Executive Chef or Culinary: Director Let's End the Confusion ( For Good)

I’ve seen it happen in too many properties—beautiful kitchen layouts, world-class equipment, talented chefs… and yet, something feels off.

The food is decent. The staff looks busy. The GM trusts the team.

But behind the scenes? Misalignment. Overlap. Frustration.

Why? Because two key leadership roles in the kitchen are often misunderstood.

And in today’s hospitality landscape—especially in resorts, hotel groups, or high-end urban properties—this confusion has a name:

Executive Chef vs. Culinary Director.

The Rise of Two Roles

In the past, it was common to confuse Executive Chef with Head Chef.

In some regions, the terms are still used interchangeably. But in most modern structures, especially internationally, the hierarchy is now more layered, more defined—and more demanding.

As hospitality evolved, so did kitchen leadership.

The industry needed more than a great cook. It needed a leader.

Then it needed someone to create a strategy across several kitchens.

And so, we started to see Executive Chefs take over operational leadership, and Culinary Directors emerge as high-level strategists.

But here’s the catch: the more complex the structure, the more essential it becomes to define each role clearly.

What an Executive Chef Really Does

The Executive Chef is responsible for the full execution of culinary operations—usually for one property, or one cluster of outlets within a hotel. They are the operational commander of the kitchen.

Depending on the type and size of the property, their role can vary dramatically.

In Restaurants or Boutique Hotels

Here, the Executive Chef is usually hands-on. They:

• Lead the team during service
• Taste and approve every sauce
• Mentor junior chefs in real time
• Represent the kitchen to the front of house and to the guests

It’s a role where technical mastery and leadership overlap.

The Executive Chef is the backbone of quality—and often the face of the brand.

In Large Resorts with Multiple Outlets

When you're dealing with 4, 5, or even 7 restaurants under one roof, the Executive Chef becomes less operational and more strategic.

They:

• Coordinate outlet chefs and support them daily
• Approve menus, ensure consistency, and align concepts with the guest journey
• Lead F&B meetings, forecast costs, and plan staffing models
• Focus on training systems, audits, and long-term efficiency

When I served as Executive Chef in a resort with five outlets, my greatest challenge wasn't cooking—it was orchestration. Each outlet had its own concept, team dynamic, and challenges. Presence meant empowering the right people, not being everywhere at once.

In Urban Hotels with Strong Banqueting

Here, the Executive Chef’s battlefield is logistics. The real challenge is not à la carte service—it’s producing 800 covers for a conference at 12:30 while prepping for a wedding at 19:00.

They manage:

• Production planning and kitchen flows
• Banqueting volume systems
• Staff rotation and efficiency metrics
• Coordination with event planners and F&B directors
• Banqueting is a science. And the Executive Chef becomes the conductor of scale and precision.

The Culinary Director: A Different Mission

The Culinary Director operates at a completely different altitude.

They don’t run kitchens. They design the system that kitchens operate in.

They define:

• The brand’s culinary identity
• The direction of innovation
• The food philosophy for new openings
• The quality standards across all properties
• They often work across multiple cities or countries, traveling between openings, tastings, and strategic meetings.

A Culinary Director is not evaluated on what went out of the pass today.

They are evaluated on:

• Concept consistency across outlets
• Cost effectiveness and sustainability of the menus
• Guest experience alignment
• Ability to scale culinary operations without loss of identity
• They are thinkers, mentors, and vision-setters.

Executive Chef vs Culinary Director: Let’s Be Clear

At this point, it should be obvious:

These two roles are not interchangeable.

One is grounded in daily execution.

The other is oriented toward long-term culinary vision.

Here’s what really sets them apart:

• The Executive Chef is responsible for now.
• The Culinary Director is responsible for what’s next.
• The Executive Chef manages chefs and kitchens.
• The Culinary Director manages concepts and systems.
• The Executive Chef delivers consistency and quality every day.
• The Culinary Director ensures that consistency is repeatable across countries.

You don’t need to choose between the two. You need to understand what each role brings—and structure your team accordingly.

Why This Distinction Matters

In hotel pre-openings, one of the first questions I ask is:

Do you want consistency, or do you want growth?

Most GMs say: “Both.”

And that’s where both roles become essential.

If your Executive Chef is doing the job of a Culinary Director, you’ll lose operational control.

If your Culinary Director is too involved in daily execution, they’ll never have time to innovate.

The result? Friction. Delays. Team burnout.

And eventually, dissatisfied guests—because confusion behind the scenes always finds its way to the plate.

But when the structure is right, the collaboration flows.

The Executive Chef delivers the experience.

The Culinary Director ensures it stays on brand, on cost, and future-ready.

Real Life Example

Let’s say you’re launching a Mediterranean fine dining concept inside a 200-villa resort. The Culinary Director might:

Define the philosophy of the cuisine

Approve the recipe bank

Source the main hero ingredients

Work with the marketing team to align storytelling

Then the Executive Chef:

Trains the brigade

Oversees service

Makes adjustments based on daily performance

Ensures cost and prep work align with the flow of the kitchen

Same goal—guest satisfaction.

Different path.

Final Thought

This isn’t about hierarchy. It’s about harmony.

If the Executive Chef is the soul of the kitchen, the Culinary Director is its compass.

One leads the execution. The other leads the evolution.

When roles are confused, performance suffers.

When roles are clear, teams thrive.

And in modern hospitality, where expectations are high and margins are tight, clarity is no longer optional. It’s leadership.

If you're restructuring your team, opening a new property, or redefining your concept—start with clarity of roles. It’s the first ingredient of a kitchen that truly works.

Cristian Marino

Executive Chef & International Culinary Consultant

Author of 10 Rules of the Chef in the Modern Era

Over 25 years of experience across three continents