Executive Chef Position: Illini Country Club
Springfield, Illinois
Since 1906, Illini Country Club has sustained a century-old tradition of enriching the lives of its members and their families by providing the finest in dining, social and recreational interests in a private club environment.
Located in the heart of Springfield, Illini Country Club's family oriented philosophy, 18-hole championship golf course, 30,000 square foot clubhouse, tennis courts and pool complex make this the premier private club in the Central Illinois area.
The active social committee develops a year-round agenda of exciting and entertaining adult, youth, and family social events for its membership. This truly is a family-centric club with an average age in the upper 50s.
Illini Country Club's 18-hole Championship Course enjoys the reputation as one of the premier golf courses in the state. Each year, it hosts a United States Open qualifier and has also hosted the Illinois State Amateur Championship. The highly popular junior golf program has introduced hundreds of boys and girls to the wonderful game of golf.
Illini Country Club boasts conference-winning swimming and diving teams, as well as an excellent tennis program. Three lighted tennis courts and three swimming pools provide the background for adults and children alike to enjoy summer activities.
Springfield, the capital of Illinois, is the sixth most populous city in the state and the second most populous Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area. Springfield is only one and a half hours north of St. Louis, three hours south of Chicago, and three hours west of Indianapolis.
As the home of Abraham Lincoln, Springfield is steeped in rich history and offers residents and visitors a multitude of indoor and outdoor activities. For example, the 4,200-acre Lake Springfield has 57 miles of shoreline and includes eight public parks.
Springfield is truly a great place to live and raise a family.
Food & Beverage Operations
Illini Country Club offers a variety of dining options ranging from elegant and upscale to classic country club fare. The clubhouse features four member dining rooms and has separate banquet facilities that can accommodate private parties and banquets for up to 350 guests.
The gross dollar volume of the club is nearly $4.6M with food and beverage revenues of $1.3M.
The over 500 members enjoy a premier dining experience that rivals fine restaurants. A la carte venues include the Illini Room (seats 60), Illini Room Bar (30), Leland Room (22), Grill (60), Patio (100), Pool Snack Bar (30) and Halfway House. Private and banquet dining venues include the Fireside Room (40), and three banquet rooms (South, Main, and North) which combined accommodate 240 members and guests for a seated event and 350 for a cocktail event.
The Club offers its members breakfast, lunch, and dinner on Tuesday through Sunday in the summer months, with occasional golf outings on Mondays five to seven times a year.
The clubhouse is closed the first week of January then has a limited schedule of Wednesday through Saturday only through March.
Organizational Structure
Illini Country Club operates under the General Manager/COO organizational structure. The Executive Chef reports to the GM/COO, Joe Burden. See page 4 for more information about Mr. Burden.
There are approximately 18-20 kitchen staff at Illini Country Club, including two sous chefs and a pastry chef.
The Executive Chef participates in House Committee meetings.
Executive Chef (EC) Position Overview
The Executive Chef at Illini Country Club is responsible for all food and beverage Back-of-the-House (BOH) operations while working closely with Front-of-the-House (FOH) staff to ensure quality and innovative services, products and offerings to members and guests.
The EC is responsible for ensuring that all food is consistently outstanding – from standard club fare offerings to incorporating cutting edge culinary trends. 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 elegant and memorable wine dinners, and is responsible to ensure that his or her team approaches each activity with identical focus.
The EC is a positive and enthusiastic ‘face’ for culinary operations for the Club, and is comfortable conversing and interacting in both back and front of house settings as he or she interfaces with diverse constituencies (members, staff, etc.) throughout the day. Developing solid relationships is important in this position.
The EC is personable and enjoys member interactions through action stations, cooking classes, and visits to the dining room when possible.
The EC leads, manages, motivates and directs a staff of 18-20 to achieve the objectives set by the GM/COO and EC. The EC creates the standards for kitchen policies and procedures, communicates these policies and ensures that the policies are adhered to by all BOH staff.
The EC at Illini Country Club is a strong team builder who mentors and challenges himself/herself and the staff to continue to create and produce at a higher level. Additionally, the EC encourages staff to participate in generating ideas and draws on staff members’ strengths and specialties for continuous improvement of the culinary program.
The EC has a proven track record of controlling food and labor costs. The EC is adept at creating and managing a budget and executing/reporting to defined business standards.
The EC is responsible for leading the product knowledge training for FOH personnel through daily pre-meal meetings and special food knowledge training programs.
The EC creates and updates menus on a seasonal basis at a minimum, and develops and documents recipes and controls to ensure consistency. Daily specials are offered throughout the various dining venues. The EC understands that variety in specials and menu offerings increases member engagement and use of the club.
The EC works as a strategic and operational partner with the managers and staff of Illini Country Club to develop information sharing, strong communication, superior internal and external customer relationships and high performance teamwork 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,’ and is approachable by both members and staff.
