Chef de Cuisine | AVA Coconut Grove

WHO ARE WE?

Riviera Dining Group is redefining hospitality through elevated dining, vibrant nightlife, and immersive design. From the success of MILA in Miami Beach to the expansion of AVA, CASA NEOS, and CLAUDIE, RDG is building a collection of destinations that offer more than a meal — they create unforgettable experiences.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Chef de Cuisine assists the Executive Chef in running the kitchen as a successful independent profit center, ensuring maximum guest satisfaction through planning, organizing, directing, and controlling kitchen operations and administration. The role exhibits culinary talent through hands-on production while helping lead the back-of-house team and managing all food-related functions. The Chef de Cuisine supervises all kitchen areas to ensure a consistent, high-quality product is produced.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Food Quality & Production
  • Conduct daily line checks and enforce recipe adherence, portioning, butchery, and plating to restaurant specifications and commitment to quality.
  • Maintain food quality and specification standards across all stations.
  • Manage product mix across appetizers, salads, sandwiches, entrées, specials, and desserts.
  • Develop daily specials and support Omakase menus, events, and menu changes and launches.
  • Enforce FIFO product rotation.
  • Maintain line of sight across the kitchen with consistent attention to detail.
  • Inventory & Cost Control
    • Complete physical inventory across storage areas, freezer, cooler, spice rack, bag-in-box area, expo, line, and service stations.
    • Run daily high-cost perpetual inventory, daily food inventory and ordering, and monthly inventory.
    • Enter inventory, purchases, invoices, sales, and ending inventory into the COGS sheet.
    • Manage food COGS against budget.
    • Place daily and weekly food purchases following order guides and F&O quality and pricing standards.
    • Maintain food par levels and plateware par levels, communicating plateware needs to the front of house.
    • Labor & Administration
      • Build schedules for both coverage and cost.
      • Manage daily and weekly labor in dollars and percentage, and monitor overtime.
      • Review the prior week's labor to identify areas of opportunity.
      • Execute new hire and termination procedures.
      • Complete team member injury reports.
      • Attend weekly management meetings and lead pre-shift with back-of-house staff.
      • Sanitation & Safety
        • Maintain sanitation standards including temperature logs, HACCP review, and sanitation walkthroughs.
        • Monitor temperature logs and manage dish machine performance and the chemical vendor relationship.
        • Maintain organization of storage, prep, line, and dish areas.
        • Execute kitchen opening and closing procedures.
        • Leadership
          • Manage the entire back of house in the Executive Chef's absence.
          • Train and develop back-of-house team members and reinforce teamwork.
          • Communicate issues, concerns, and updates to the Executive Chef and sous chefs.
          • Adhere to all company policies as stated in the team member handbook.

          REQUIREMENTS & QUALIFICATIONS

          • Required
            • Minimum 2 years in a kitchen management role in a fast-paced, high-volume restaurant.
            • High-volume and/or fine dining experience.
            • Computer proficiency including Excel, Windows, and POS systems.
            • Career-driven with a stable job history.
            • Preferred
              • College degree or culinary school degree.
              • Competencies
                • Strong verbal and written communication with kitchen and front-of-house teams.
                • Attention to detail and consistent line of sight across the operation.
                • Teamwork and training orientation.

                PHYSICAL DEMANDS & WORK ENVIRONMENT

                • Physical Demands
                  • Stands and walks for the majority of the shift.
                  • Lifts, carries, and moves up to [__] pounds.
                  • Bends, reaches, stoops, kneels, and climbs stairs throughout the shift.
                  • Performs repetitive hand tasks including knife work, butchery, plating, and equipment handling.
                  • Works in walk-in cooler and freezer temperatures for short intervals.
                  • Work Environment
                    • Fast-paced professional kitchen with exposure to heat, steam, open flame, and hot surfaces.
                    • Wet floors, cleaning chemicals, and dish machine steam.
                    • Elevated noise levels during active service.
                    • Schedule includes evenings, weekends, and holidays based on business needs and event calendar.