Sautè Chef- Owner/Operated Fine Dining - Vieques, Puerto Rico.

El Quenepo is an owner-operated fine dining restaurant on Vieques, a small island off Puerto Rico. We are hiring a Sauté Chef to own the sauté station from prep through service on a four-person line, about 100 covers a night, nowhere to hide and nobody else's prep to hide behind. Five-plus years on a fine dining hot line required. $42,500–$47,500 for the ten-month season, October through July. Private room in a staff house and health coverage that continues through the closure. Ten months on, two months off.

You have put in your years on the line. You know how to execute under pressure and hold your standards when the tickets stack up. Now you want to do it somewhere that matters, not for volume, but for quality.

About the Role: This is a team position and a full station, you own sauté from prep through service. You will build your own mise en place, run the station through service, lead by example, troubleshoot problems in real time, and have a direct voice in how we approach menu development and technique. You report to the owner-chef, which means your ideas are heard and implemented, not buried in a corporate hierarchy.

What We're Looking For:

●        5+ years hot line experience at fine dining establishments

●        Strong mise en place discipline, you build your own station and plan ahead for service

●        You can motivate and develop team members without micromanagement

●        Coachable and open to feedback; you see criticism as growth, not conflict

●        Comfortable in a small kitchen, four-person line plus prep staff, where everyone's work is visible

●        Detail-oriented on technique and plating

●        Proactive problem-solver who takes ownership

Compensation & Benefits:

●        $42,500–$47,500 for the 10-month season (October–July), equivalent to $51,000–$57,000 annually

●        Paid biweekly

●        Private room in a shared staff house, $600/month. The room stays available through the August–September closure at the same rate

●        50% employer-paid group health insurance (medical, dental, vision) after 90 days of employment, prorated across the year so your coverage    continues through the closure

●        Paid vacation

●        Direct mentorship from the owner-chef

Our Season: We run October through July and close for August and September. Most chefs never get more than a few consecutive days off,  you will get two months, with your housing and your health coverage both still in place. Some of our people travel or stage; others pick up summer-season work up north, where August is peak. Ten months on, two months off, a rhythm rather than a grind.

Why El Quenepo: If you have worked at high-volume kitchens, fine dining chains, or corporate restaurants, you know what burnout looks like. We operate differently. We run about 100 covers a night, real volume, but on a four-person line where nothing leaves the pass without someone's name on it. The difference is not that the work is easier. It is that the work counts, and you are not one anonymous pair of hands among thirty.

How to Apply: Send your resume, a brief note about what you are looking for in your next kitchen, and 3 professional references to scott@elquenepovieques.com