The Trail Club | Carmel Hamlet, New York
Executive Chef 

About the Club
The Trail Club is a private membership community founded in 1924. It is located on 1000 pristine acres of wooded lands a little more than one hour north of New York City. The sense of community is strong. While the members join together in a variety of activities, including tennis, sailing, horseback riding, hiking, trap shooting, or dining at the Clubhouse, the Trail Club provides a setting for fun and friendship. In the summer, the most important activity on any given day may involve nothing more than time spent on the beach. Since its inception, the Club has attracted a membership that is active and actively involved in creating an uncommon sense of sense of camaraderie.

The Trail Club is full of tradition and devotion to a way of life – the love of the outdoors. The Trail Club is a membership organization and a community of people with common purposes of friendship, relaxation, privacy, recreation, and community participation. It is the sharing of these objectives, along with a deep appreciation of those who founded and carried through the sound principles of management and cooperation, that has made the Club, as a family of individuals, so unique and successful for so many years.

The Trail Clubhouse is the heart of the community — a place for all members to dine, read, watch sporting events, play cards, and spend time with friends old and new. Dining is available at two venues and offers traditional Club cuisine with contemporary twists. Gross revenue exceeds $2.8 million with Food & Beverage accounting for $353,000 (1-2% from F&B Revenue from private events). The are 50 staff members at the height of the season, 1.5 kitchens, and 4-5 kitchen staff. The Club is open year-round. Peak season starts in May and runs until Labor Day. The Club is closed on Mondays. Dinner is served Friday and Saturdays during the off-season and Wednesday – Saturday during peak season. Lunch is served on weekends throughout the peak season.

About the Position
The Executive Chef reports to the General Manager and is responsible for planning and managing all aspects of food production for the Club’s dining room, banquets, on-site catering, snack bar, patio, and employee meal periods. The Executive Chef establishes and develops culinary strategies that balance industry business best practices with member expectations. The Executive Chef is responsible for monitoring food costs, resource utilization and maximization, and creative development of the culinary programming at the Club. This position is a hands-on-working Chef; Community expectations are that of a visible, engaging Executive Chef equipped with a vision and ability to lead culinary team members through mentorship and inspiring professionalism to ensure continual improvement of the dining offerings to the Membership.

About the Ideal Candidate
Ideal candidates should have a minimum of five years as an Executive Chef, Executive Sous Chef, or a comparable position in high-quality, high-end private clubs, hotels, resorts, or restaurants. He/she should be recognized as a skilled teacher and mentor with a verifiable record of staff/team development and promotion within.

The ideal candidate will have a career path marked by stability and professional achievement as well as responsibility in operations with multiple facilities. The next Executive Chef will display strong analytical skills, attention to detail, organization, and time management and can take a “hands-on” approach, working independently and collaboratively. The selected candidate will have a broad-based culinary background with knowledge of Club Traditional and a working familiarity with current culinary trends. The next Executive Chef will have strong communication skills, be open-minded and proactive, and have solid financial management skills. He/she should know sanitation codes, be certified in “Serve Safe” or like programs, and manage proper sanitation for all food operations.

Formal culinary education is expected such as a culinary degree from an accredited institution. The “CEC” designation is preferred or significant ACF education toward the certification.

Apply for This Position
Interested candidates should complete the online candidate profile form and submit a compelling cover letter and resume for consideration to DENEHY Club Thinking Partners at http://denehyctp.com/apply-for-a-position/. If you have any questions or to recommend a candidate, please contact Carolyn Kepcher at 203.319.8228 or by email at carolyn@denehyctp.com.