Director of Culinary/Corporate Chef
Gecko Hospitality
Listing collected from Gecko Hospitality's career site. NextChapter is independent of Gecko Hospitality.
Detroit, MI · Posted October 13, 2026
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November 2026
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How AI is used in this kind of work
AI use among chefs and head cooks is little observed so far. Measured exposure for chefs and head cooks: 0% (little observed).
Share of this job’s tasks that AI is already used for at work, from real usage. It is not a forecast of job loss, and a low number means no use seen yet. Source: Anthropic Economic Index.
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About the job
Director of Culinary / Corporate Executive Chef
Reports To: Chief Executive Officer
Location: Southeast Michigan (on-site, with regional travel)
Type: Full-Time, Exempt
The Opportunity
A beloved, decades-old pizza brand with a multi-unit restaurant group and a national frozen retail line is hiring one culinary leader to own both businesses. You’ll protect a signature recipe, build what’s next and make it repeatable, from the test kitchen to the restaurant line to a co-manufacturing plant.
What You’ll Own
Recipes and standards. Own the gold standard for dough, sauce, cheese, bake and portioning. Document, train and audit it across restaurants and retail product.
Menu development. Lead new items, LTOs and catering from idea to launch, partnering with operations and marketing.
Frozen product development. Take products from bench to shelf: formulation, gold standards, plant trials and first-production sign-off with the co-manufacturer. This is a hands-on role, not managing outside resources.
Quality. Run regular quality checks in restaurants and on retail product, and fix drift at the source.
Food cost. Partner with purchasing and finance on recipe costing, pricing and ingredient or supplier changes.
Training and food safety. Build kitchen training and certification, and support allergen, nutrition and labeling accuracy.
What You Bring
8+ years in professional kitchens, including 3+ years as Executive Chef, Corporate Chef or Culinary Manager in a multi-unit restaurant company
Hands-on bench-to-production experience with a co-manufacturer or plant (scale-up, specs, plant trials)
Strong knowledge of dough, fermentation, baking and cheese; pizza or bakery experience is a strong plus
A track record of launching menu items across multiple locations
Recipe costing and food cost management
ServSafe Manager certification (or ability to obtain it), plus working knowledge of HACCP, allergens and labeling
Comfort training line cooks, presenting to retail buyers and talking margins with finance
Preferred: a degree in Food Science or a related field, CRC or CCS certification, frozen or CPG retail experience, and heritage-brand experience.
Why This Role
An iconic brand with deep regional loyalty
A seat at the leadership table, working directly with the CEO
Two growing businesses with one standard behind both
Competitive pay, bonus and benefits