Pleasant Valley, Iowa
Moscow, Idaho
Posted: 21-May-23
Location: Pleasant Valley, Iowa
Type: Full Time
Categories:
Interested in Hiring ACF Certified:
Work Setting:
EXECUTIVE CHEF PROFILE:
DAVENPORT COUNTRY CLUB
DAVENPORT, IA
EXECUTIVE CHEF DAVENPORT COUNTRY CLUB
The Executive Chef position at Davenport Country Club located in the Quad Cities is an exceptional opportunity to work at a private club known in the area for its premier recreational facilities. This is an amazing opportunity for a Chef looking to live and work in a beautiful part of the country and build a great career at a club that values great leadership and culinary skills, with a focus on building relationships and growing the culinary culture at the Club.
Click here to view a brief video about this opportunity.
DAVENPORT COUNTRY CLUB
Davenport Country Club is a Quad City-based private organization operating for the recreational and social objectives of its members and their families. Included in their recreational offerings is the premier golf course in the area as well as excellent dining, swimming, and tennis facilities.
Davenport Country Club’s mission is to provide excellent value to its members by delivering superior service and providing quality facilities while maintaining fiscal responsibility. The Club is committed to providing a good working environment for its personnel.
Davenport Country Club can accomplish its mission through representative board leadership, professional management, and properly trained staff while maintaining appropriate membership levels.
Davenport Country Club is a private member-owned club offering elegance, relaxation, and exceptional recreational and social facilities within a magnificent setting. Founded in 1924, the club features one of the premier courses in the State of Iowa. Renowned golf course architects Henry Shapland "Harry" Colt and Charles Hugh Alison were selected to design the original course with Alison being the principal architect involved within the initial routing plan. The course makes dramatic use of the natural terrain and elevation, with two beautiful creeks coming into play on five holes. From the opening day, the reputation grew quickly, and it soon became known as one of the best courses in the Midwest. The course has always been rated by Golf Digest as one of the best in the state (3rd in the state as of 2019), and the famed 16th hole has twice been awarded national recognition as an “All-American Golf Hole” by Sports Illustratedmagazine.
In 2014, the golf course underwent renovations to continue the great golf tradition for years to come. The course had undergone several small-scale renovations over its 90-year history. However, the focus of this major renovation delivered by the renowned golf architects, Ron Forse and Jim Nagle of Forse Golf Design, was to restore the course to its original design and playing features. To achieve this, greens needed to be expanded, tees re-positioned and rebuilt to original locations and fairway bunkers brought back into play, among many other tasks. The renovation is now a few years in the past and the course is showing the magnificent outcome of the effort and dedication put in by the team to keep this course one of the best in the state.
DAVENPORT COUNTRY CLUB BY THE NUMBERS
- 520 memberships
- $3M Total Club Revenue
- $970K Food revenue
- $500K Beverage revenue
- 62% a la carte 38% banquets
- 10 Average Annual Weddings
- 30 kitchen employees (FTE) 15 seasonally for the pool
- 38K Total Covers (Annualized)
- 3 Kitchens (Colt & Alison, Mulligans & Pool Snack Bar)
- 2900 sq foot clubhouse
- 45% target food cost
- 53 Average Age of Membership
- 130 Total Employees at the Davenport Country Club during season
- 501(c)7 Tax Status
DAVENPORT COUNTRY CLUB: www.davenportcc.com
DAVENPORT COUNTRY CLUB FOOD AND BEVERAGE:
Mulligan’s is the Club’s casual dining outlet seating 140 with seasonal hours of operation. During the Winter Mulligan’s is open Sunday - Thursday, Lunch 11-2 pm and Dinner 5-8 pm (Closed Monday). Friday - Saturday, Lunch 11 am - 2 pm and Dinner 5 - 9 pm
During Golf Season hours expand to Sunday - Thursday, Lunch 11 am - 5 pm, and Dinner 5 pm - 8 pm (Closed Monday). Friday - Saturday, Lunch 11 am - 5 pm and Dinner 5 pm - 9 pm. Breakfast 5:45 am - 10 am Saturday-Sunday and Holidays.
Opening time for breakfast does change as the first tee opening changes throughout the season.
Colt & Alison is the dinner-only fine dining option at the Club which seats 72 and is open Thursday 5 - 8 pm and Friday-Saturday 5 - 9 pm
The pool snack bar is open seasonally with a 200-person deck capacity Sunday – Saturday from 11 - 8 pm
Banquets are held in The West Room (100 ppl capacity) and the President’s Room (90 ppl capacity) Larger club events utilize all club dining spaces and events are held for up to 250 people. The largest event of the year is July 4th with over 500 members and guests in attendance.
The Club is closed most of January plus Mondays and Tuesdays outside of Memorial to Labor Day, plus New Year’s Day, Christmas Eve, and Christmas, depending on how Christmas falls during the week.
Davenport Country Club uses Clubessentials property management systems.
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
The Executive Chef (EC) reports to Mr. John Panek, General Manager/COO, and has approximately 30 kitchen team members, all reporting directly to them. The culinary team includes a lead sous chef and sous chef, the club is actively looking to add a pastry chef to the team. The Executive Chef interacts regularly with the House Committee.
EXECUTIVE CHEF JOB DESCRIPTION
The (EC) is a key leader on the food and beverage team who is responsible for the execution of cuisine to the well-traveled club membership. This role demands seamless and consistent standards of the culinary excellence the club is known for. The next EC will continue to build the culinary culture and offerings at the Club.
