Executive Chef

About Gold Ridge

Gold Ridge is a brand-new restaurant directly across from the Barlow Hotel in Sebastopol, and the first chapter of the Barlow Hotel. The space is freshly renovated, with a new interior and all-new equipment. We hold our Temporary Certificate of Occupancy (TCO) and are ready to ramp up.

We want Gold Ridge to become an institution for our community, serving solid, consistent, high-quality food that never feels stuffy. The kitchen is built around a wood-fired grill and rotisserie, with a menu shaped by Sonoma County farms and the coast.

We have a clear concept and a menu framework, and we’d love to collaborate with a chef to bring it to life. You’ll develop and test the recipes, set prices, build the supplier list, hire and train the kitchen, and run it from day one. This is an opening role, and we plan to open as soon as the right team is in place.

We care as much about how the kitchen runs as how the food tastes. You’ll keep a close eye on food cost, waste, labor and the wood fire, with burn time and fuel use managed as carefully as any ingredient.

What you’ll do

• Collaborate with ownership on the menu framework and develop every recipe
• Test, cost and standardize the recipes, and set prices
• Lead a live-fire grill and rotisserie program
• Build relationships with Sonoma County farms, ranches and fishermen
• Run a cost-conscious kitchen: hit food-cost and labor targets, track waste, and manage wood use and burn time on the grill and rotisserie
• Hire, train and lead the kitchen team, and own food safety

What we’re looking for

• 5+ years leading a kitchen as chef or chef de cuisine
• Live-fire or wood-fired cooking experience
• Butchery experience and a whole-animal, low-waste approach
• Has opened a restaurant before
• A cost-conscious operator who costs every recipe, tracks food cost and waste weekly, and runs the fire efficiently
• A team player and collaborator who builds a kitchen people want to stay in

Certifications and physical requirements

• ServSafe Food Protection Manager certification, or able to earn it within 30 days of hire
• Able to stand for long shifts and work around open flame and high heat
• Able to lift up to 50 lbs

Compensation and benefits

• $100,000–$120,000 per year, depending on experience
• Eligible for an opening bonus, with details discussed at offer
• Medical, dental and vision insurance
• Paid sick leave