Description

Job Title: Kitchen Manager Department: Culinary

FLSA: Exempt Status: Full Time

Reports to: Executive Chef

Customary Days: Sunday - Saturday

Customary Hours: Varies to include evenings, holidays, and extended hours as business requires

Purpose:

The Kitchen Manager is responsible for supporting the Executive Chef and Sous Chef in overseeing the daily operation of the Blue Plate kitchen as well as providing assistance in developing new business lines. Additional responsibility includes overseeing production and staff management of kitchen operations.

Key Responsibilities

Corporate Culinary

• Assist the Executive Chef and Sous Chef in managing the overall kitchen staff, to include selection, training, and supervising of daily work assignments. Act as a coach and mentor; managing performance by setting objectives, delivering performance reviews, providing ongoing performance feedback and administering corrective action when needed. 
• Monitor and train all staff in proper sanitation procedures. Ensure that all employees are in assigned uniforms and serving safe food.
• Oversee daily production from each kitchen department to ensure proper presentation and preparation to event guidelines.
• Conduct regular department walk-throughs and random food tastings, with primary focus on quality and consistency.
• Establish proper portion sizes and controls to ensure proper amounts are being prepared for events.
• Responsible for printing all event orders and any revised event orders in a timely manner.
• Continually monitor cleaning and maintenance of all kitchen equipment according to Blue Plate cleaning and sanitation guidelines.
• Implement the policies and practices as outlined by the Blue Plate Safety Policy.
• Make recommendations for equipment purchases and monitor equipment repairs, ensuring equipment is fixed in a safe and timely manner. 
• Assist with placing food and cleaning supplies orders with vendors as needed, using order guides and purchase orders (when required) to organize all orders.
• Report to work in proper uniform as outlines in the Back of the House Dress Code Policy.
• Assist in conducting daily walkthroughs to ensure Health Codes are being met, Good Retail Practices & Foodborne Illness Risk Factors.
• Conduct constant daily checks of all food prior to leaving the building, overseeing the Expo department to ensure all food is being checked properly and up to Blue Plate Standards.

Events Culinary

• Participate in bi-weekly production meetings to confirm all kitchen details with sales and operations staff, making arrangements to obtain information missed if not in attendance. 

General

• Act as a team player and perform other relevant tasks as assigned by the Executive Chef or the Operating Partner. 

Requirements

Education and Experience: The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

• Culinary Arts degree or advance culinary arts certification is preferred
• 5 years of successful experience within the hospitality industry, preferably with catering or hotel food service. 
• Completion of City of Chicago Department of Public Health Certified Food Service Manager certification preferred, or ability to complete the certification within 90 days after date of hire.

Essential Qualifications: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactory. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

• Ability to demonstrate strong affinity for Blue Plate’s mission: Our mission is to “care more” for others through food and service experiences that turn our partner’s vision into reality
• Impeccable service standards and attention to detail.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to prepare and deliver clear, concise reports and presentations that are understandable by the target audience
• Ability to manage confidential information and maintain its integrity
• Ability to effectively solve problems and make decisions in a fast paced, high pressure environment.
• Ability to work effectively across all functional departments and foster a cooperative work environment
• Results oriented, with focus on continuous improvement 
• Flexible and able to multi-task; can work within a fast-moving environment, while also driving toward clarity and solutions
• Demonstrated resourcefulness in setting priorities and guiding investment in people and systems
• Proven leadership with the ability to inspire others to work toward a common goal and reach their potential
• Proven ability to handle multiple priorities simultaneously, data analysis, setting and meeting organizational goals, and time management

Language Skills 

• Ability to read, write and speak English proficiently. Bilingual skills preferred. 

Physical Demands: The physical demands describe here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential function.

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk, hear, taste and smell.
• The employee frequently is required to stand, walk, sit, use hands to feel; reach with hand and arms, and stoop, kneel or crouch for 6 to 8 hours at a time.
• Regularly required to lift and/or move up to 60 lbs.
• Specific vision requirements include the ability to see at close range, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• May work in extreme heat and cold (non-weather and weather).
• May work in wet conditions (non-weather and weather).
• Noise level is low to moderate.
• May work near toxic/caustic chemical and with fumes or airborne particles.
• Will work near moving or mechanical parts.

Blue Plate Catering is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. Candidates are considered for employment with Blue Plate Catering without regard to their race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, pregnancy, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, military status, protected veteran status or other classification protected by applicable federal, state or local law.