Culinary Director

Position Overview

The Culinary Director will lead culinary strategy, food and beverage R&D, menu development, recipe standardization, product testing, training support, and BOH execution standards across current and future locations.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead food and beverage R&D for current and future menu items
• Develop new recipes, LTO's, seasonal items, and beverage programs
• Build scalable recipes that can be executed consistently across multiple locations
• Standardize recipe cards, prep procedures, portioning, plating, and build guides
• Partner with operations leadership to ensure menu items work in real restaurant conditions
• Train and support kitchen leaders on food quality, consistency, execution, and standards
• Evaluate kitchen flow, prep systems, equipment needs, and product execution
• Support New Store Openings from a culinary and BOH readiness standpoint
• Work with vendors on product sourcing, testing, quality, availability, and cost
• Monitor food quality, waste, yield, and theoretical food cost
• Protect brand standards across taste, presentation, speed, cleanliness, and consistency
• Help build a culinary system that supports long-term growth

Food & Beverage R&D

• Menu ideation
• Recipe testing
• Beverage development
• Seasonal product development
• LTO creation
• Costing and yield testing
• Product sourcing
• Prep testing
• Safety testing
• Operational execution testing
• Training rollout support

Required Experience

• Culinary leadership experience in a multi-unit restaurant, fast-casual, QSR, or high-volume hospitality environment
• Strong knowledge of Italian cuisine and Italian flavor profiles
• Strong knowledge of taqueria-style food, Mexican-inspired cuisine, and bold fast-casual menu development
• Fully fluent in Spanish
• Fully fluent in Italian
• Proven food and beverage R&D experience
• Experience developing recipes, prep systems, and menu rollouts
• Strong understanding of food cost, portion control, waste, yield, and vendor sourcing
• Able to train, coach, and support BOH leaders and kitchen teams
• Experience supporting New Store Openings preferred
• Strong communication skills and ability to work cross-functionally with operations, training, vendors, and ownership

Ideal Candidate Profile

• Creative but operationally grounded
• Strong in food and beverage development
• Comfortable in kitchens, not just behind a desk
• Fully fluent in Spanish and Italian
• Deeply knowledgeable in Italian cuisine
• Comfortable working with taqueria-style and Mexican-inspired food
• Strong in recipe standardization and execution
• Able to train kitchen teams clearly and effectively
• Focused on consistency, quality, and scalability
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, growing restaurant company
• Able to protect the food while supporting growth

What Success Looks Like

• Menu items should be exciting, but also executable
• Kitchen teams should understand the standard
• New products should be tested, costed, trained, and rolled out properly
• Food quality should improve without slowing down operations
• The Culinary Director will play a major role in protecting the brand's food identity while helping the company grow the right way