About this role
Summary of Position:
The Area Chef plays a vital role in ensuring exceptional culinary standards and customer satisfaction across school cafeteria operations within an assigned region. This position provides hands-on culinary leadership, operational support, and strategic guidance to deliver high-quality, nutritious, and compliant meals that meet organizational standards. As a key member of the Culinary & Organizational Excellence Team, the Area Chef collaborates closely with site teams to strengthen performance, elevate service, and maintain consistency across locations. This role requires flexibility and a proactive approach, stepping into facilities as needed to provide supervision, operational support, and culinary expertise.
Responsibilities:
- Establish annual operational plans and goals; implement initiatives across locations using internal and external resources.
- Develop, implement, and monitor culinary concepts, menu programs, and product enhancements at regional and national levels.
- Ensure compliance with corporate standards, including food safety, risk management, purchasing, cost controls, and ordering systems.
- Oversee training execution for recipes, menu changes, food safety standards, and culinary procedures; conduct audits to verify adherence.
- Support business operations through performance evaluations, staffing support, event execution, sales proposal input, and cost/quality improvement programs.
Qualifications:
- Culinary degree preferred or equivalent experience; minimum 7 years in food service and fresh food production, including hands-on chef experience.
- 2–3 years of multi-unit culinary management or supervisory experience in restaurant or food service operations.
- Experience in high-volume batch cooking, complex food service environments, and catering operations.
- Knowledge of food safety, sanitation standards, cost controls, and recipe/production execution, including ability to follow production sheets and standardized processes.
- SERV Safe certification (or ability to obtain within 6 months), valid driver’s license, ability to pass background check, proficiency in MS Office (Excel, Adobe), and ability to travel up to 80% including overnight stay.
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, Gender/Minority/Veterans/Disabled and participates with E-Verify Employment Eligibility Program.
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