The Opportunity Hope Valley Country Club, an historic club with a family focus, has an opportunity for a successful culinary leader to become a part of their dynamic management team as executive chef. We are looking for an individual who has a proven track record of strong leadership, culinary and administrative skills to continue to improve service and increase membership attraction, engagement and satisfaction. The Club EXECUTIVE CHEF PROFILE HOPE VALLEY COUNTRY CLUB Durham, North Carolina Founded in 1926, Hope Valley Country Club is located in the Triangle area of North Carolina, one of the most highly livable geographic regions in the country. It is surrounded by nationally recognized universities, a reasonable cost of living, and access to culture, recreation, and great health care. While in a competitive club environment, Hope Valley is uniquely positioned to be recognized as one of the top clubs in the Carolinas, and has taken a number of critical, positive steps in the past few years to ensure this outcome. The Hope Valley Clubhouse is a classic Tudor design, embracing 52,000 square feet of recreational facilities, including dining, swimming and tennis. The Club features a classic Donald Ross championship golf course, considered one of Donald Ross hidden gems. Over the years, Hope Valley has been host to a number of important golf events, including the 1945 Durham Open, which Byron Nelson won on his way to eleven straight victories. As members and their guests are reminded on the score card, When you play Hope Valley, you are part of golf history. When first entering the historic core of the Hope Valley community, what is most striking is the unchanged nature of its landscape, roadways and golf course, from its early days. The carefully drawn streets and buffers still grace this old neighborhood, and the views and vistas appear almost exactly as they did in 1926. Only the size of the oaks, hickories and pines belie the fact that time has gone by. In recent years, the Donald Ross course was carefully restored to its former glory by the nation s foremost specialists in vintage courses, and the pool and outdoor dining complex underwent a dramatic and successful $3.1M renovation/expansion to provide a much more dynamic amenity for member use. www.kopplinandkuebler.com Page 1
The mission of Hope Valley is to serve the social and recreational needs of its membership. The unique combination of time-honored tradition and modern facilities allows the Club to provide consistently superior food and service in a friendly and gracious atmosphere. Many members refer to the Club as an extension of their home, and the devoted staff continues to look for new and innovative ways of making Hope Valley the center of activity for its membership. Food & Beverage Operations Hope Valley s annual F&B revenue is nearly $1.7M and continues to increase. The Club offers five a la carte dining room appropriate for either casual or formal dining. The Dover Room and Dover Bar (which together seat 110) offer a seasonal menu in an elegant setting. The Valley Room (with seating for 95) offers informal dinner service featuring weekly buffet specials, such as Breakfast for Dinner and Fried Chicken Friday. The Donald Ross Grille is a popular lunch spot for business meetings and seats 45. Finally, the newly-renovated, outdoor covered Terrace is a summertime favorite for casual diners and seats up to 120 from Memorial Day to Labor Day. As a private, member-owned club, Hope Valley Country Club s banquet facilities and services are available only for members and their guests. Approximately 49% of F&B revenue is made up of banquets and special events. Designed for flexibility, the private dining rooms, all with a view of the golf course, can accommodate all types of events. Hope Valley s clubhouse provides the finest facilities in The Triangle for business and social entertaining. Three kitchens service these dining rooms including the Main kitchen, the Grille kitchen and the Pool Snack Bar kitchen. Executive Chef Position Description The Executive Chef (EC) at Hope Valley Country Club is responsible for all culinary/ kitchen operations while working closely with Front-of-the-House staff to ensure the delivery of quality and innovative services, products and offerings to members and guests. The EC is a working chef who leads, manages, motivates and directs kitchen staff to achieve the objectives set by the General Manager. The EC creates the standards for kitchen policies and procedures, communicates these policies and ensures that the policies are adhered to by all back of house staff. The EC is responsible for ensuring that all food is consistently outstanding from standard country club fare to innovative offerings and special culinary events throughout all dining venues. The EC understands that quality and consistency in producing and delivering popular club menu items is just as important to the member experience as producing complex wine dinners, and memorable special events; and is responsible to ensure that his/her team approaches each activity with identical focus. The EC is expected to be a positive and regular face for culinary operations for the Club, and needs to be comfortable conversing and interacting in both back and front of house settings as he/she interfaces with multiple and diverse constituencies (members, staff, vendors, etc.) throughout the day. The EC at Hope Valley is a team builder who mentors kitchen staff and develops a pipeline of talented and creative individuals by building a reputation as an excellent learning and training ground for up and coming culinarians. Additionally the EC is a hands-on leader who leads by example and will step in to work any place on the line as needed. www.kopplinandkuebler.com Page 2
