Director of Culinary Operations Jobs
Director of Culinary Operations jobs are open across full-service restaurants, hotel groups, contract foodservice, and hospitality management companies, from senior chef de cuisine to VP-level, with specializations in menu development, multi-unit oversight, and cost control. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.
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Open roles22
Top stateCalifornia
Top employerGenentech
Top cityEncinitas, CA
Work type100% On-site
Top credentialServSafe Certification
Showing 5 of 22+ Director of Culinary Operations jobs
Culinary Director | Full-Time | Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
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Added 1d ago
Oak View Group
Culinary Director | Full-Time | Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
Los Angeles, California
Added 1d ago
Director of Culinary Operations
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Added 1d ago
The Brook
Director of Culinary Operations
Seabrook, New Hampshire
Added 1d ago
Administrative Assistant to Director of Culinary-Carolina-Full Time
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Added 2d ago
Pinehurst Resort
Administrative Assistant to Director of Culinary-Carolina-Full Time
Pinehurst, North Carolina
Added 2d ago
Manager of Student Recruitment - Business Administration & Entrepreneurship, Culinary Arts & Hospitality Management and Health Sciences
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Added 2d ago
DEL MAR COLLEGE
Manager of Student Recruitment - Business Administration & Entrepreneurship, Culinary Arts & Hospitality Management and Health Sciences
Corpus Christi, Texas
Added 2d ago
Director of Culinary Operations
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Added 1w ago
West Hills Health & Rehabilitation
Director of Culinary Operations
Portland, Oregon
Added 1w ago
Added 1d ago
Culinary Director | Full-Time | Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
Oak View Group·Los Angeles, California
Job functions:
$145k - $180k/yr
ServSafe Certification
5,001-10,000 employees
Job Description
Oak View Group:
This role pays an annual salary of $145,000 - $180,000 and is bonus eligible.
Benefits for Full-Time Roles: Health, Dental and Vision Insurance, 401(k) Savings Plan, 401(k) matching, and Paid Time Off (vacation days, sick days, and 11 holidays).
This position will remain open until February 5, 2027.
Responsibilities:
Oak View Group (OVG) is the global leader in premium live entertainment infrastructure and services, with a platform spanning venue development and end-to-end capabilities across venue management, hospitality, and sponsorship sales. Founded in 2015, the company serves a collection of seven world-class owned venues and a client roster of the most iconic arenas, stadiums, convention centers, music festivals, performing arts centers, and cultural institutions, spanning four continents.
Overview:
The Culinary Director has the primary duty of managing the culinary team, a recognized department of the venue’s F&B operation. The Culinary Director will actively coach, counsel, direct, train, and mentor employees in meeting company quality standards and will independently initiate and authorize all employment actions such as hiring, termination, suspension, discipline, promotion, and transfer. The Culinary Director will actively and independently manage all aspects of employee relations to ensure a positive, harmonious, compliant, and cooperative work environment. The Culinary Director will take full ownership and responsibility for the culinary operations at The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. This extensive role encompasses the restaurant, the food hall, and private events (including offsite commissary kitchen) operation within the museum. The core objective is to achieve both operational and commercial success for these diverse food and beverage spaces and verticals, ensuring that product, service, and the highest quality standards are consistently maintained. This position involves comprehensive oversight of all day-to-day culinary management aspects, with a mandate to guarantee the delivery of the museum's culinary product in terms of quality, consistency, and presentation, all while adhering to the financial constraints of the annual budget. This is a key position for the effective and profitable operation of the business. The Culinary Directorf must maintain excellent attendance and be available to work a variable event-driven schedule, which includes evenings and weekends. Open availability, professional presentation, outstanding interpersonal skills, and self-direction are required.
This role pays an annual salary of $145,000 - $180,000 and is bonus eligible.
Benefits for Full-Time Roles: Health, Dental and Vision Insurance, 401(k) Savings Plan, 401(k) matching, and Paid Time Off (vacation days, sick days, and 11 holidays).
This position will remain open until February 5, 2027.
