Executive Chef / Food & Beverage Director

ANTITHESIS AT THE ROYAL GORGE MANSION Cañon City, Colorado • Full-Time, Year-Round • Opening 2026 Executive Chef / Food & Beverage Director COMPENSATION PACKAGE Starting Salary: $130,000 – $150,000 annually , commensurate with experience. Performance Bonus: Up to 10% of base salary annually, tied to food cost control, labor targets, revenue milestones, and guest experience metrics. Our benefits package is built to support you and your family from the day you start: Full coverage, day one. Fully paid health, dental, vision, and life insurance for employee and immediate family — effective on your start date 401(k). Up to 8% employer match PTO. Generous paid time off to rest and recharge Relocation support. Initial short-term housing available; potential relocation assistance Equity in the future. Long-term growth and potential profit participation THE OPPORTUNITY Build something extraordinary from day one. Antithesis is a brand-new restaurant opening in 2026 inside the historic Robison Mansion — an 1880s estate set on four pristine acres at the mouth of the Royal Gorge canyon. Eighty-plus mature trees. A circa-1880 iron fence. A historic fountain ringed by firepits, with the Colorado sky overhead. It is the kind of setting chefs dream about, and we are looking for the leader who will define what comes out of the kitchen. This is a founding role. You will shape the concept, build the team, write the menus, and set the standard for a destination program that spans an upscale-casual restaurant, weddings, private events, and the culinary identity of the Royal Gorge Route Railroad and Caboose Café. A historic mansion. A 50-seat scratch kitchen. A wedding and events stream. Two additional outlets. One leader to bring it all together. ABOUT THE PROPERTY The Royal Gorge Mansion sits in Cañon City, Colorado — north of Westcliffe and east of Salida — at the entrance to one of the state’s most iconic landscapes. We are committed owners investing in quality, building a destination where history, natural beauty, and elevated hospitality meet, and where the culinary program is the heart of it all. Antithesis is open for lunch and dinner. The property runs year-round alongside the Royal Gorge Route Railroad and Caboose Café, including nights, weekends, and holidays. WHAT YOU’LL OWN The kitchen. A 50-seat upscale-casual restaurant, plus banquets, private events, and menu leadership across the Railroad and Caboose Café. The menu. Seasonal, scratch-made, driven by Colorado producers. Yours to create. The team. Hire, train, and develop your Chef de Cuisine, sous chefs, and BOH staff. The numbers. Food cost, labor, vendor relationships, inventory — the operational backbone that keeps a destination running. The standards. Sanitation, safety, consistency, and the kind of hospitality that makes guests come back. You will report to ownership and the General Manager, and partner closely with F&B and Events leadership. WHO YOU ARE 10+ years as an Executive Chef or Chef de Cuisine Culinary school graduate preferred; ServSafe certified A proven menu developer with a feel for seasonality and current trends Disciplined on cost control, labor, and vendor management A real leader — you build teams people want to stay on Calm under pressure, organized on paper, and gracious in person Comfortable with Microsoft Office and data-driven decisions Energized by opening something new You live our values: Collaborative. Gracious. Passionate. Trustworthy. POSITION SCOPE The Executive Chef / Food & Beverage Director is responsible for all aspects of culinary operations — food production in the restaurant, banquet functions, and other outlets — in collaboration with the RGRR Train and Caboose F&B Director and Events leadership. Core responsibilities include: Oversee all food production across Antithesis, banquets, and additional outlets Develop unique, cuisine-appropriate menus, food purchase specifications, and standardized recipes Collaborate with the Director of F&B and General Manager on menu pricing and concept direction Recruit, train, schedule, and supervise BOH staff to ensure economical, technically correct food preparation within budgeted labor goals Develop and monitor food an