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Test Kitchen Chef Jobs in Washington, DC (NOW HIRING)

Call Your Mother Deli

Head of Culinary

Washington, DC · On-site

$170K/yr

Husband-and-wife team Andrew and Chef Dani built Call Your Mother around a simple idea: make ... Can move comfortably between the test kitchen, supplier meetings, executive conversations ...

Boulangerie Christophe LLC

Pastry Chef

Washington, DC · On-site

Develop, test, and execute a variety of pastries, desserts, and baked goods, ensuring consistency ... Kitchen Leadership: Train, mentor, and supervise pastry team members, ensuring smooth operations ...

Boulangerie Christophe LLC

Pastry Chef

Washington, DC · On-site

Develop, test, and execute a variety of pastries, desserts, and baked goods, ensuring consistency ... Kitchen Leadership: Train, mentor, and supervise pastry team members, ensuring smooth operations ...

Domestic | Match

Private Chef

Washington, DC

Overview Private Chef | Washington, DC - Open to candidates nationwide! This is a rare opportunity ... This is the kind of cooking exemplified by test kitchens like Erewhon or Goop Kitchen: health ...

Domestic | Match

Private Chef

Washington, DC · On-site

Overview Private Chef | Washington, DC - Open to candidates nationwide! This is a rare opportunity ... This is the kind of cooking exemplified by test kitchens like Erewhon or Goop Kitchen: health ...

Sardi's Pollo A La Brasa

Executive Chef

Laurel, MD

$70K - $97K/yr

They may also be in charge of interviewing, hiring and training new kitchen personnel ... test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this provision ...

Sardi's Pollo A La Brasa

Executive Chef

Laurel, MD · On-site

$70K - $97K/yr

They may also be in charge of interviewing, hiring and training new kitchen personnel ... test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this provision ...

Sardi's Pollo A La Brasa

Executive Chef

Laurel, MD

$70K - $97K/yr

They may also be in charge of interviewing, hiring and training new kitchen personnel ... test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this provision ...

CTH LOUDOUN LLC

Sous Chef

Ashburn, VA · On-site

$51K - $69K/yr

Tests cooked foods by tasting and smelling them * Devises special dishes and develops recipes * Familiarizes newly hired chefs and cooks with practices of kitchen and oversees training of cook ...

TABLE 95 MANAGEMENT

Sous Chef

Oxon Hill, MD · On-site

$50K - $68K/yr

Tests cooked foods by tasting and smelling them * Devises special dishes and develops recipes * Familiarizes newly hired chefs and cooks with practices of kitchen and oversees training of cook ...

TABLE 95 MANAGEMENT

Executive Chef

Washington, DC · On-site

$80K - $111K/yr

Tests cooked foods by tasting and smelling them * Devises special dishes and develops recipes * Familiarizes newly hired chefs and cooks with practices of kitchen and oversees training of cook ...

TABLE 95 MANAGEMENT

Sous Chef

Washington, DC · On-site

$56K - $76K/yr

Tests cooked foods by tasting and smelling them * Devises special dishes and develops recipes * Familiarizes newly hired chefs and cooks with practices of kitchen and oversees training of cook ...

TABLE 95 MANAGEMENT

Executive Chef

Washington, DC · On-site

$80K - $111K/yr

Tests cooked foods by tasting and smelling them * Devises special dishes and develops recipes * Familiarizes newly hired chefs and cooks with practices of kitchen and oversees training of cook ...

TABLE 95 MANAGEMENT

Sous Chef

Oxon Hill, MD · On-site

$50K - $68K/yr

Tests cooked foods by tasting and smelling them * Devises special dishes and develops recipes * Familiarizes newly hired chefs and cooks with practices of kitchen and oversees training of cook ...

CITY TAP 1250 DC LLC

Executive Chef

Washington, DC · On-site

$80K - $111K/yr

Tests cooked foods by tasting and smelling them * Devises special dishes and develops recipes * Familiarizes newly hired chefs and cooks with practices of kitchen and oversees training of cook ...

TABLE 95 MANAGEMENT

Executive Chef

Oxon Hill, MD · On-site

$72K - $100K/yr

Tests cooked foods by tasting and smelling them * Devises special dishes and develops recipes * Familiarizes newly hired chefs and cooks with practices of kitchen and oversees training of cook ...

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All JobsTest Kitchen Chef JobsTest Kitchen Chef Jobs in Washington, DC

Test Kitchen Chef information

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How much do test kitchen chef jobs pay per hour?

As of Aug 2, 2026, the average hourly pay for test kitchen chef in Washington, DC is $27.89, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $19.04 and $35.14 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

How to work at Bon Appetit test kitchen?

To work as a Test Kitchen Chef at Bon Appétit, candidates typically need culinary experience, strong cooking skills, and familiarity with recipe development and testing. Applying through the company's careers page or industry job boards is common, and relevant certifications or culinary education can enhance prospects. The role involves working in a collaborative environment, often with flexible hours to test and refine recipes.

What is a Test Kitchen Chef?