- Stay fully aware and up-to-date with new culinary trends and proactively diversify food and beverage offerings.
- Champion the sustainability agenda within the museum's culinary operations, aligning with the building's ethos.
- Develop extended relationships with internal museum tenants or partners for their food and beverage catering requirements, understanding their individual needs, and actively participating in tastings for new events opportunities.
- Present to potential private event clients along with the sales team to win high-profile event bids.
- Be fully aware of and contributing to the technology utilized within the museum, such as any relevant apps, to ensure it is maintained, kept up-to-date, and current.
Culinary and Kitchen Management:
- Manage all food ordering and stock rotation, including the preparation of weekly and monthly reporting (inventory, labor, and COGS).
- Construct and maintain an effective operational structure and build strong relationships with logistical partners to ensure timely delivery of products.
- Allocate and manage time efficiently to cover all operational, administrative, and trend-related aspects across all museum outlets. This includes managing outlet concepts (like concessions and retail), kitchen budgets, cost of sales, staffing schedule audits against budget, Profit & Loss (P&L) reporting, and participating in Front of House (FOH) and Event meetings (BEO).
- Introduce reasonable logistical operational delivery solutions to efficiently provide food service to multiple floors or areas within the museum site.
- Implement and collate Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and recipes as required for generic kitchen procedures.
- Compile all staffing schedules for kitchen and kitchen porter staff, aligning with budget requirements and utilizing approved systems.
- Undertake regular daily debriefing sessions with key kitchen staff and attend leadership meetings to drive the business forward and maintain a key action list.
Health, Safety, and Food Safety Management:
- Maintain high levels of food hygiene practices and due diligence as designated by legislation, including all HACCP, Health & Safety (H&S), and Food Safety recording and documentation, following any and all local, municipal, and company policies and procedures alongside chosen partners.
- Be an integral part of managing H&S in the workplace, actively participating in monthly H&S meetings and audits.
- Ensure follow-up communication to internal FOH, Back of House (BOH), and general management regarding action plans.
- Provide accurate data records and follow-up of internal data sheets (MSDS) by maintaining an up-to-date compliance diary and compliance center for all kitchens and teams.
Menu Design and Development:
- Develop all menu changes in collaboration with the on-site management team, regional executives, and the Global Culinary Director. This includes arranging tastings and specifications for all menus for final approval by key stakeholders.
- Adhere to any and all sustainability principles and initiatives in the selection and use of products for menus.
- Complete and review allocated costs of menu changes and daily specials to ensure smooth implementation of any menu changes following approved processes.
- Format all menus, recipes, and files, including methods and yields, and implement systems that are followed and documented using the company's recipe management tools.
- Maintain and update the recipe database, proactively adjusting pricing and products based on market fluctuations of costs.
- Conduct frequent menu engineering reports to analyze sales patterns of dishes and make appropriate decisions based on the information presented.
- Conduct frequent quality checks of the restaurant, café, and concession offerings to ensure they are in line with the museum's own standards and remain competitive.
- Collaborate closely with the corporate culinary leadership on new dishes, ensuring they align with the museum's concept and overall culinary vision for the business.
Financial Management and Profitability:
- Maintain budgets set for food purchasing, labor costs, and general costs associated with culinary operations.
- Ensure all ingredient prices are regularly checked using the company's recipe management tool, verifying prices are competitive and aligned with market value.
- Ensure all menu items are appropriately and correctly costed.
- Ensure that there is no overordering and food wastage is kept to a minimum.
- Use existing nominated suppliers only, leverage any contracted pricing, and liaise closely with the procurement department on any challenges or required changes to set product baskets.
- Sign off on weekly produced budgets and timesheets and prepare accurate data for monthly payroll for the culinary department.
- Check, monitor, and approve invoices, working closely with the venue's Area Finance Manager.
- Assist with, track, and oversee weekly flash reports pertaining to Food Cost of Sales (COS).
- Maintain adequate and appropriate tracking of culinary department labor budgets to ensure alignment with approved numbers.