The EC leads the culinary initiative relative to accident prevention, training and retention of staff, and sanitation and safety standards. The EC pays sharp attention to detail, enforces the highest standards of sanitation and safety, and ensures that all kitchen staff approach the standards with the same level of focus. The EC is adept and responsive in controlling food and labor costs and managing a budget, and provides food purchase specifications to control food quality and costs. The EC purchases and inspects food product and manages invoicing and storage areas to ensure quantity and quality. The EC handles all administrative responsibilities in an accurate and timely basis. The EC leads the member service initiative in all F&B back of house areas and consistently strives for and exceeds higher scores in the member survey and in industry standards, than prior years. The EC is responsible for leading the product knowledge training for front of house personnel through daily pre-meal meetings and special food knowledge training programs. The EC creates and updates menus seasonally, incorporating daily specials, and developing and documenting recipes and controls to ensure consistency. The EC works as a strategic and operational partner with the managers, staff, and Engagement Committee of Hope Valley to develop information sharing, good communication, superior internal and external customer relationships and high performance teamwork in order to achieve club objectives. The EC is someone who looks at mistakes as opportunities for improvement, and instills this mindset and outcome into his/her team, while at the same time epitomizing the perspective of being readily open and embracing of input The EC is approachable by both members and staff. The newly-renovated Terrace is a summertime favorite for casual diners. The EC is responsible for providing employee meals for approximately 85 associates on staff. Ultimately, the Executive Chef of Hope Valley Country Club is a critical and positive face of culinary operations at the Club. He or she is an integral part of the overall success of the operation, and is a strong influencer on each constituency he/she interfaces with while performing his/her duties. The responsibility to lead this facet of the organization from a passionate, creative, supportive, progressive and team-focused perspective is of critical importance for long-term success. A strong balance across three competency areas Leadership, Cuisine, and Administration is essential. Initial Priorities of the Executive Chef Evaluate and set appropriate and necessary standards of operation, execution and delivery within the culinary operation, including taking ownership for the entire experience from production to final delivery of end product, while working closely with the FOH management team. Produce consistently good, solid club fare and create an innovative, relevant, consistently interesting a la carte menu that staff is able to execute and provides members with competitively priced and desirable options that are reflective of the majority of members interests and tastes. Ensure that the a la carte and banquet operations are consistently executed. www.kopplinandkuebler.com Page 3
Recruit, lead and train the culinary staff. Understand and define membership culinary needs, interests, and priorities by communicating with the Club staff, house committee members, and members. Learn members names and culinary and dining preferences. Drive equipment and kitchen improvement projects and cleanliness standards. Ensure that kitchen and culinary operations continue to meet or beat budget in labor, food and other cost metrics. Organizational Structure Hope Valley Country Club operates under the General Manager organizational structure. The Executive Chef reports directly to the CEO/GM. The EC also works closely with the Engagement Committee Chairs. The kitchen staff totals approximately 17 team members including three sous chefs. CEO/GM Profile Christa Farr Evans, CCM, has been the CEO/GM at Hope Valley Country Club for a year. She is a high energy professional and a leader and mentor to a cohesive team of service-driven, high performing staff. Her past club successes include Carolina Country Club, Mountain Brook Club, and Cherokee Town & Country Club. She also has worked as Director of Sales/Senior Advisor, Member Experience at VCT Corporation. Ms. Evans has a Bachelor s degree from Georgia State University in Hospitality and Management and is a Certified Club Manager. Christa is