Director of Food & Beverage

The Hotel Monroe – Monroe, LA

Director of Food & Beverage

LEAD THE FUTURE OF FOOD & BEVERAGE AT HOTEL MONROE

We are seeking a dynamic and experienced Director of Food & Beverage to lead our culinary and hospitality operations at the Hotel Monroe with passion and precision. In this pivotal role, you will oversee the entire food service division including Heirloom Restaurant, Star Bar rooftop bar, Culinary and banquet operations, ensuring exceptional quality, safety, and customer satisfaction across all dining outlets, catering services, and food management functions. Your leadership will inspire teams, elevate guest experiences, and drive operational excellence in a fast-paced, hospitality-focused environment.

This is an exciting opportunity for a visionary Food and Beverage professional with a strong management background to shape the future of our food and beverage offerings.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

As Director of Food & Beverage, you will:

Leadership & Operations

• Develop and implement strategic plans to enhance food quality, service standards, and operational efficiency across all food & beverage outlets.
• Lead, motivate, and supervise culinary teams, restaurant staff, catering personnel, and kitchen management to deliver outstanding service.
• Manage daily shift operations including kitchen management, restaurant service, banquet events, and catering functions to ensure seamless execution.
• Plan and direct the functions of administration and planning of the Food and Beverage Department to meet the daily needs of operation.
• Clearly describe, assign and delegate responsibility and authority for the operation of the various food and beverage sub-departments, including outlet operations, culinary operations, banquet operations, and conference services.
• Develop, implement and monitor schedules for the operation of all restaurants and bars to achieve a profitable result.

Culinary & Food Service

• Oversee food production processes, ensuring adherence to food safety regulations, proper handling procedures, and dietary requirements.
• Coordinate menu development with culinary teams to incorporate innovative dishes while maintaining consistency in taste and presentation.
• Participate with the chef, outlet managers, and catering managers in the creation of attractive and merchandising menus designed to attract a predetermined customer market.
• Oversee training programs related to food preparation, serving techniques, dietary accommodations, barista skills, coffee experience, and food safety protocols.
• Ensure compliance with health codes, safety standards, and sanitation practices through regular inspections and staff training.

Financial & Cost Management

• Monitor inventory levels, control costs, and optimize procurement processes to maximize profitability without compromising quality.
• Implement effective control of food, beverage and labor costs among all sub-departments.
• Assist the area managers in establishing and achieving predetermined profit objectives and desired standards of quality food, service, cleanliness, merchandising and promotion.
• Develop (with the aid of sub-department heads) operating tools necessary and incidental to modern management principles, i.e., budgeting, forecasting purchase specifications, recipes, portion specifications, menu abstracts, food production control, job descriptions, etc.

 Guest Experience & Business Development

• Foster a welcoming environment that emphasizes excellent customer service and hospitality at every touchpoint.
• Regularly review and evaluate the degree of customer acceptance of the individual restaurants and banquet service. Recommend to management new operating and marketing policies whenever declining or constant sales imply dissatisfaction by the customers, a material change in the make-up of the customer market, or a change in the competitive environment.
• Collaborate with other departments to plan special events such as banquets or catering services that meet client expectations.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

Required Qualifications

• Proven management experience within the full-service destination restaurant and hospitality banquet facility. Hotel food and beverage experience preferred.
• Extensive culinary experience including cooking skills, food preparation expertise, and kitchen management capabilities.
• Extensive bar and bar management experience.
• Demonstrated supervising experience in fast-paced environments such as restaurants or large-scale catering operations.
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to motivate diverse teams and foster a positive work culture.
• Knowledge of food safety standards, sanitation procedures, and dietary accommodations required by health authorities.
• Experience in managing shift operations efficiently while maintaining high standards of customer service.
• Familiarity with food handling regulations across various settings including banquet halls or catering services.
• Excellent communication skills paired with a proactive approach to problem-solving in hospitality settings.
• Background in managing budgets, controlling costs, and optimizing resources for maximum operational impact.
• Additional skills such as barista experience or coffee expertise are considered valuable assets for this role.

WHY JOIN HOTEL MONROE?

• Competitive salary based on experience.
• Paid annual vacation and sick leave.
• Full medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage provided, if elected, at no cost to you. (The employer will contribute up to $1,000/month towards coverage for yourself, spouse and/or legal dependents.) Short-term and long-term disability, critical illness, additional life insurance and many other ancillary benefits are also available at the employee’s expense.
• Employer-paid term life insurance policy equal to annual base pay. (Benefit reduces by 35% at age 70; 50% at age 75; ends with termination. Please see policy for full details.)

TO APPLY

If you're an experienced food and beverage leader with a passion for culinary excellence, exceptional hospitality, and developing high-performing teams, we'd love to hear from you. Apply today and become part of the team shaping the future of food and beverage at The Hotel Monroe.

Hotel Monroe is an Equal Opportunity Employer.