Regional Chef Ontario/Eastern Canada

Blue Shock Executive Search, established in 2003, is a renowned executive search firm excelling in recruiting toptier candidates across the restaurant, hospitality, and food service-related sectors. As industry leaders, we specialize in forging connections between exceptional talent and leading employers in Canada and the US.
Our Client:
For more than 35 years, our client has been proudly serving local communities while building a reputation for exceptional hospitality and guest experiences. With 66 restaurant locations across Canada and the United States, their success is driven by passionate team members who thrive in a fun, energetic, and supportive work environment.
Employees benefit from competitive compensation, comprehensive benefits, and outstanding opportunities for personal and professional growth. The organization is committed to developing future leaders through training, mentorship, and career advancement opportunities.
Their culinary program features globally inspired cuisine crafted with fresh, high-quality ingredients, while their front-of-house teams deliver memorable guest experiences built on hospitality and excellence.
The Role: Regional Chef
Salary Range: $110,000 - $120,000
Bonus Structure: $30,000/year
The Regional Chef is responsible for driving food quality, culinary operations consistency, creating a strong leadership & development mindset with culinary leaders & GMs, and leading innovation across the portfolio. A strong candidate combines strategic vision with operational execution to deliver exceptional guest experiences while optimizing profitability & sales growth across locations.
Key Responsibilities:

• Influence & lead culinary strategy and execution across multiple locations.
• Ensure operational excellence: food safety, quality, and consistency.
• Mentor and develop kitchen managers, fostering accountability and growth.
• Partner & align on brand vision & strategies with their regional partner and multi-unit leadership to achieve business objectives.
• Responsible for food revenues meeting financial targets as a region.
• Responsible for daily/weekly numbers as a restaurant/region, using the sales, budgets, profits and other controllable costs, and making necessary adjustments to ensure the highest profitability at the end of every month.
• Ensure strong financial stewardship: food cost, labour control, and profitability.
• Perform restaurant audits regularly with the GM's and Chefs to grade each restaurant and ensure the highest operational standards
• Support and lead menu rollouts, equipment deployment, and culinary program innovation.
• Lead culinary standards, food quality, and consistency in the home retaurant.
• Build, mentor, and develop a strong leadership bench with clear depth and succession planning.
• Serve as the culinary standard for training, systems, and operational execution.
• Support regional initiatives, including tests, rollouts, and training programs.
• Partner with the Regional Director and home-store leadership (Operating Partner or GM) to align on performance, priorities, and development.
• Drive accountability through clear communication, follow-up, and ownership of commitments.

Leadership & Influence

• Trusted strategic partner with regional manager, multi-unit leadership, and operations teams.
• Inspires accountability and professionalism across culinary and service teams.

Operational & Culinary Excellence

• Flawless execution of menu standards and food safety.
• Elevates guest experience through various strategies, reflected in satisfaction metrics.

Financial & Business Impact

• Improves food cost, labour efficiency, and overall profitability.
• Drives sales growth through strategic innovation, mentorship, and guest-building techniques.

People & Culture Development

• Has a proficient & proven track record of people development and team growth (various levels, including succession planning for themselves)
• Builds and mentors a sustainable pipeline of future culinary leaders.
• Embodies a culture of succession planning, business ownership, and personal growth.
• Cultivates a culture of pride, elevated hospitality, and continuous improvement.

Ideal Candidate Profile

• Multi-unit culinary leadership experience in a premium casual setting.
• Has experience with Franchise locations, supporting business operations, training, and brand vision alignment.
• Experienced in F&B development testing processes.
• Experienced in new restaurant opening roles.
• Has experience in project ownership and bringing ideation to completion.
• Strategic thinker with operational execution expertise.
• Strong financial acumen: P&L, budgeting, and cost management.
• Skilled in various culinary or operational systems to streamline efficiencies and business accountability (ex., Ameego, Crunchtime, Optimum Control, KDS functionality, Rational ovens, etc).
• Skilled in coaching, mentorship, and accountability systems.
• Passion for hospitality, food innovation, and guest experience excellence.

Impact of Success

• Elevated food quality and operational consistency across all locations.
• Strong, high-performing kitchen leadership pipeline.
• Improved guest satisfaction, sales growth, and profitability.
• Key contributor to culinary and business innovation amongst peers.

What We're Looking For:

• Experienced regional level Chef experience.
• Minimum 5 years as a Chef de Cuisine/Exec Chef in a full service dining service experience.
• Previous experience overseeing and mentoring multiple Chefs as a Regional level leader is an asset.
• 10 years' progressive experience in a variety of dining environments.
• Red Seal Certification is an asset.
• Post-secondary education is an asset.