kitchen.
There is significant creative freedom within the role. We want someone who will understand and respect what Putnam’s is while bringing new ideas, improving existing dishes, developing seasonal offerings, and helping us continually evolve the food program.
A major part of the position is being present on expo during dinner service each day, particularly through peak service, to provide active quality control. The Head Chef should be the final set of eyes on the food leaving the kitchen — checking execution, presentation, portioning, timing, and consistency while coaching the team in real time.
What You’ll Do
- Lead day-to-day kitchen operations and service
- Run expo during dinner service and maintain quality control over food leaving the kitchen
- Lead, train, mentor, and develop the culinary team
- Maintain high standards for food quality, preparation, and presentation
- Develop new dishes, seasonal menus, and specials while continuing to improve the existing menu
- Establish clear recipes, preparation methods, portions, and plating standards
- Train cooks to execute those standards consistently
- Improve prep systems, organization, and kitchen efficiency
- Maintain an exceptionally clean, organized, and disciplined kitchen
- Establish and enforce sanitation and food-safety standards that go beyond basic regulatory compliance
- Work directly with ownership and management on the continued development of the food program
- Foster a professional, positive, collaborative, and accountable kitchen culture
What We’re Looking For
- Strong experience as a Head Chef, Chef de Cuisine, Executive Sous Chef, or similar kitchen leadership role
- Strong cooking fundamentals and a genuine passion for food
- Experience leading, teaching, and developing a culinary team
- Proven ability to improve quality and consistency in a busy, high-volume kitchen
- Strong menu-development skills and culinary creativity
- A sharp eye for plating, seasoning, portioning, and execution
- Organized, calm, and decisive during busy service
- Excellent communication and leadership skills
- A genuinely hands-on management style
- High standards for cleanliness, organization, food handling, and kitchen discipline
- Spanish-language skills are highly valued
- Availability to work nights, weekends, and holidays as needed
Why Putnam’s
This is an opportunity for a chef who wants to make a genuine impact. There is plenty of room to improve, evolve, and put your own stamp on the food program.
You’ll have the freedom to create, develop the team, raise standards, and help shape where we go next — without navigating layers of corporate approval.
We’re an independent hospitality company looking to grow, and there is real potential for the right person to grow with us.
We’re a team of hospitality people who love this industry and believe that, ultimately, our job is pretty simple: make people happy.