A Test Kitchen Chef is a culinary professional who develops, tests, and refines recipes in a controlled kitchen environment, often for food companies, magazines, or restaurants. Their primary role is to ensure that recipes are accurate, reproducible, and meet specific standards of taste, appearance, and safety. Test Kitchen Chefs may also evaluate new ingredients, cooking techniques, or kitchen equipment, and provide feedback or recommendations. They often collaborate with food scientists, nutritionists, and editors to perfect recipes before they are published or used commercially.

What is the difference between Test Kitchen Chef vs Line Cook?

AspectTest Kitchen ChefLine Cook
CredentialsCooking certifications, culinary degree often preferredHigh school diploma or equivalent, culinary training
Work EnvironmentTest kitchens, culinary labs, product testing facilitiesRestaurant kitchen, fast-paced food service
Employer & IndustryFood companies, culinary media, product testing firmsRestaurants, hotels, catering services
Primary FocusRecipe development, product testing, quality controlFood preparation, plating, and service

The Test Kitchen Chef specializes in recipe development and product testing within culinary labs or food companies, focusing on quality control and innovation. In contrast, a Line Cook works in restaurant kitchens, preparing and cooking dishes for service. While both roles require culinary skills and certifications, their work environments and primary responsibilities differ significantly.

How to become a test kitchen chef?

To become a test kitchen chef, candidates typically need culinary training or experience in professional kitchens, strong cooking skills, and knowledge of recipe development and food science. Experience with food testing, attention to detail, and familiarity with kitchen equipment are also important. Some roles may require a culinary degree or certification, along with the ability to work in a fast-paced environment.

How does a Test Kitchen Chef typically collaborate with product development and marketing teams?

Test Kitchen Chefs play a vital role in bridging culinary creativity with business objectives. They regularly work alongside product development teams to create, refine, and test new recipes or food products, ensuring consistency, scalability, and quality. Collaboration extends to marketing teams, as Test Kitchen Chefs often provide insights on food trends, participate in promotional content creation, and help translate technical recipes into consumer-friendly formats. This cross-functional teamwork is both rewarding and essential to bringing successful products to market.

What is the highest paid chef job?

The highest paid chef roles are executive chefs, head chefs, or culinary directors in high-end restaurants, luxury hotels, or private estates, often earning six-figure salaries. These positions typically require extensive experience, leadership skills, and culinary expertise, along with management responsibilities and sometimes advanced certifications.

How much do America's test kitchen hosts make?

Test Kitchen hosts at America's Test Kitchen typically earn between $50,000 and $80,000 annually, depending on experience and role responsibilities. They often have culinary backgrounds, strong communication skills, and may work in a studio or test kitchen environment.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Test Kitchen Chef, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Test Kitchen Chef, you need strong culinary expertise, recipe development skills, and often a degree or certification in culinary arts. Familiarity with kitchen equipment, recipe management software, and food safety standards is typically required. Creativity, attention to detail, and effective communication help you innovate and clearly convey recipe instructions. These skills are crucial for developing reliable, appealing recipes that can be reproduced consistently in various food industry settings.
What are popular job titles related to Test Kitchen Chef jobs in Washington, DC? For Test Kitchen Chef jobs in Washington, DC, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Test Kitchen Chef jobs in Washington, DC look for? The top searched job categories for Test Kitchen Chef jobs in Washington, DC are:
Test Kitchen Chef jobs near you
Infographic showing various Test Kitchen Chef job openings in Washington, DC as of July 2026, with employment types broken down into 79% Full Time, 18% Part Time, 1% Temporary, and 2% Contract. Highlights an 97% Physical, 1% Hybrid, and 2% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $58,017 per year, or $27.9 per hour.

