Chef

HEAD CHEF Full-Time - Salaried - Lynchburg, Virginia Reports To Owner / Founder Kitchen Team Sous Chef, Prep Cook, Pastry Chef (separate hires) Service Breakfast, Lunch, Brunch and Happy Hour with Apps.- counter service with table delivery by number Schedule Five days per week, mornings and midday - no late nights Compensation Competitive salary commensurate with experience + shift meal benefit + full team tip pool participation Start Date To be determined - pre-opening role Who We Are The Porch is a garden caf , espresso and smoothie bar opening in Lynchburg, Virginia. We are not a Southern comfort caf . We are not a country kitchen. We are a caf rooted in the belief that where food comes from, how it is grown, and what happens to it afterward are not incidental details - they are the whole story. Our physical space is a living garden - a patio, a screened porch, private garden nooks surrounded by plants and flowers. Our menu is built around organic, single-origin, and sustainably sourced ingredients. Our food waste is composted and returned to the community. Our sourcing relationships are built with farmers, fishermen, and producers who share our values. We operate as a counter service caf with table delivery. Our team is small, intentional, and deeply cross-trained. Every role - from the dish station to the espresso bar - is treated with equal dignity, equal respect, and equal participation in our tip pool. Everyone who works at the Porch leaves their egos at the door. There is not a single role in a restaurant that, if it were to be cease during service, would not cause the business to crumble and fall. A chef understands this. We have built a culture before we have opened a door, and we are looking for a Head Chef who will help us bring it to life. The Role The Head Chef at The Porch is the heart of our kitchen, and in many ways, the heart of the entire caf . To customers of The Porch, the chef is the rock star. This is not a position for someone looking for a steppingstone. It is a position for someone who has actively chosen the caf world, who finds meaning in beautiful, intentional food made with honest ingredients, and who genuinely wants to build something lasting in a community they care about. You will be the primary creative and operational force in our kitchen. You will be instrumental in helping to develop our opening menu, build our sourcing relationships, train and lead our kitchen team, manage our food costs with discipline and intelligence, and be a daily living expression of The Porch's values. You will work alongside - not above - a team of people who all believe that every role in this caf matters equally. Staff are treated with dignity and respect always regardless of role. A Word on Scale The Porch is a single-location breakfast and lunch caf . Our kitchen team is intentionally lean. This role is right for someone who finds deep satisfaction in doing a small number of things extraordinarily well - not for someone who needs a large brigade to feel fulfilled. If you have ever looked at a beautiful, thoughtful caf menu and thought 'I could build that,' this is your opportunity. What You Will Do Menu Development & Culinary Direction You and the owner will develop The Porch's opening menu for breakfast, lunch service and brunch service - seasonal, ingredient-driven, and reflective of our sourcing values Create recipes and maintain all recipes in our recipe management system, Meez, fully costed and photographed, before opening day Introduce seasonal menu updates that reflect what is actually available from our local and regional producers Collaborate with our Pastry Chef on menu cohesion - savory and sweet should feel like they belong to the same philosophy. Design a limited, intentional holiday menu for our Community Table service on select holidays Maintain a menu that is executable by your team to a consistent standard - beauty that cannot be replicated is not beauty, it is anxiety Design, cost and prepare catering and event menus. People will want to rent The Porch patio for their special events. Sourcing & Vendor Relationships Identify, establish, and maintain relationships with organic, local, and regional farmers, fisheries, and producers whose practices align with The Porch's values Prioritize single-origin sourcing, sustainable fishing, pasture-raised poultry, and organic produce in all purchasing decisions Work with management to build a vendor network that is reliable, values-aligned, and appropriately priced Stay informed about seasonal availability and adjust menus and purchasing proactively Be able to speak knowledgeably and enthusiastically about every sourcing decision to management for budgeting and to your kitchen team - they will need to relay this to guests. Kitchen Operations & Food Cost Manage all back-of-house operations to the standard of a professional, clean, and efficient kitchen Maintain food cost targets in collaboration with management - creativity within financial discipline is a core skill of this role Oversee ordering, receiving, and inventory with precision - waste is taken seriously at The Porch both philosophically and financially Operate and oversee our food waste composting program - food mills, community compost distribution, and relationships with local farms for food scraps Maintain compliance with all Virginia Department of Health food safety requirements - ServSafe certification required or obtainable pre-opening Keep the kitchen exceptionally clean, organized, and operating to the standard you would want every guest to see. Team Leadership & Training Lead, mentor, and develop our Sous Chef, Prep Cook and Pastry Chef with patience, clarity, and genuine investment in their growth. Participate fully in The Porch's pre-opening immersion week - you will spend time at every station, including the dish station, because that is who we are. Train kitchen staff using our recipe management system - recipes are the reference, not verbal instruction passed down informally. Build a back-of-house culture that reflects The Porch's values - equal dignity, honest communication, genuine care for the team. Attend and contribute to weekly pre-shift meetings - your voice matters in the full team conversation, not just in the kitchen. Be a Chef your team wants to learn from - share knowledge generously, take mistakes as teaching moments, and model the standards you set. Complete all company training programs including sexual harassment training, within 5 days of notification. Guest & Brand Presence Be a genuine representative of The Porch's food philosophy - you should be able to articulate why every ingredient was chosen and feel genuinely proud of that answer Collaborate with the owner on seasonal menu communications, sourcing stories, and guest-facing content that reflects our kitchen's identity Contribute to the creative culture of The Porch - including our signature staff drink program, where team members create and name their own menu items. Occasionally emerge from the kitchen to connect with guests, particularly at the launch of seasonal menus or special events - you are never invisible here. Who You Are Your Food Philosophy You genuinely believe that where food comes from matters - not as a marketing position, but as a personal conviction you have held for years You are drawn to organic, seasonal, and locally sourced ingredients not because they are trendy but because they taste better and feel right You understand sustainable fishing, pasture-raised animal welfare, and single-origin sourcing at a working, practical level You get excited about what is at the farmers market this week and immediately start thinking about what to do with it. You will shop the market for fresh farm to table menu specials. You have cooked with real restraint - you know that a beautiful ingredient needs very little done to it, and you trust that knowledge. You are not a chef who covers everything in sauces to cover up proteins that are on the cusp. Your Kitchen Character You are calm under pressure - a breakfast rush does not rattle you, it focuses you You are a teacher at heart - you find genuine satisfaction in watching a prep cook improve, not in being the only one who can do something correctly You are humble about what you don't know and curious enough to keep learning You do not have a hierarchical ego - you are comfortable washing your own dishes, helping on a station that needs you, and being seen doing any job in the building You are honest about mistakes - yours and your team's - and you address them directly, without drama, and with a clear path to improvement You take extraordinary pride in consistency - the dish that goes out on a slow Tuesday should be identical to the one that goes out on a busy Saturday brunch. You do not gossip about your employees or the owner. You understand that in the caf , you are at the top, and set the tone for everyone else. That being said, you do not tolerate bad apples who bring others down. Your Leadership Style You build kitchens where people want to work - where the atmosphere is demanding but not demeaning, high-standard but humane You communicate clearly and directly, without games or passive aggression You give credit generously and take accountability seriously You understand that a small kitchen team requires every person to feel valued - including the prep cook and the dishwasher - and you actively create that environment You are a collaborator with ownership, not a lone operator - you will build this menu together with the owner's vision as your north star Qualifications Required Minimum 3 to 5 years of professional kitchen experience, with at least 3 years in a lead or senior cook role. Demonstrated experience in a caf , brunch, farm-to-table, or breakfast and lunch concept - dinner-only experience is not sufficient on its own Genuine . click apply for full job details