Head Chef (Seasonal Event / Banquet / Festival) | Distillery Winter Village

On November 13th, the Distillery Historic District is transforming into a Winter Village, and we’re looking to populate it! The Winter Village is a place to create memories;

a place that facilitates joy, celebration, family, and love into the New Year. The festival aims to help guests rediscover the magic and romance of the holidays by bringing together local artisanal food makers, craftspeople and musicians to the heart of the city again! If you love spreading joy and sharing smiles we’d like you to join our village!

The Distillery Winter Village is seeking an experienced and innovative Head Chef to lead our team with passion for great food and a love of the holidays.

The ideal candidate is not only an exceptional event chef, but a great teacher and mentor with a strong growth mindset. They not only understand that exceptional food is at the heart of hospitality but that they are an ambassador to Toronto's unique food and beverage culture.

Please note, you must have legal permission to work in Canada to be considered for this role. This is a seasonal role running from October 2024 - January 2025.

What you’ll experience with The Winter Village :

• $35 per hour
• In-house dining perks
• A dynamic culture that encourages and rewards the entrepreneurial spirit
• Bold and lively work environment
• The chance to work alongside the best team in the city during the Winter Village, making memories for the more than 650,000 visitors we host!

What you will be doing :

• Share a vision of inclusion and holiday cheer with all BOH team members and lead by example.
• Reinforce the DRC’s mission and priorities, and inspire the team with your exciting vision for the Winter Village.
• Planning, preparing and executing all food items.
• Responsible for maintaining and food and labour costs as per the Director of Culinary’s direction and established budgets.
• Actively involved with training of all staff in the back of house.
• Maintain standards as established by the Director of Culinary and DRC while operating a safe, sanitary and hygienic work environment as per the Public Health department.
• Assisting with the onboarding and training initiatives as well as performance management and employee coaching.
• Other duties as required and / or assigned.

What you’ll bring to the kitchen :

• EXPERIENCE. You have years of cooking experience, ideally in Banquets / Events and / or Festival settings. You’ve led a large kitchen in a Sous Chef / CDC / Executive Chef capacity with demonstrated success.
• PASSION. You have a genuine passion and drive to create both great food and great talent. You love teaching and sharing your knowledge with your team.
• EDUCATION / TRAINING. You have aculinary degree / diploma and / or the equivalent in education and experience.
• LEADERSHIP : You pride yourself in being able to collaborate with others and to lead a team by healthy example.
• COMMUNICATION SKILLS. You demonstrate exceptional relationship building and communication skills among your team members in both BOH and FOH.
• ADAPTABILITY. You thrive in a fast-paced, changing environment.

The Distillery Restaurants Corporation (DRC) is committed to providing an inclusive, barrier-free recruitment and selection process where candidates are respected, supported and valued.

The DRC welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities. Please note that accommodations during every part of the recruitment and selection process are available upon request.