Head of Culinary

Call Your Mother Deli

Washington, DC • On-site

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Retirement, PTO

Posted 19 days ago

Job description

HEAD OF CULINARY
Washington, DC
THE BEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD.
THE BEST-ISH BAGELS IN THE WORLD.
OUTTA THIS WORLD OPPORTUNITY.
DEEPER THAN BAGELS
Call Your Mother is the Jew-ish deli where Boca meets Brooklyn, grandma-level hospitality meets seriously good bagel sandwiches, and hard work meets face-melting vibes.
Husband-and-wife team Andrew and Chef Dani built Call Your Mother around a simple idea: make scrumptious, nostalgic food and unforgettable experiences without being bougie or taking ourselves too seriously. From our first little farmer's market stand in 2018, to shops across the DMV, Colorado, Chicago, and Philadelphia in 2026, we're spreading carb love all over the map and our ovens are just getting warmed up! We'll take bagels to mars if the locals are hungry up there.
WE'RE HIRING OUR FIRST HEAD OF CULINARY, BASED IN THE DMV
This is a once-in-a-career opportunity to help shape the future of Call Your Mother. As our first-ever Head of Culinary, you'll partner directly with our Co-Founders and Chief Culinary Officer to shape the next chapter of our menu, culinary strategy, and food innovation. You'll lead our Research & Development and Quality Assurance teams while partnering cross-functionally with Operations, Supply Chain, Training, Marketing, and Finance to bring great ideas to life.
We're looking for someone who's equal parts chef, coach, builder, and problem solver. You'll dream up the next guest obsession, then build the systems, standards, and team that make it consistently exceptional across every shop and commissary. From seasonal sandwiches and schmears, to entirely new carb adventures, you'll help create food people obsess over while protecting the quality, hospitality, and nostalgia our guests know and love.
If you're picking up what we're laying down, keep reading!
YOU'LL CRUSH THIS ROLE IF YOU...
  • Have 7+ years of culinary leadership experience across a multi-unit restaurant organization, with a deep understanding of what it takes to execute food consistently at scale.
  • Have completed professional culinary training or built equivalent expertise through hands-on experience.
  • Have successfully led menu innovation, product launches, recipe implementation, commercialization, and operational training across multiple locations.
  • Have developed high-performing culinary teams through coaching, trust, and accountability.
  • Are highly organized and can confidently juggle multiple priorities, projects, and timelines without losing sight of the details.
  • Know food safety, quality assurance, kitchen systems, and production management like the back of your hand.
  • Believe great food is equal parts creativity and relentless execution and get just as excited about improving a beloved classic as you do creating the next guest obsession.
  • Sweat the details because you know guests can taste the difference.
  • Lead with humility, curiosity, high standards, and a roll-up-your-sleeves mentality.
  • Can move comfortably between the test kitchen, supplier meetings, executive conversations, commissaries, and shop operations.
  • Are digging our big BIG V.I.B.E.S. (Vibrancy, Integrity, Belonging, Energy, and Seize the Moment).

Shall we proceed? If you blurted out an audible "YES INDEED!" then please keep reading.
WHAT YOU'LL REALLY BE DOING
  • Partner side-by-side with our Co-Founder & Chief Culinary Officer to bring our culinary vision to life and help shape what's next for Call Your Mother.
  • Lead our Research & Development and Quality Assurance teams, building a high-performing culinary organization rooted in creativity, collaboration, and accountability.
  • Establish and uphold culinary standards that protect the integrity of our food as we continue to grow, while identifying opportunities to improve consistency, quality, speed, and profitability.
  • Own the end-to-end product development process: from first idea and kitchen experimentation through testing, operational validation, commercialization, launch, and post-launch optimization.
  • Develop new menu items, seasonal offerings, beverages, and products that surprise and delight guests while staying true to the Call Your Mother brand.
  • Protect and continuously improve our core menu, ensuring our guest favorites remain consistently delicious as we grow.
  • Build scalable recipes, systems, and standards that deliver chef-quality food across every shop and commissary.
  • Partner closely with Operations, Supply Chain, Training, Marketing, Finance, and Development to ensure every new product is operationally executable, financially sound, and ready for successful rollout.
  • Establish and evolve quality assurance standards, auditing programs, and food specifications that protect consistency across all products and locations.
  • Collaborate with supplier partners to source, develop, and commercialize ingredients that meet our quality standards while supporting long-term growth.
  • Stay relentlessly curious about food, ingredients, techniques, equipment, and consumer insights, not to chase trends, but to thoughtfully evolve the menu in ways that feel authentically Call Your Mother.
  • Roll up your sleeves. Some days you'll be in the kitchen, some days in a shop, some days at a commissary, and some days in a conference room. We believe the best culinary leaders stay close to the food and the people making it.
AND FINALLY, IF YOU NEED MORE REASONS TO APPLY:
  • Competitive salary $170,000, plus annual bonus opportunity and stock options.
  • Make an impact. You'll work directly with our Chief Culinary Officer to influence standards, recipes, and how every shop executes.
  • Health Insurance. Health, dental, and vision insurance.
  • Unlimited paid time off because you deserve it...duh.
  • 100% Paid, 12 week parental leave for time with the itty, bitty baby!
  • 401(k) with 4% company match. Plan for a bright and beautiful future!
  • Step your knowledge game up. Free English and Spanish classes, plus Duolingo reimbursement.
  • Real support when life gets complicated. Confidential therapy and professional resources for mental health, legal guidance, financial wellness, and more.
  • BAGELS ON THE HOUSE! Plus 50% off when you're off the clock.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
The physical demands for this position include seeing, hearing, speaking, reading, and communicating effectively; standing, walking, reaching, bending, and performing repetitive physical movements; lifting up to 50 pounds; and safely operating equipment and tools using manual dexterity. This role also requires working in a fast-paced environment around hot equipment, sharp tools, and varying temperatures, and occasionally working in confined spaces. These physical requirements may be accomplished with or without reasonable accommodation. .
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
Call Your Mother is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We enthusiastically celebrate the diversity of our team and believe that talent, passion, and experience are the only relevant criteria for considering new team members. We provide equal opportunities to everyone who works for us and every applicant. We consider applicants for all positions without regard to sex or gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other legally protected status.
CALL YOUR MOTHER PARTICIPATES IN E-VERIFY.

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