Culinary Director

Who We Are

We are Midwest’s largest food management company offering custom dining, refreshment services, and special events catering. Our passionate team of highly skilled food service industry leaders explores what’s new and what’s next, creating fresh and vibrant offerings for our guests. We serve more than 10,000 high-quality meals a day across more than 475 locations and are 900 employees strong and growing. Great food and impeccable service, delivered by happy, hardworking people. If you enjoy pleasing guests and being part of a polished team that makes a difference every day, we’re looking for you!

What You’ll Do

Culinary Director role (7+ years experience). DOT certification required. Manages day-to-day culinary operations, including food production, staff communication, training, weekly production planning, and maintaining overall food quality. The role also includes catering/event work, scheduling, writing actionable plans, and onsite quality assurance. This role is located in Oakland County.

Key Responsibilities

• Responsible for execution of breakfast, lunch, and special events.
• Conduct daily line checks and verify food quality before each service.
• Communicate food and service issues to staff and drive continuous improvement.
• Manage culinary team including Sous Chef, Cooks, and Utility.
• Develop menus and research new culinary trends.
• Lead menu testing, recipe generation, and compliance.
• Complete weekly production sheets.
• Prepare weekly schedules and forecast needs.
• Maintain kitchen cleanliness and sanitation standards.
• Oversee staff development, training, and team-building plans.
• Manage inventory and ordering processes.
• Aid in achieving financial goals, including food cost control.
• Attend regular culinary management meetings.
• Provide leadership as a working manager.
• Participate in interviewing, selecting, and assessing culinary talent.
• Set performance expectations and manage delegation of duties.
• Offer coaching, training, and development opportunities.
• Resolve employee concerns and escalated issues.
• Assist with annual employee evaluations.
• Develop training materials and programs.
• Oversight of HR functions including lifecycle of employee.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• Results-oriented and flexible; demonstrates follow-through and positive outcomes.
• Passionate about food; skilled in developing and scaling dishes; earns team respect and accountability.
• High energy, resilience, and endurance.
• Attitude and Motivation: Positivity will be required to succeed in this role. This includes collaboration with other departments and clear understanding of the mission statement: Delight our Guests Every Meal, Every Day.
• Development: Good to Great is our mantra. This position will constantly ask “how can this be better”? This position is directly tied to company growth and the actions of this individual should be extremely proactive to cultivate this mission.
• Communicates directly and honestly; listens well and encourages open thinking.
• Values align with company culture; ethical, trustworthy, and forward-thinking.
• Strong proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite and industry systems.
• Bachelor’s degree in culinary arts or hospitality, or equivalent experience.
• Five or more years of culinary experience; large-volume kitchen preferred.
• Prior management experience is strongly preferred.
• ServSafe Manager and Allergen certifications preferred (or willingness to obtain).
• Advanced food preparation knowledge.
• Ability to produce a wide range of culinary offerings.
• Ability to train and mentor culinary team members.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Professional, polished appearance and demeanor.
• Ability to build relationships with clients and industry partners.

Disclaimer

The duties of this position may change from time to time. Continental reserves the right to add or remove responsibilities at its discretion. The physical demands for this position are sits, stands, bends, lifts, and moves intermittently during working hours. These physical requirements may be accomplished with or without reasonable accommodations.

Benefits

We prioritize the health, wellness and work-life balance of our team members and designed our comprehensive compensation packages to reflect that. Full-time team members are eligible for medical, dental and vision insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, parental leave, 401(k) with company match, at-work dining perks, flexible schedules, generous PTO, and a total rewards program. Team Members can also use our inclusive employee assistance program. Part-time Team Members are eligible for our 401(k) with company match, at work dining perks and team members can also use our inclusive employee assistance program. Location-specific perks may also include wellness programming, on-the-job training, corporate-hosted courses, certifications and team events.