Director, Culinary Operations

Responsibilities

• Develop and mentor senior chefs.
• Create training opportunities for chefs and managers through manufacturers and vendor resources and share/promote internal best practices.
• Conduct food tastings and evaluate food presentations.
• Establish food specifications.
• Direct sustainability initiatives throughout the property.
• Fluent understanding of restaurant & food service P&L’s (labor & food & beverage costs), financial metrics & venue budgets.
• Research and stay current with all culinary trends.
• Address any issues regarding food quality, taste, and presentation promptly and work with Chefs and operation managers to take appropriate action.
• Provide culinary guidance and support to Chefs and Operations Managers.
• Able to collaborate with other departments, proactively identify problems/opportunities, and take ownership of deadlines and deliverables.
• Collaborate with Operations Team to manage supply chain challenges and opportunities.
• Provide vision for ongoing culinary development.
• Conduct regular quality checks to ensure adherence to established recipes and standards.
• Ensure compliance with all local, state, and federal laws regarding food quality, safety, labor, employment, Union guidelines, and Company policies and procedures.
• Collaborate with the Chefs and Operations Team to ensure that the correct training materials are in place and used as intended.
• Partner with the Quality Assurance department to ensure that the highest safe food handling practices are met.
• Train and develop teams to understand the importance of food safety.
• Responsible for performance evaluations, disciplinary recommendations, succession planning, and management development to meet needs.
• Maintain or exceed weekly budgeted variable operation profit by controlling cost of goods & variable labor.
• Standardize recipes, portion sizes, and presentation techniques to maintain consistent quality across all venues.
• Monitor and control food costs by implementing effective inventory management, portion control, and waste reduction strategies.
• Conduct training programs and workshops for Culinary Team Members to enhance their culinary skills, drive retention and engagement, and maintain consistent cooking techniques.
• Foster a positive and creative work environment the encourages creativity, teamwork, and professional growth.
• Create strategic plans to optimize venue profits while maintaining high food quality, food safety, and cleanliness standards.
• Effectively build a cohesive team while demonstrating organizational, planning, delegation, mentoring, and coaching skills.
• Develop and foster open communication and healthy working relationships with all support partners, between business units and company departments.
• Provide visionary leadership and management of the culinary Research and development process from product creation through implementation.
• Stay current on developing trends in the restaurant industry and be able to apply trending ingredients and flavors that support relevant Guest demographics.
• Identify and introduce new culinary techniques.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 12 years of progressive experience in culinary services.
• A Culinary Arts degree is preferred.
• A food manager certificate is required.
• Advanced knowledge and understanding of the culinary arts.
• In-depth knowledge of federal, state, and local food handling regulations.
• Comfortable training, directing, and supervising.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Proficient in Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Able to work during holidays, days, nights, and weekends.