Executive Chef, Black Creek Club, Chattanooga, TN by DZA

Another quality culinary career opportunity as Executive Chef with Black Creek Club, Chattanooga, TN exclusively conducted by DZA.

Named 1 of “Top 5” Private Golf Courses in Tennessee    

“Black Creek is a place for comfort and kindness”.  Surrounded by thousands of acres of protected wilderness, Black Creek is a vibrant master-planned community just ten minutes from the urban excitement and diverse opportunities of downtown Chattanooga. Along with an award-winning golf experience, the community offers an active lifestyle complete with resort-style amenities.

Black Creek offers miles of nature trails, a fitness center, a dog park, tennis courts, and more. The clubhouse features fine and casual dining, a tiered infinity pool, and year-round events. The Black Creek golf course was designed by Brian Silva, a Golf World Architect of the Year and one of the most revered golf course designers in the world. The 18-hole championship course takes advantage of the natural topography of the land and creates challenging play for golfers of all skill levels. The course ranks among Golfweek’s “Top 100 Modern Courses” and is the only golf community in Tennessee to rank among the “Top 100 Residential Courses.”

Position Specific: The Black Creek Club is looking for an Executive Chef who has an easy-going personality and understands that raw emotions are not usually good when leading a team. The selected individual has the ability to take full ownership of food operation, build trust within a culinary team and create a respectful work environment. Someone who sees the big picture in building a quality and profitable operation.

The new Executive Chef has a working understanding of food/labor costs and how to maximize the use of what they have to achieve goals. The ability to lead – not direct staff to grow in their abilities. Has the ability to listen to members’ needs and is flexible to adjust accordingly.

Initial Focus:

1. Team Building/Solidify Staff – Build and develop a strong culinary team that is quality driven and works with a sense of urgency. Acclimate to the team, get to know the employees and systems in place. Implement effective daily, weekly, and monthly communication across the key management team.
2. Interact with Members – Listen to members and learn what they want and for what they will pay. Be visible with the membership, engaging and acting as the face of Food & Beverage. Actively build member relationships.
3. Develop a Consistent Quality Product – Evaluate and set appropriate and enhanced standards of operation including execution and delivery systems. Focus on working within budget with controlled costs.
4. Vendor Relationships – Meet vendors and establish that they are good partners for the Club. The Executive Chef will evaluate all products and costs to ensure the Club is getting best value and quality.

In the GM’S Own Words – “I have only been here 7 months, but I find the membership very unassuming and extremely grateful for ANYTHING we have done for them. The culture here was stuck in Covid mode and the answer was most of the time “no”. Staff have better leadership now with a new Clubhouse Manager (and GM) and we have changed the culture overnight by a combination of replacing some and inspiring others. This will be a very welcoming environment for a chef to come into if he/she can remember that every night isn’t a wine dinner, and casual pedestrian food is very important.”

Candidate Qualifications:

• The ideal candidate is a private club chef or Sous Chef with a proven track record of working in quality consistent operations within the industry.
• Has the ability to demonstrate good judgment, problem solving, and decision-making skills.
• Develops recipes, standards and techniques for food preparation and presentation, and ensures the staff is trained to ensure a high-quality product is served on a consistent basis.
• The Executive Chef is the department head and leader of the food operation for the Club. There are NO Club Committees.
• The Executive Chef develops weekly specials, has daily interaction with members in the dining room, attends service line-ups daily with front and back of the house and handles special member requests.
• The Clubhouse Manager and the Chef collaborate on the budget then present it to the GM, Responsible for staff labor in the kitchen and agreeing on food/supplies costs.
• The Executive Chef should plug in and get to know the members and staff – they all want to know the Chef. Take time to invest in his/her team to help them succeed.

Additional Information:

• Annual food sales $1MM; Total F&B Sales $1,250MM.
• The Club currently has a 55% food cost with a food cost goal at 45% with a sales mix of 90% A La Carte and 10% Banquet.
• There are 7 culinary staff and 1 steward supported by a $324,502 Labor Budget.
• There is (1) Sous Chef and the Chef does the Purchasing.
• The Club supports two (2) Kitchens, Main kitchen, and Food Trolley for the pool. Management rates the condition as a 5 out of 5.
• BCC has one Clubhouse with 520 members.
• The Club operates (12) twelve months annually and closes one week in January, Christmas, and Thanksgiving. The busy months are April through July.
• The Executive Chef reports to the Clubhouse Manager and works closely with the Food & Beverage Manager, Events Manager and the Accountant.

Dining: (A La Carte Outlets)

Main Dining Room – Both Casual & Formal w/60 seats serving lunch and dinner Tuesday – Sunday.

Private Dining Room – Both Casual & Formal w/40 seats serving lunch and dinner Tuesday – Sunday.

The Lodge – Casual w/25 seats serving breakfast, lunch and dinner Tuesday – Sunday.

Private Parties/Member Events – The largest sit-down event the club can accommodate is 60 guests. There are three (3) Private Rooms seating from 20 to 60.

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 resume, 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.

Contact Daniel Hugelier​, CMC, Bill Schulz, MCM​ or Denise Zanchelli directly.

We welcome your reaching out and make a personal connection with TeamDZA by writing either Daniel Hugelier, CMC or Bill Schulz, MCM or Denise Zanchelli