Leadership
- Be a collaborative team player who is willing to work with and train the team each day doing whatever it takes to deliver the best Member experience.
- Empower the culinary team and delegate appropriately, so they can focus on growth; be confident that the operation can run well in EC’s absence.
- Be an active recruiter of team members and someone who inherently enjoys developing and building his/her team and leading them to significant, positive membership satisfaction outcomes.
- Have a passion and aptitude for teaching and training all food service personnel, working, as necessary, with the staff directly responsible for operations.
- Be a focused and consistent evaluator of personnel, ensuring that standards of conduct and delivery are met; this includes oversight of high standards of appearance, hospitality, service, and cleanliness of the kitchen facilities.
- Maintain existing operating standards for personnel in areas of responsibility and consistently evaluate knowledge, understanding, and execution to these high standards.
- Work closely with the front-of-house food and beverage managers to assure a cohesive experience that continually exceeds the expectations of Members and guests.
- Engage with, observe, learn, and listen to the Members and staff. Earn Member trust by instilling confidence through continued enhanced operations, interaction, visibility, and consistency.
- Remain current and continue education regarding diverse and new culinary trends and cuisines.
- Maintain physical presence during times of high business volume.
- Create a welcoming, approachable, and inclusive kitchen atmosphere for all club staff based on mutual respect.
Operations
- Maintain existing standard recipes and techniques for food preparation and presentation that help to assure consistent high-quality food.
- Maintain a rotation of varied food offerings which feature global cuisines. Evaluate food products to assure that quality standards are always attained.
- Maintain opening and closing cleaning checklists for each area/station within the kitchen and develop a weekly/monthly cleaning checklist.
- Safeguard all food-preparation employees by implementing training to increase their knowledge about safety, sanitation, and accident-prevention principles.
- Maintain safety training programs; manages OSHA-related aspects of kitchen safety and maintains MSDSs in an easily accessible location.
Financial
- Plan menus for all food outlets in the club and for special occasions and events. Schedule and coordinate the work of chefs, cooks, and other kitchen employees to assure that food preparation is economical and technically correct, and within budgeted labor cost goals.
- Consistently monitor payroll and labor resource allocations to ensure they are in line with financial forecasting and goals, the club has a strong finance department that provides monthly and bimonthly updates to the EC.
- Embrace the use of systems (including regular inventory processes) and technology to assist in the management of the kitchen and the financial performance of the operation.
- Prepare necessary data for applicable parts of the budget; project annual food, labor, and other costs and monitor actual financial results; take corrective action as necessary to help assure that financial goals are met.
- Review and approve product purchase specifications.
CANDIDATE QUALIFICATIONS
The successful candidate:
- Has 5+ years of luxury culinary experience as an Executive or Executive Sous Chef in a similar-sized operation.
- Successful experience in both a la carte and banquet operations in previous hotels, clubs, or resorts.
- Is a strong and passionate leader and culinary professional with a proven track record of providing high-level services. The EC must be passionate about their craft and inspire those around him or her with that energy and passion.
- The EC is a lifelong learner and instills that characteristic into his or her team.
- Is extremely organized to successfully manage and lead multiple a la carte and banquet venues simultaneously as well as prepare for and execute successful banquet events.
- Has a successful track record of controlling costs, standardizing recipes, and planning budgets and has the skills necessary to perform all kitchen tasks and training others to properly execute those tasks. The EC leads by example.
- Is Innovative yet understands and respects the club’s long-standing culinary traditions and can balance both in creating menus, specials, and banquet offerings.
- Must have computer skills including but not limited to Microsoft Outlook, Word, and Excel. Experience with Club Essential POS software is a plus. Experience communicating with and engaging members and/or customers using social media is a plus.
- Is a well-respected member of the leadership team and community team and can generate thoughts and ideas that result in increased sales and improved membership satisfaction.
EDUCATIONAL & CERTIFICATION QUALIFICATIONS
- A culinary arts degree from an accredited school is preferred.
- Certified Executive Chef (ACF) or Pro Chef (CIA) certification is preferred.
- Certification in food safety is mandatory.
EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION
In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.
SALARY AND BENEFITS
The salary is open and commensurate with qualifications and experience. Davenport Country Club offers an excellent benefits package including professional development.
INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO APPLY
Please upload your resume and cover letter, in that order, using the link below. You should have your documents fully prepared to be attached when prompted for them during the online application process. Please be sure your image is not present on your resume or cover letter; that should be used on your LinkedIn Profile.
Your letter should be addressed to: Mr. John Panek, General Manager/COO and clearly articulate why you want to be considered for this position at this stage of your career and why Davenport Country Club and the Davenport area will likely be a “fit” for you, your family and the club if selected.
You must apply for this role as soon as possible but no later than Monday, June 19th. Candidate selections will occur in early Late-June with the first Interviews expected Monday, July 10th, with the second interviews a short time later. The new candidate should assume his/her role mid-late August.
IMPORTANT: Save your resume and letter in the following manner:
“Last Name, First Name Resume”
“Last Name, First Name Cover Letter Davenport Country Club
(These documents should be in Word or PDF format)
Note: Once you complete the application process for this search, you are not able to go back in and add additional documents.
Click here to upload your resume and cover letter.
If you have any questions, please email Holly Weiss: holly@kkandw.com
LEAD SEARCH EXECUTIVES
Annette Whittley, Search Executive
561-827-1945 (M)
annette@kkandw.com
Lawrence McFadden, CMC, Search Executive
239-963-6888 (M)
lawrence@kkandw.com