About Us
High Spirits Hospitality is a multi‑brand event company producing over 1,500 events per year across our venues and catering operations, including Events at Judson Mill, The 405, and Liquid Catering. We are seeking an experienced, organized, and event‑focused Catering Chef to be a critical player in our new food catering division. You’ll be responsible for all things food preparation and execution for weddings and large‑scale events. This role balances hands‑on event execution with structured prep, organization, and maintenance during non‑event weeks.
Our Values:
We are...
Radically Inclusive
Embracing Individuality
Making Life Fun
Active Learners
Responsible Citizens
Keepin' It Real
Ahead of the Curve
Bold
Leading with Heart
Exceeding Expectations Everyday
Job Purpose
This is a multi-purpose role. Currently we are building our food business, with an average of 3-5 food events per month. Each food event will take 1-2 days to prep and then 1 day to execute. On the days when there isn’t food prep to be done, you’d be helping our operations team prepare for, and work other events in a managerial or support role. By fall we expect our food business to take up 90% of your time.
During weeks with scheduled events, the Catering Chef is responsible for all culinary execution related to catering operations, including:
Event Work
Prepare and execute menus for weddings and events, including buffets, stations, and plated dinners. Events range from 25-400 guests.
Lead food production from prep through service, ensuring quality, consistency, and timing.
Supervise and coordinate kitchen staff and event‑day culinary team members.
Ensure all food is prepared, transported, held, and served in compliance with food safety standards.
Coordinate closely with venue captains, coordinators, and bar teams to maintain event timelines.
Manage on‑site kitchen flow during service, including plating, replenishment, and breakdown.
Oversee proper storage, labeling, and handling of food before and after events.
Maintain a clean, organized, and professional kitchen environment.
Non-Event Work
Prepare staff meals, both on events and weekly office “family” meals.
Prepare and serve meals for catering tastings and samplings. We do private tasting and quarterly group tastings.
Manage all inventory and purchasing. Receive and check deliveries and accuracy and quality.
Maintain the organization of all walk-ins, freezers, dry storage, and prep areas.
Clean, maintain, and deep‑clean kitchen equipment and prep spaces. Ensure all kitchens remain inspection‑ready at all times
Assist with menu development, pricing, recipe standardization, and portioning guides.
Support venue operations as needed by helping set layouts, move furniture, clean facilities, etc.
Identify equipment needs, maintenance issues, and operational improvements.
Work events in other roles, as a Venue Captain, bartender, support staff, etc.
Ensure customer service standards are held to the highest expectations. Appropriately manage conflicts with clients according to company values. Communicate unsatisfactory feedback regarding the performance of staff members to the appropriate staff.
Document event details, inventory, and recap reports through digital recap forms.
Attend weekly company meetings.
Typical Schedule
As this is an office and event-based job, our Catering Chef is expected to work all food events, supplementing time in the office for prep and other duties. Most events are Thursday-Friday, with some Sunday-Tuesday events. You can expect to work 1-3 evening/weekend shifts per week.
We typically have events scheduled 2-6 months in advance. Office and prep hours have some flexibility, as long as the work is getting done and the schedule is communicated and agreed upon by our Director of Operations.
Our weekly pay period runs Wednesday-Tuesday with the pay date on the following Tuesday. There is some seasonality to the position, with our high season being March-May and September-December. This is a great position for working parents, as the slower season is typically when school is out.
We are open to this being a part-time role as well, although being present at the events would still be a priority.
Expectations