Executive Chef, Hillwood Country Club, Nashville, TN by DZA

Another outstanding Executive Chef opportunity with Hillwood Country Club, Nashville, TN, exclusively conducted by DZA.

Hillwood Country Club offers championship golf, outdoor and indoor tennis, competition swimming pools, state-of-the art fitness, fine dining, banquet facilities, and social member events in a family-friendly environment. The 18-hole, par 72 golf course was originally designed by legendary golf architect Dick Wilson. The 7,000+ yard course opened for play in 1957 and was renovated by Bruce Hepner of world-renowned Renaissance Golf in 2003 & 2011.

The Executive Chef had been with the club for fifteen years and has orchestrated some of Nashville’s best cuisine in their four restaurants. The Terrace Grill is an adults-only bar and dining space, with gorgeous views of the golf course. The William Johnson Room is its formal dining room and the Hickory Grill is a favorite for families with a more relaxed atmosphere including bar seating and four TVs to watch the big game. The Jackson Room is a men’s only restaurant and lounge located near the golf shop with breakfast available.

Position Specific: Hillwood Country Club is looking for an Executive Chef who is culinary proficient and is able to lead and motivate his/her team. The new Chef is a communicator who has business acumen and will focus on providing exceptional food and service to the membership. Knowledge of Dietary Restrictions and maintaining high standards of hygiene and safety are a must.

• Has the ability to take full ownership of food operation, building trust within culinary team creating a work environment of mutual respect.
• Enjoys building his/her team with high standards set on appearance, hospitality, service, and cleanliness of the kitchen facilities and leads them to significant, positive membership satisfaction outcomes.
• Strong Banquet Operations oversight and ability to orchestrate multiple events happening at the same time across multiple locations.

Initial Focus:

1. Food Quality/Menus – Create an innovative a la carte menus that provides members with competitively priced and desirable options reflective of the majority of members’ interests and tastes.
2. Create Excitement in Culinary – Continue to raise the bar with member events by infusing creativity and variety into club favorites that consistently exceeds members expectations.
3. Set New Standards of Excellence – Evaluate and set appropriate and enhanced standards of operation, execution, and delivery within the culinary operation. Work closely with F&B managers to ensure a cohesive experience with the FOH.
4. Member Relations – Be visible with the membership, engaging and acting as the face of Food & Beverage, actively building relationships with members. Listen to members’ wants and needs.
5. Focus on Communication – Implement effective daily, weekly, and monthly communication across the key management team. GM’s Own Words – “The environment at HCC is family-oriented. There is a sense of community and desire from both staff and members to cultivate a culture of excellence. With the approval of a $28M, Capital Improvement plan, there is a commitment from the Board of Directors and the HCC membership to evolve the club and continuously work to enhance the amenities while giving management the tools to be successful in elevating the member experience. Through all the departments there is a mutual interest to ensure the HCC staff is working towards the common goal of being our members “favorite place” to be.

Candidate Qualifications:

• The ideal candidate is an established Chef that has a background in fine-dining restaurants, hotel/resort banquets and private club experience. A private club chef with a proven track record of excellence within the industry.
• Membership is looking for menus that feature the “favorites and classics.” With a wide range of age groups there is an emphasis on diversity and consistency. However, there are numerous opportunities to highlight cooking skills and techniques with events and specialty dinners.
• The Executive Chef will be a leader and visionary who balances time engaging with membership, posting updates in the newsletter, hosting cooking classes, planning personalized member events and all things common in best-in-class culinary operations.
• The Chef is responsible for preparing his/her operations and capital budget including forecasting cover counts, a la carte and banquet menu pricing, controlling labor and food cost and other departmental expenses.
• It will be extremely important for the “New” Executive Chef to establish relationships with the members, being seen throughout the clubhouse and within the dining rooms. He/she listens to feedback and takes it constructively to build a culinary program that creates excitement amongst the membership.
• The Executive Chef reports to the General Manager & Assistant General Manager and works closely with the CFO, Director of Food and Beverage and Director of Catering & Events.

• Annual food sales $2.4MM; Total F&B Sales $4.8MM.
• The Club currently has a 43% food cost with a food cost goal at 43% with a sales mix of 70% A La Carte and 30% Banquet. (HCC subsidized F&B $1,080,600 in recent fiscal year)
• There are 25 culinary staff and 7 stewards supported by a $1.7MM Labor Budget.
• There are (4) Sous Chefs, (AM Sous Chef, PM Sous Chefs) and a Pastry Chef. The Chef does the Purchasing.
• The Club supports three (3) Kitchens, Main Kitchen, Men’s Grill Kitchen, Canteen & Pool Kitchen. Management rates the condition as a 4 out of 5. (Note: Main Kitchen offers sufficient space for a la carte, however, can be challenged by serving to dining rooms from one line. The banquet prep space is decent with little plate-up space for large events)
• HCC has a 54,000 sq. ft. Clubhouse with 990 members, average age is 56.
• The Club operates (12) twelve months annually and closed the first two weeks of January. HCC is steady throughout the year, business spikes during pool season May – July.

Dining: (Outlets & Events)

Terrace Grill & Patio – Casual w/126 seats serving lunch & dinner Tues – Sun.

Hickory Grill & Patio – Casual w/108 seats. serving lunch & dinner Tues – Sun.

William Johnson Room – Formal w/44 seats serving dinner only Tues – Sun.

“Jackson Room” – Casual w/80 seats serving breakfast & lunch Tues – Sun.

Canteen & Pool Bar – Casual w/65 seats serving lunch & dinner Mon – Sun. (Seasonal)

Private Parties/Member Events – The largest sit-down event the club can accommodate is 800 guests. There are four (4) Private Rooms seating from 25 to 500.

The Club offers a competitive base salary, performance bonus and benefits package including a 401k, health /life insurance, ACF Dues and Conference and Dining Allowance. Relocation allowance is available.    Interested individuals need to send a current resumes, a well-conceived cover letter, and supporting information (a digital Portfolio is encouraged)  Click Here to upload your information:

Work with Denise Zanchelli and Team DZA, a team of proven culinary professionals to help advance your career.

We welcome your reaching out and make a personal connection with TeamDZA by writing either Daniel Hugelier, CMC, chefdancmc@charter.net  or Bill Schulz, MCM​ bill@waschulz.com  or Denise Zanchelli denise@dzallc.com