Position Title: Corporate Culinary Operations Chef

Department: Operations

Reports To: Chief Operations Officer

Position Type: Full Time

FLSA Status: Exempt

Travel: Extensive travel required, approximately 50--70%

Position Summary:

Corporate Culinary Operations Chef to serve as a company-wide culinary and operational resource supporting new contract startups, existing business improvement, menu and production development, culinary training, and business development initiatives. This is a hands-on operational role designed for an experienced culinary leader who can enter an operation, quickly assess performance, identify opportunities for improvement, develop practical solutions, train and mentor teams, and establish sustainable operating standards. The Corporate Culinary Operations Chef will work closely with Operations leadership, field management, and site culinary teams and will travel frequently to support food service operations throughout the United States.

Key Responsibilities

New Contract Startups & Transitions

1. Support mobilization, transition, startup, and stabilization of new food service contracts.
2. Assist with kitchen organization, production planning, opening food orders, inventories, equipment readiness, staffing workflows, and operational readiness.
3. Develop and validate opening menus, recipes, production quantities, and food requirements.
4. Provide hands-on culinary leadership and training during contract startups.
5. Identify startup deficiencies and assist Operations leadership with corrective actions.
6. Conduct post-startup assessments and document lessons learned and best practices.

Existing Business & Operational Improvement

1. Deploy to existing operations requiring culinary or operational assistance.
2. Evaluate food quality, production methods, presentation, portion control, sanitation, food cost, waste, and kitchen efficiency.
3. Identify operational deficiencies and develop practical corrective action plans.
4. Assist field leadership with improving food quality, customer satisfaction, production efficiency, and overall culinary execution.
5. Support locations preparing for customer inspections, quality evaluations, and operational assessments.
6. Follow up on improvement initiatives to ensure changes are sustained by local management.

Menu & Production Development

1. Develop and refine standardized cycle menus, recipes, yields, portion sizes, preparation methods, and production standards.
2. Ensure menus are executable within contractual requirements, staffing levels, available equipment, and established food-cost targets.
3. Establish and improve production planning, forecasting, batch cooking, food utilization, inventory, and waste-control practices.
4. Assist with implementation and refinement of company food production and culinary management systems.
5. Develop repeatable culinary standards and best practices that can be implemented across multiple food service operations.

Food Cost & Operational Controls

1. Assist operations with improving food-cost management, inventory controls, production forecasting, and waste reduction.
2. Evaluate food usage, yields, portions, menu mix, production practices, and purchasing patterns.
3. Identify opportunities to improve financial performance without compromising food quality or contractual requirements.
4. Assist locations with establishing appropriate production quantities, pars, ordering practices, and inventory controls.

Training & Culinary Development

1. Train and mentor Food Service Managers, chefs, cooks, and culinary teams.
2. Provide hands-on training in production planning, recipe execution, food presentation, batch cooking, portion control, sanitation, and food-cost management.
3. Develop culinary training materials, operating guides, and standardized production practices.
4. Identify culinary talent and assist Operations leadership with employee development and succession planning.
5. Build site-level capabilities with the goal of creating sustainable operations that do not require ongoing corporate intervention.

Business Development & Proposal Support

1. Serve as a culinary subject-matter expert supporting Business Development and proposal activities.
2. Review prospective food service opportunities, solicitations, PWS/SOW requirements, meal volumes, menus, equipment, and operating requirements.
3. Assist with developing proposed menus, culinary concepts, production methodologies, staffing assumptions, and operational solutions.
4. Participate in site visits, solution-development sessions, proposal reviews, customer presentations, and oral presentations as required.
5. Evaluate kitchen layouts, equipment capabilities, production requirements, and potential operational risks.
6. Help ensure culinary solutions proposed during Business Development can be successfully implemented by Operations following contract award.

Qualifications

1. 7+ years of progressive culinary or food service leadership experience.
2. Strong experience in high-volume food production and institutional food service.
3. Military, government, university, healthcare, corporate dining, or other large-scale food service experience preferred.
4. Demonstrated experience with menu development, standardized recipes, production planning, food costing, inventory management, portion control, and waste reduction.
5. Experience opening, transitioning, or improving large food service operations strongly preferred.
6. Ability to quickly assess an operation and identify culinary, production, staffing, and process deficiencies.
7. Strong leadership, training, coaching, problem-solving, and communication skills.
8. Experience supporting proposals, culinary presentations, or business development activities preferred.
9. Experience with food service management, inventory, recipe, or production management technology preferred.
10. ServSafe Manager certification or equivalent required.
11. Culinary degree or recognized professional culinary certification preferred.
12. Must be willing and able to travel extensively based on operational requirements.

Ideal Candidate

The successful candidate will be a hands-on culinary operator, trainer, and problem solver who understands how to translate culinary standards into practical, repeatable operating practices.

This individual must be comfortable moving between new contract startups, established operations requiring improvement, menu and production development, employee training, and business development activities.

The Corporate Culinary Operations Chef will operate under a simple philosophy:

Assess → Standardize → Train → Stabilize → Transfer Ownership

Working Conditions:

• Maintaining composure in dealing with authorities, senior executives, clients, staff, the public and the media, occasionally under conditions of urgency and in pressure situations.
• Must undergo and meet company standards for background and reference checks, controlled substance testing, and behavioral selection survey.

• Required ability to handle multiple tasks concurrently.
• Handling and being exposed to sensitive and confidential information.
• Regular use of vehicle required in the performance of duties.
• Regular talking and hearing.
• Sitting for long periods.
• Close vision, distance vision, and ability to adjust focus.
• Reading and analyzing large volumes of reports and financial data, including computer usage.
• Frequent travel to client locations, conferences, company offices and other locations.
• Directing, motivating, training, coaching, and disciplining staff in a positive manner.
• Responding on an on-call basis to high-level incidents requiring executive action at all hours.

#IND

Qualifications

1. 7+ years of progressive culinary or food service leadership experience.
2. Strong experience in high-volume food production and institutional food service.
3. Military, government, university, healthcare, corporate dining, or other large-scale food service experience preferred.
4. Demonstrated experience with menu development, standardized recipes, production planning, food costing, inventory management, portion control, and waste reduction.
5. Experience opening, transitioning, or improving large food service operations strongly preferred.
6. Ability to quickly assess an operation and identify culinary, production, staffing, and process deficiencies.
7. Strong leadership, training, coaching, problem-solving, and communication skills.
8. Experience supporting proposals, culinary presentations, or business development activities preferred.
9. Experience with food service management, inventory, recipe, or production management technology preferred.
10. ServSafe Manager certification or equivalent required.
11. Culinary degree or recognized professional culinary certification preferred.
12. Must be willing and able to travel extensively based on operational requirements.

Ideal Candidate

The successful candidate will be a hands-on culinary operator, trainer, and problem solver who understands how to translate culinary standards into practical, repeatable operating practices.

This individual must be comfortable moving between new contract startups, established operations requiring improvement, menu and production development, employee training, and business development activities.

The Corporate Culinary Operations Chef will operate under a simple philosophy:

Assess → Standardize → Train → Stabilize → Transfer Ownership