Director of Culinary

POSITION SUMMARY:

This position is responsible for the full management of all test kitchen activities and working in conjunction with others on the creative development of menu items that support department initiatives and overall Company strategy. Position affords key support to internal departments in provision of support material related to training, recipes, menus, and equipment. The director of culinary should possess a thorough working knowledge of the culinary operations of a large restaurant company and the ability to effectively manage and balance food cost/profitability with innovation.

PRIMARY ACCOUNTABILITIES:

* Direct and manage all test kitchen activities including creating and maintaining kitchen development calendar and schedule of events.
* Work in conjunction with others on the development of new products and menu items (BBQ and other) suitable for multi-unit environment. Work actively to engineer and optimize menu items to achieve targeted costs.
* Responsible for the total process of building new recipes and ensuring all recipes or products developed are operationally executable, meet internal quality requirements, and that all recipes developed are consistent in language and presentation style.
* Manage product development process through utilization of both internal and external resources. Such resources may include suppliers, consultants, boards, associations, and industry organizations or various internal departments. High level of administration knowledge if necessary to conduct internal and external presentations on tastings, product optimizations, tests and ideation sessions.
* Work closely with various departments and suppliers to develop and perfect recipes and methods of food production. Coordinate and maintain contact with key suppliers for ideation and sample submissions.
* Working in conjunction with other department heads, help define product requirements for new product development. Actively maintain good relationships with suppliers. Oversee product quality audits in conjunction with purchasing and QA team to ensure products meet specifications.
* Ensure recipes for new menu items are timely communicated and available to the Training and Operation Services departments. Work with Training department to develop "Train the Trainer" materials (live, written and videos) for use in cascade style training for new items and menu rollouts.
* Prepare and present food items for tastings, product reviews and specific requests of the Marketing department.
* Support test programs for products, menus, and field research as part of the testing process.
* Effectively gather information outside the company in order to stay current with industry standards.
* Actively participate in company programs and initiatives as requested by supervisor.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, & ABILITIES:

Education:
* Four-year culinary or food science degree preferred. An equivalent combination of education and professional experience may also be considered.

Experience:
* Min 5-7 years experience including:
o 5+ years prior professional experience with food preparation and materials/methods used in large-scale cooking
o 5+ years' experience supervising the operation of all types of standard kitchen equipment/machinery.
o 5+ years of multi-unit culinary oversight experience, preferably in a full service restaurant.
* Project management experience

Skills/Competencies/Certifications:
* Prior successful experience developing menu programs
* Demonstrated knowledge application of food cost and yield management
* Food research and development background
* Experience working with vendors and suppliers
* Strong analytical, quantitative, problem solving and technical skills
* Ability to demonstrate professional conflict resolution, interpersonal skills and people management
* Possess effective written and verbal communication skills for interface with individuals of differing knowledge levels, required
* Demonstrated time management and organizational skills with the ability to multi-task, prioritize and organize work to meet deadlines and multiple requests, required
* Demonstrated ability to adapt and lead others through change
* Serv-Safe Certified - management level