- Support across the venue with events, offering culinary staff assistance as needed to help keep costs aligned.
Staff Training and Development:
- Direct, motivate, and manage all kitchen and BOH staff to ensure they are working under the museum's culinary brand and guidelines, as well as the overall building ethos.
- Identify, define, and retain key talent within the kitchen department by ensuring adequate succession planning and career progression in collaboration with Human Resources and the senior management team.
- Ensure provision of Health & Safety and Food Safety training (local and ServSafe), as well as general development, coaching, or counseling for any staff member in accordance with internal policies and SOPs.
- Direct the correct induction process for all new culinary employees on site.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):
- Financial/Cost of Sales (COS): Demonstrate a full understanding of kitchen budgets and the allocation of food and labor percentages, working to be in line with approved numbers and margins.
- Guest Satisfaction/Quality of Food: Achieve set targets for guest feedback and satisfaction from the different operational channels.
- Health & Safety & Sustainability: Achieve set targets pertaining to staff training, Food Safety audits, and local Health Department inspections. Achieve site-level goals for the implementation of sustainability initiatives.
- Staff Engagement/Development/People Management Skills: Achieve set targets in conducting regular team meetings, reviews, survey participation, and maintaining staff retention at desired levels.
- Purchasing: Ensure alignment to internal procurement guidelines.
- 5-7+ years of senior kitchen leadership in multi-faceted venues.
- Proven track record of achieving and exceeding set operational targets and work experience within a similar food service management or fast-paced retail environment.
- Advanced administrative and computer skills.
- Strong budget and report writing abilities.
- Bilingual (Spanish) is a plus.
- Ability to write menus that are both creative and profitable.
- ServSafe Certified – Manager Level.
- Strong people management and communication skills.
- Ability to effectively lead a team of more than 40 people.
- Obsessive about planning, time management, and organizational skills.
- Flexibility in work shifts and hours (weekends and holidays).
- Proactive, team-oriented working approach.
- Ability to meet deadlines under pressure.
- Must be punctual and reliable.
- Ability to work independently and also collaborate with others.
- Strong interest in food development and trends.
- Ability to positively influence others' actions, decisions, opinions, or thinking.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Culinary Arts Diploma (e.g., Associate's or Bachelor's degrees in Culinary Arts).
- Hospitality management degree or bachelor's in applied science in hospitality, catering, or event management.
At OVG, we understand that to continue positively disrupting the sports and live entertainment industry, we need a diverse team to help us do it. We also believe that inclusivity drives innovation, strengthens our people, improves our service, and raises our excellence. Our success is rooted in creating environments that reflect and celebrate the diverse communities in which we operate and serve, and this is the reason we are committed to amplifying voices from all different backgrounds.
Equal Opportunity Employer:
Oak View Group is committed to equal employment opportunity. We will not discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on any legally recognized basis (“protected class”) including, but not limited to veteran status, uniform service member status, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information or any other protected class under federal, state, or local law.
Oak View Group
Culinary Director | Full-Time | Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
Los Angeles, California
Added 1d ago5,001-10,000 employees
Job functions:
$145k - $180k/yr
ServSafe Certification
Job Description
Oak View Group:
This role pays an annual salary of $145,000 - $180,000 and is bonus eligible.
Benefits for Full-Time Roles: Health, Dental and Vision Insurance, 401(k) Savings Plan, 401(k) matching, and Paid Time Off (vacation days, sick days, and 11 holidays).
This position will remain open until February 5, 2027.
Responsibilities:
Oak View Group (OVG) is the global leader in premium live entertainment infrastructure and services, with a platform spanning venue development and end-to-end capabilities across venue management, hospitality, and sponsorship sales. Founded in 2015, the company serves a collection of seven world-class owned venues and a client roster of the most iconic arenas, stadiums, convention centers, music festivals, performing arts centers, and cultural institutions, spanning four continents.