The EC leads the BOH initiatives 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 BOH staff approach the standards with the same level of focus.
Ultimately, the Executive Chef of Illini Country Club is a critical and positive ‘face’ of culinary operations at the Club. The EC is an integral part of the overall success of the operation, and is a strong ‘influencer’ on each constituency that he or she interfaces with while performing his or 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.
Initial Priorities
Develop relationships with members, staff, and vendors in order to better understand their needs, resulting in high satisfaction for all constituencies.
Develop team members’ skills and abilities and continue to create a culture among the staff that encourages creativity and passion for the work that they perform.
Continue to consistently exceed member expectations for quality, presentation, creativity and value.
Learn and understand the diversity of member dining preferences for each demographic and in each dining venue and continue to develop the culinary program and offerings to meet member needs.
General Qualifications & Experience
Is a strong and passionate leader and culinary professional with a proven track record of providing premium-level services in a multiple facility and membership constituency environment, with a personality that is commensurately appropriate to the Illini Country Club experience.
Is a passionate culinarian who strives to continually improve his/her skills, experiment with trends, and evolve the menus and offerings.
Has experience as an Executive Chef in a premier private club and/or resort environment, including banquet, casual and fine dining operations. An Executive Sous Chef from a larger club who has proven that he/she is ready to advance to an Executive Chef position may also be considered.
Has demonstrated success in ‘farm-to-table,’ locally grown or procured provisions, with a proclivity for healthy yet innovative options.
Has a track record for sourcing quality products and ingredients from multiple vendors, as necessary.
Has a broad knowledge of U.S. and International wine appellations, vineyards, and wineries, an understanding and talent for wine and food pairings, as well as the ability and interest to share that knowledge and enthusiasm with staff.
Has exceptionally strong food and beverage credentials, and most importantly, 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 with revenues of $1.3M.
Has culinary knowledge across multiple ethnic and cultural cuisines.
Is a professional with a verifiable, positive career track, unblemished by inappropriate behavior of any sort that would be potentially detrimental or embarrassing to the membership of Illini Country Club.
Is in in compliance with and actively supports a drug-free workplace.
Possesses verifiably strong written and oral communications skills.
Possesses computer skills including but not limited to Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel and POS systems.
Education and Certification
Culinary arts degree from an accredited school or equivalent experience is preferred.
Certified in food safety.
Traits, Skills and Competencies
Understands and practices the member service philosophy of the Club and is fully engaged in and fulfilled by providing members with consistent, high quality food and innovative plate presentation.
Is meticulous about food handling, cleaning, and organizing the kitchen and insists that all BOH staff do the same.
Continually looks for opportunities to improve BOH service and learns and incorporates lessons from prior experiences.
Is willing to listen to staff and members for input and understands that the EC and entire BOH department are there to fulfill members’ needs.
Is a well-respected, proactive member of the management team and is able to generate thoughts and ideas that result in increased sales and improved member satisfaction.
Inspires and motivates not only kitchen staff but everyone around him or her.
Possesses excellent financial skills, with the ability to quickly assimilate numbers and reports.
Is knowledgeable regarding typical club BOH F&B critical benchmarking and financial metrics that lead to proactive responses to trending curves.
Possesses strong organizational skills.
Is an innovative leader in all aspects of the position. Is visionary and trend setting yet understands and is respectful of long-standing Club culinary traditions and is able to balance both into menus, specials, and banquet offerings.
Possesses exceptionally strong communication and facilitation skills, both written and verbal, with the appropriate personal presence, and a desire and ability to interact effectively before diverse constituencies of members, staff, vendors and others who are part of the success of Illini Country Club.
Understands that flavors and consistency are key drivers of the private club experience in all food offerings; is just as passionate about producing the best hamburger, filet and chicken fingers as preparing the most complex dishes and exploring the latest culinary trends.
Understands that clubs are all things to all people and enjoys producing diverse offerings from casual to gourmet trends.
Miscellaneous
Proactively solves problems, develops and proposes solutions to problems that occur, anticipates the needs of staff and members, and can react quickly.
Manages time and establishes priorities; is a self-starter and well organized.
Has been a “difference maker” wherever he/she has been in the past.
Is a person of proven integrity and honesty.
Is well-traveled and enjoys exploring culinary experiences all over the world.
Is committed to professional growth and development, for him/herself and his/her team of associates.
Is confident in his or her abilities yet humble in his or her interactions.
Has a professional appearance and demeanor and expects the same from his or her staff.
GM/COO Profile
Joe Burden, GM/COO graduated from Mississippi State University with a degree in Professional Golf Management. He has been with Illini Country Club since 2008, and in the club industry since 1995, holding positions at various country clubs in the capacity of Assistant Golf Professional, Head Golf Professional, General Manager and Chief Operating Officer. He is currently Education Chairman of the Illini Chapter of the CMAA and is Past President of the Chapter.