Executive Sous Chef, Richland Country Club, Nashville, TN

Date16 Jul 2024

Richland Country Club is a private, member-owned Club located just ten miles south of downtown Nashville, steeped in the history, elegance, and grace of Tennessee. Nestled on 170 acres of rolling hills on historic Granny White Pike, it is a private retreat in a bustling city.

Founded in 1901, the Club bought the old Nashville Golf and Country Club’s clubhouse and land, and enlisted golf course architect Donald Ross to design an 18-hole course. The Club moved to the current site in the 1980’s, with Jack Nicklaus Signature Design. The Club is located on part of the core battlefield of the closing cavalry action from the 1864 Battle of Nashville. The 18-hole championship course is 6,825 yards skillfully crafted into the Club’s hilly terrain with zoysia fairways and bent grass greens.

Richland amenities also include our 18-hole, par 72 golf course recently renovated , tennis facilities with indoor and outdoor courts, a new swimming pool, fitness and wellness facilities, meeting rooms, banquet rooms and dining areas for all occasions. The Clubhouse was also extensively remodeled in 2019.

Position Specific: The Richland Country Club, and talented Executive Chef/Director of Culinary Operations, Jonathan Hancock, is looking for an Executive Sous Chef with depth and passion. Responsible for all food service and production in all kitchen areas. Maintains highest professional food quality and sanitation standards. The ESC is trained to expedite and manage and is available to work various stations during busy meal hours when needed. Trained to expedite and manage by ‘leadership action’ all employees within kitchen. Tastes food by making rounds before service. Serves as a daily liaison between the Executive Chef and the overall kitchen and stewarding staff throughout all assigned departments.

Initial Focus:

Develop Relationships – Interact with other culinary management personnel and line cooks. Familiarize yourself with the F&B teams in all outlets and learn the ‘Club Hierarchy’ and brigade system. Collaboration with other key management is important for success.
Study and Learn Current Menus – Leverage culinary expertise and assist the EC develop menus with emphasis on variety, seasonality and high-quality ingredients. The membership expects dining at their club to be every bit as good of an experience as dining at other high -end restaurants in town.
Review Current Staffing and Kitchen Operation – The new Executive Sous Chef is expected to evaluate current operations and staffing and provide recommendations for enhanced systems, controls, product, and services in all areas. Initiates changes that respond to the marketplace and to members’ needs, both present and anticipate.
Enhance Systems/Controls – Assess the operation, i.e., food prep organization, cleaning and sanitation effectiveness, opening & closing procedures etc. to find out what’s working well, and what’s not so good. Determine where you want the culinary operation to go and how get there.

Note from the Executive Chef: Richland CC has always had a strong team with many tenured staff that have been at the club for 20+ years. They are some of the most dedicated hospitality professionals I have ever had the pleasure of working with. The F&B culture is very strong, with great relationships between the front of the house and the back, whom all understand the importance of working as a team. The club has a diverse membership ranging from families that have been members for generations, and members that are newer to the area, as well as both older and younger families utilizing the facilities daily.

Candidate Qualifications:

Is hands-on … directly supervising/cooking items requiring skillful preparation. Performs daily quality checks by tasting and visually inspecting all prepared foods for quality and consistency prior to each service.
Works with Executive Chef/DOC on correct production pars to ensure the freshest goods are being offered to the members.
Prepares or directs kitchen staff responsible for the daily preparation of soups, sauces, and “specials” to ensure that methods of cooking, garnishing and portion sizes are as prescribed by standardized recipes.
Must be comfortable using modern and traditional cooking equipment, strong banquet knowledge, strong understanding of modern and traditional techniques, Knows meat and fish fabrication. Stays ahead of current dining trends; builds and fosters relationships with local farmers and vendors.
Responsible for keeping the Executive Chef informed of all staff member or member related issues so that the issues may be dealt with immediately.
The Executive Sous Chef is expected to maintain visibility by walking through the dining rooms and has a strong presence at all major club events.
Execute frequent menu changes & comfotable with creating new items.
The Executive Sous Chef participates in the budgeting process and will be actively involved in food and kitchen labor budget projections submitted to the Finance Committee.
The Executive Sous Chef is expected to attend meetings to communicate any future F&B plans, discuss events, answer all questions or concerns from the Committee.

Additional Information:

Annual food sales $4,250,000 MM; Total F&B Sales $6,000,000 MM.
The Club currently has a 37% food cost with a food cost goal at 37% with a sales mix of 66% A La Carte and 34% Banquet.
There are 30 culinary staff and 8 stewards supported by a $1,715,000 Labor Budget.
There are (4) Sous Chef’s (Exec Sous, Am Sous, Banquet Sous, PM Sous) an Executive Pastry Chef, Banquet Chef and Purchasing Manager.
The Club supports four (4) Kitchens. Main kitchen services two restaurants and banquets. The Pool & Tap Room have their own satelite kitchens. Management rates the condition as a 5 out of 5. Kitchen was fully renovated 5 years ago and has continued expanding as needs grow. Capital funds are available.
Richland CC has one 33,000 sq. ft. Clubhouse with 1,100 members whose average age is 56. The Club has an extensive waiting list for members, with intiation fee at $150K.
The Club operates (12) twelve months annually. Busy months are March-January. The restaurants stay consistently busy and Banquets fluctuate throughout the year.
The Executive Sous Chef reports to the Executive Chef/Director of Culinary Operations and works closely with the CEO on visionary aspects.
The departing Executive Sous Chef has been with the Club for six years.

Dining: (A La Carte Outlets)

Waxo – Fine dining, serving Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday through Saturday.

Nicklaus – Casual serving Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday through Saturday.

Men’s Grill – Casual, serving Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday through Saturday.

Cafe 1901 – Coffee Shop Casual, serving Breakfast & Lunch Sat & Sun.

Pool Grill – Casual, serving Lunch & Dinner Saturday & Sunday

Granny’s on Golf Course – Casual, serving Lunch Tuesday through Saturday.

Private Parties – The Club has six (6) private rooms with seating from 12 to 300 guests. The largest sit-down event the Club can accommodate is 300 members/guests. The Club hosts a variety of social & theme events for members throughout the year.

The Club offers a competitive base salary and benefits package including a 401k, health, life & dental insurance, ACF Dues.Interested individuals should send resumes, a well-conceived cover letter, and supporting information (a digital Portfolio is encouraged).