Executive Chef

Responsibilities

• Lead kitchen for acclaimed hotel restaurant celebrating Oaxacan regional cuisine
• Develop menus using the 7 moles of Oaxaca, local chiles (chilhuacle, pasilla, mulato), heirloom corn varieties, indigenous herbs (hierba santa, hoja de aguacate), and artisan mezcal pairings
• Source directly from Mercado Benito Juárez, Tlacolula Sunday market, and local indigenous producer cooperatives
• Lead brigade of 8–15 kitchen professionals
• Collaborate with in-house mezcal sommelier on food-mezcal pairing programs
• Represent property at Oaxaca's internationally recognized food events (Morelia en Boca, local cultural festivals)

Requirements

• 7+ years kitchen experience, 3+ in executive or head chef role
• Deep, respectful knowledge of Oaxacan culinary traditions — mole preparation, nixtamalization, tlayuda craft, traditional meats
• Strong relationships with Oaxacan producers and market vendors preferred
• Philosophy of culinary preservation and indigenous ingredient support
• Culinary degree or equivalent — Oaxaca attracts and retains serious culinary professionals

Benefits

• IMSS, Aguinaldo, vacation + premium
• Staff meals from property kitchen (themselves excellent)
• Uniform
• Integration into Oaxaca's internationally connected culinary community
• Lower cost of living — salary is competitive in Oaxaca's market
• Cultural immersion in one of the world's great food cities

Work environment

Historic centro boutique hotel — often a converted colonial convent or mansion. Intimate, culturally rich environment. Kitchen team is typically small but very skilled. Oaxaca's altitude (1,500m) and dry mountain climate is unlike coastal kitchens.

About the role

Reverent and creative. Oaxaca's kitchen culture demands respect for tradition before creativity. The chefs who succeed here are students of the region's food as much as they are leaders of a brigade. Internationally connected — visiting chefs and food journalists come constantly.