Overview:
The Culinary Director has the primary duty of managing the culinary team, a recognized department of the venue’s F&B operation. The Culinary Director will actively coach, counsel, direct, train, and mentor employees in meeting company quality standards and will independently initiate and authorize all employment actions such as hiring, termination, suspension, discipline, promotion, and transfer. The Culinary Director will actively and independently manage all aspects of employee relations to ensure a positive, harmonious, compliant, and cooperative work environment. The Culinary Director will take full ownership and responsibility for the culinary operations at The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. This extensive role encompasses the restaurant, the food hall, and private events (including offsite commissary kitchen) operation within the museum. The core objective is to achieve both operational and commercial success for these diverse food and beverage spaces and verticals, ensuring that product, service, and the highest quality standards are consistently maintained. This position involves comprehensive oversight of all day-to-day culinary management aspects, with a mandate to guarantee the delivery of the museum's culinary product in terms of quality, consistency, and presentation, all while adhering to the financial constraints of the annual budget. This is a key position for the effective and profitable operation of the business. The Culinary Directorf must maintain excellent attendance and be available to work a variable event-driven schedule, which includes evenings and weekends. Open availability, professional presentation, outstanding interpersonal skills, and self-direction are required.
This role pays an annual salary of $145,000 - $180,000 and is bonus eligible.
Benefits for Full-Time Roles: Health, Dental and Vision Insurance, 401(k) Savings Plan, 401(k) matching, and Paid Time Off (vacation days, sick days, and 11 holidays).
This position will remain open until February 5, 2027.
- Stay fully aware and up-to-date with new culinary trends and proactively diversify food and beverage offerings.
- Champion the sustainability agenda within the museum's culinary operations, aligning with the building's ethos.
- Develop extended relationships with internal museum tenants or partners for their food and beverage catering requirements, understanding their individual needs, and actively participating in tastings for new events opportunities.
- Present to potential private event clients along with the sales team to win high-profile event bids.
- Be fully aware of and contributing to the technology utilized within the museum, such as any relevant apps, to ensure it is maintained, kept up-to-date, and current.
Culinary and Kitchen Management:
- Manage all food ordering and stock rotation, including the preparation of weekly and monthly reporting (inventory, labor, and COGS).
- Construct and maintain an effective operational structure and build strong relationships with logistical partners to ensure timely delivery of products.
- Allocate and manage time efficiently to cover all operational, administrative, and trend-related aspects across all museum outlets. This includes managing outlet concepts (like concessions and retail), kitchen budgets, cost of sales, staffing schedule audits against budget, Profit & Loss (P&L) reporting, and participating in Front of House (FOH) and Event meetings (BEO).
- Introduce reasonable logistical operational delivery solutions to efficiently provide food service to multiple floors or areas within the museum site.
- Implement and collate Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and recipes as required for generic kitchen procedures.
- Compile all staffing schedules for kitchen and kitchen porter staff, aligning with budget requirements and utilizing approved systems.
- Undertake regular daily debriefing sessions with key kitchen staff and attend leadership meetings to drive the business forward and maintain a key action list.
Health, Safety, and Food Safety Management:
- Maintain high levels of food hygiene practices and due diligence as designated by legislation, including all HACCP, Health & Safety (H&S), and Food Safety recording and documentation, following any and all local, municipal, and company policies and procedures alongside chosen partners.
- Be an integral part of managing H&S in the workplace, actively participating in monthly H&S meetings and audits.
- Ensure follow-up communication to internal FOH, Back of House (BOH), and general management regarding action plans.
- Provide accurate data records and follow-up of internal data sheets (MSDS) by maintaining an up-to-date compliance diary and compliance center for all kitchens and teams.
Menu Design and Development:
- Develop all menu changes in collaboration with the on-site management team, regional executives, and the Global Culinary Director. This includes arranging tastings and specifications for all menus for final approval by key stakeholders.
- Adhere to any and all sustainability principles and initiatives in the selection and use of products for menus.
- Complete and review allocated costs of menu changes and daily specials to ensure smooth implementation of any menu changes following approved processes.
- Format all menus, recipes, and files, including methods and yields, and implement systems that are followed and documented using the company's recipe management tools.
