Director of Culinary Operations

Director of Culinary Operations

Position Overview
 The Director of Culinary Operations is responsible for overseeing and scaling kitchen operations across all store locations, ensuring execution excellence, consistency, and the development of private label products.
 This role drives operational excellence across multi-unit kitchens while leading the strategy, standardization, and expansion of private label offerings. The ideal candidate combines deep culinary expertise with strong leadership and experience in high-volume, retail-driven food environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Oversee end-to-end kitchen operations across all locations, ensuring consistency, efficiency, and execution excellence
 • Provide hands-on leadership by working closely with kitchen and store teams to ensure adherence to operational procedures and resolve issues in real time
 • Lead the development, scaling, and continuous improvement of private label food programs
 • Ensure consistency in recipes, preparation, packaging, and presentation of private label products
 • Drive operational performance through KPI management (food cost, labor, waste, productivity)
 • Identify and implement process improvements to optimize production efficiency and scalability
 • Oversee the full product lifecycle, from development and testing to in-store rollout and ongoing optimization
 • Conduct regular site visits, audits, and performance evaluations across locations
 • Establish and maintain quality control standards and ensure full compliance with food safety and sanitation regulations
 • Collaborate cross-functionally with Operations, Merchandising, Marketing, and other departments to align culinary strategy with business objectives
 • Lead, develop, and hold accountable kitchen leadership teams across all locations
 • Support new store openings, kitchen setups, and integration of private label programs
 • Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance operational efficiency, reduce costs, and improve the customer experience in prepared foods

Qualifications

• Proven track record of overseeing kitchen operations across multiple locations
 • Strong experience in private label and/or product development within retail, grocery, or food production environments
 • Deep understanding of high-volume production, standardization, and scalable operations
 • Strong financial acumen, including food cost control and margin optimization
 • Experience collaborating cross-functionally with procurement, merchandising, and operations teams
 • Demonstrated ability to build systems, lead teams, and drive operational improvements at scale

• Extensive culinary background (Executive Chef, Corporate Chef, or similar) with multi-unit leadership experience
 • Strong leadership, communication, and organizational skills
 • Willingness to travel regularly