active in the Club Managers Association of America (CMAA). She is a board member of the Carolina CMAA Chapter s Club Foundation and an Advisory Council member of Eastern Carolina University s School of Hospitality. Candidate Qualifications The successful candidate: Is a strong and passionate leader and culinary professional with a proven track record of providing high-level services with a positive personality that is commensurately appropriate to Hope Valley. Has a minimum of four years prior management experience as an Executive Chef and at least five years of diversified kitchen and hospitality industry experience including banquet and restaurant operations. Has exceptionally strong food and beverage credentials the ability to consistently define and achieve goals and objectives. This includes proven and verifiable leadership qualities with demonstrated ability to direct, coordinate and control all facets of an active food and beverage operation. Has experience successfully leading a variety of dining configurations including a casual and upscale a la carte, short line, buffet, action station, and banquets. Has strong management skills with verifiable strengths in inspirational leadership, financial performance, and people skills. Is a confident, proactive team builder who has a history of attracting, developing and retaining high performing staff. Also has a track record of building internship programs and creating a learning kitchen environment. Has successfully lead dynamic culinary operations. Additionally those with success in farm-to-table, locally grown or procured provisions, and with a proclivity for healthy menus are likely to be favored. Possesses verifiably good written and oral communications skills. Has computer skills including but not limited to Microsoft Outlook, Word, and Excel. Experience with POS software is preferred. Traits, Skills and Competencies The EC must understand and practice the member service philosophy at the Club and be fully engaged in and fulfilled by providing members with consistent, high quality food and simple yet innovative plate presentations. The EC is an innovative leader in all aspects of the position. He or she is creative with menu design both menu selections and daily specials as well as the physical look of the menu; tries new and different ways of displaying items on buffet tables and stations; and is innovative when planning events in less than ideal conditions (such as outdoors) to ensure that the preparation and delivery are of the highest quality and seamless to members and guests. In addition to being a visionary, pays close attention to details www.kopplinandkuebler.com Page 4
Hope Valley Country Club by the Numbers 532 members in all categories $4.9M in total operating revenue $1.7M in F&B revenue $20,000 initiation fee 51 % a la carte; 7% special events; 42% banquet business The EC understands and is respectful of long-standing Club culinary traditions and is able to balance both innovation and tradition in creating menus, specials, and banquet offerings. The EC is meticulous about food handling, cleaning, and organizing the kitchen and insists that all kitchen staff and anyone who enters the kitchen does the same. The EC continually looks for opportunities to improve culinary service and must be willing to listen to staff and members for input. The EC understands that the entire kitchen team is there to fulfill members needs. The EC is a well-respected, pro-active member of the management team and is able to generate thoughts and ideas that result in increased sales and improved member satisfaction. 3 kitchens: Main, Ross Grille, Pool Snack Bar 53,715 covers per year 56 average age of membership The EC is very organized and possesses exemplary technical skills to successfully manage multiple kitchen operations, culinary skills, and people efficiently and effectively. The EC understands that flavors and consistency are key drivers of the private club experience in all food offerings. He or she is just as passionate about producing the best chicken quesadilla as the most complex dishes and exploring the latest culinary trends. Educational Qualifications Culinary arts degree from an accredited school or equivalent experience. Certified Executive Chef designation is desirable. Must be certified in food safety. To Apply for this Position Interested candidates should submit a resume and a thoughtful, detailed cover letter describing their alignment with the qualifications outlined in this profile and the reason for their interest in the Executive Chef position at Hope Valley Country Club. For directions on how to upload your resume and cover letter, click here. To apply click here to upload your resume and cover letter (in that order). The resume and cover letter should be saved separately in Word or PDF files. (480) 443-9102 nan@kopplinandkuebler.com www.kopplinandkuebler.com Compensation is commensurate with qualifications and experience. For more information about Hope Valley Country Club visit: www.hvcc.org The Lead Search Executive on this search: Lisa Carroll lisa@kopplinandkuebler.com 561.596.1123 www.kopplinandkuebler.com Page 5