- Maintain and update the recipe database, proactively adjusting pricing and products based on market fluctuations of costs.
- Conduct frequent menu engineering reports to analyze sales patterns of dishes and make appropriate decisions based on the information presented.
- Conduct frequent quality checks of the restaurant, café, and concession offerings to ensure they are in line with the museum's own standards and remain competitive.
- Collaborate closely with the corporate culinary leadership on new dishes, ensuring they align with the museum's concept and overall culinary vision for the business.
Financial Management and Profitability:
- Maintain budgets set for food purchasing, labor costs, and general costs associated with culinary operations.
- Ensure all ingredient prices are regularly checked using the company's recipe management tool, verifying prices are competitive and aligned with market value.
- Ensure all menu items are appropriately and correctly costed.
- Ensure that there is no overordering and food wastage is kept to a minimum.
- Use existing nominated suppliers only, leverage any contracted pricing, and liaise closely with the procurement department on any challenges or required changes to set product baskets.
- Sign off on weekly produced budgets and timesheets and prepare accurate data for monthly payroll for the culinary department.
- Check, monitor, and approve invoices, working closely with the venue's Area Finance Manager.
- Assist with, track, and oversee weekly flash reports pertaining to Food Cost of Sales (COS).
- Maintain adequate and appropriate tracking of culinary department labor budgets to ensure alignment with approved numbers.
- Support across the venue with events, offering culinary staff assistance as needed to help keep costs aligned.
Staff Training and Development:
- Direct, motivate, and manage all kitchen and BOH staff to ensure they are working under the museum's culinary brand and guidelines, as well as the overall building ethos.
- Identify, define, and retain key talent within the kitchen department by ensuring adequate succession planning and career progression in collaboration with Human Resources and the senior management team.
- Ensure provision of Health & Safety and Food Safety training (local and ServSafe), as well as general development, coaching, or counseling for any staff member in accordance with internal policies and SOPs.
- Direct the correct induction process for all new culinary employees on site.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):
- Financial/Cost of Sales (COS): Demonstrate a full understanding of kitchen budgets and the allocation of food and labor percentages, working to be in line with approved numbers and margins.
- Guest Satisfaction/Quality of Food: Achieve set targets for guest feedback and satisfaction from the different operational channels.
- Health & Safety & Sustainability: Achieve set targets pertaining to staff training, Food Safety audits, and local Health Department inspections. Achieve site-level goals for the implementation of sustainability initiatives.
- Staff Engagement/Development/People Management Skills: Achieve set targets in conducting regular team meetings, reviews, survey participation, and maintaining staff retention at desired levels.
- Purchasing: Ensure alignment to internal procurement guidelines.
- 5-7+ years of senior kitchen leadership in multi-faceted venues.
- Proven track record of achieving and exceeding set operational targets and work experience within a similar food service management or fast-paced retail environment.
- Advanced administrative and computer skills.
- Strong budget and report writing abilities.
- Bilingual (Spanish) is a plus.
- Ability to write menus that are both creative and profitable.
- ServSafe Certified – Manager Level.
- Strong people management and communication skills.
- Ability to effectively lead a team of more than 40 people.
- Obsessive about planning, time management, and organizational skills.
- Flexibility in work shifts and hours (weekends and holidays).
- Proactive, team-oriented working approach.
- Ability to meet deadlines under pressure.
- Must be punctual and reliable.
- Ability to work independently and also collaborate with others.
- Strong interest in food development and trends.
- Ability to positively influence others' actions, decisions, opinions, or thinking.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Culinary Arts Diploma (e.g., Associate's or Bachelor's degrees in Culinary Arts).
- Hospitality management degree or bachelor's in applied science in hospitality, catering, or event management.
At OVG, we understand that to continue positively disrupting the sports and live entertainment industry, we need a diverse team to help us do it. We also believe that inclusivity drives innovation, strengthens our people, improves our service, and raises our excellence. Our success is rooted in creating environments that reflect and celebrate the diverse communities in which we operate and serve, and this is the reason we are committed to amplifying voices from all different backgrounds.
