A Note From Our CEO
Welcome to The Chef Agency
I started The Chef Agency after spending years inside the hospitality industry and watching hiring become more rushed and reactive. I saw good operators forced into quick decisions, not because they didn’t care about quality, but because they were under pressure to keep things running. We once worked with an operator who had filled the same leadership role three times in under a year. Each candidate looked strong on paper, but none of them held up once service started. What ultimately fixed the problem wasn’t a bigger candidate pool, it was slowing down long enough to define what success actually looked like for this particular role.
Built on Firsthand Hospitality Experience
The Chef Agency was built alongside chefs, operators, and leadership teams navigating the real demands of hospitality recruitment. Our approach comes from a foundational understanding of how kitchens run and how hotel and resort teams are structured. That perspective guides how we search for candidates and advise our clients.
Focused on Outcomes That Last
Every search starts with context. We take the time to understand what’s happening inside the business, from growth and turnover to leadership expectations and the day-to-day reality of the role. Our job isn’t to push candidates or fill seats. It’s to help our clients make hiring decisions they still feel confident about months later.
A Deliberate Way of Working
We don’t operate a high-volume recruiting model, by design. We work with a limited number of hospitality clients at one time so we can stay closely involved and accountable throughout the process. That approach leads to better matches and stronger long-term outcomes. Those are the relationships we’re here to build.
A Practical View of Hospitality Hiring Today
As the hospitality labor market changes, recruiting has to change alongside it. Our focus is building and strengthening a national platform for hiring. Reliability is what operators need most, and that’s what The Chef Agency is proud to provide.
Let's Talk
If you’re hiring a chef, building a leadership team, or want a direct perspective on today’s hospitality hiring market, we’d be glad to connect.
— Steven Kamali, CEO, The Chef Agency
Looking for a private chef or executive chef job? Hiring for a sous chef job or seeking a standout director of food and beverage? The Chef Agency is your trusted partner in hospitality recruitment, from the kitchen to the executive suite.
With 14+ years of experience connecting top employers with exceptional talent, our tailored approach ensures a seamless match as we help businesses build high-performing teams across the industry.
An outstanding hospitality recruitment agency requires speed, discretion, and deep industry knowledge. The Chef Agency combines all three through a hands-on recruiting process built specifically for food and beverage roles.
Some of the strongest placements we’ve made started with someone who wasn’t actively job hunting. They were open to a conversation, not a move, until the right opportunity for their life and career came along.
Our recruiters tap into a trusted network of professionals, vet candidates beyond resumes, and manage the search end-to-end so you can focus on running your business while we deliver the right fit.
Ready to start a search? Connect with our team to discuss your hiring needs.
The Chef Agency supports hospitality hiring nationwide while staying grounded in local markets. Our recruiters understand regional talent pools, pay expectations, and hiring nuances, ensuring candidates are both qualified and market-appropriate.
This combination allows us to support single-location searches, multi-unit growth, and national expansion with the same level of precision and care.
Connect with our team to discuss your location-specific hiring needs.
Our advantage comes from both experience and connections. Years of working in hospitality staffing and chef recruitment agencies have given us insight into what makes candidates successful, and how to connect them with the right employers.
We’re selective about the searches we take on because accountability matters. When we commit to a search, we stay close to it from first conversation through onboarding. That way, the result holds up long after the hire is made.
Looking for the right fit?
We’ll match you with a recruiter who has the skills, experience, and hospitality insight to help you succeed. Let’s get started.