Equal Opportunity Employer:
Oak View Group is committed to equal employment opportunity. We will not discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on any legally recognized basis (“protected class”) including, but not limited to veteran status, uniform service member status, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information or any other protected class under federal, state, or local law.
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Find JobsDirector of Culinary Operations Job Market
Who's Hiring
What Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in director of culinary operations jobs.
- Minimum 5 years of multi-unit culinary management or executive chef experience
- Demonstrated ability to manage food costs, labor budgets, and P&L statements
- Experience developing, testing, and rolling out menus across multiple locations
- Proficiency with kitchen management systems, inventory software, and ordering platforms
- ServSafe Manager certification or equivalent food safety credential
- Bachelor's degree in culinary arts, hospitality management, or a related field preferred
Tips for Your Director of Culinary Operations Job Search
Quantify kitchen scale on your resume
Hiring teams want to see the number of units you've overseen, annual food and beverage revenue you've managed, and team sizes you've led. Vague claims about 'large operations' get passed over, concrete figures specific to culinary scope get callbacks.
Lead with P&L ownership, not cooking
At the director level, employers care about food cost percentage improvements, labor efficiency, and budget adherence more than your culinary technique. Front-load your resume with operational and financial wins before listing menu or kitchen achievements.
Apply early to roles that fit
Migrate Mate lists director of culinary operations openings from across the United States in one place, so you can find roles that match and apply directly to each listing.
Target postings that match your concept type
A background in fast-casual multi-unit operations rarely translates cleanly to luxury hotel food and beverage, and hiring managers know it. Filter openings by concept type and prioritize roles where your specific segment experience is a direct match.
Prepare a culinary vision document for interviews
Many interview processes for this role ask you to present a 90-day plan or concept direction. Draft a one-page culinary vision aligned to the company's brand before your first round so you're not building it under pressure.
Negotiate start date around seasonal transitions
Culinary operations roles often open during menu transition cycles or new unit launches. If you're evaluating an offer, propose a start date that lets you onboard before a major seasonal changeover rather than arriving mid-rollout with no ramp time.
Director of Culinary Operations Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions
Which companies are hiring the most director of culinary operationss?
The most active employers for director of culinary operationss right now are Genentech, OSI, and The Brook, and the most openings are in California, Texas, and Florida, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. Demand tends to be highest among hotel groups, contract foodservice companies, and large casual-dining chains expanding into new markets.
How many director of culinary operations jobs are remote?
About 0% of director of culinary operations openings are fully remote or hybrid as of November 2026, reflecting that most of the role requires on-site kitchen oversight and in-person team leadership. The sub-areas most likely to allow remote flexibility include menu development consultation, vendor negotiation, and corporate training curriculum work for multi-unit brands.
How do you become a director of culinary operations?
Most directors of culinary operations move up through executive chef or sous chef roles, then step into culinary manager or regional chef positions where they gain multi-unit and budget responsibility. Earning a food safety certification, building experience with P&L oversight, and demonstrating menu development results at scale are the steps that typically open the door to director-level hiring.
Can you get hired as a director of culinary operations with limited leadership experience?
It's rare but possible if you've led a flagship high-volume kitchen and can show measurable operational impact, cost reductions, team growth, or successful menu rollouts. Most employers at this level expect direct reports management experience, so moving into an assistant director or culinary manager role first gives you the documented leadership history that director searches require.
What does the director of culinary operations interview process look like?
The process typically starts with a phone screen focused on operational scope and team size, followed by a panel interview with HR, the VP of food and beverage, and sometimes an ownership or executive team. Many companies include a culinary presentation round where you pitch a menu concept or a 90-day operational plan before a final offer conversation.
Where can I find and apply to director of culinary operations jobs?
You can find and apply to director of culinary operations jobs on Migrate Mate, which lists current openings from across the United States. Find the roles that match your experience and concept background, then apply directly to each listing from the page.
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