Kitchen Manager

Job Description

Job Description

This role combines hands-on kitchen leadership with the analytical and administrative work that makes a restaurant run well. You will help build and maintain recipes, control inventory, plan purchasing and prep, develop schedules, train employees, and follow through on operating standards.

We are looking for someone who enjoys both food and numbers. You should be comfortable working through a busy service, checking a recipe yield, investigating an inventory discrepancy, and explaining a process clearly to a team member.

This is not solely a creative chef position or a desk-based administrative role. Success requires practical culinary ability, disciplined systems, and the willingness to learn, take feedback, and improve.

Who will thrive here

• Analytical: You look beyond a percentage or report to understand what caused the result. You use sales, covers, purchasing, waste, and labor information to make practical decisions.

• Detail-oriented: You notice incorrect units, inconsistent portions, missing labels, invoice errors, incomplete prep lists, and outdated recipes before they become recurring problems.

• Coachable: You welcome feedback, ask questions, test your assumptions, and demonstrate improvement. You can work within an established culinary vision without needing every decision to be your own.

• Organized: You prioritize work, maintain accurate records, and finish what you start. Your team knows what needs to happen, who owns it, and when it is due.

• A respectful leader: You teach clearly, remain composed under pressure, and hold people accountable without yelling, humiliation, or blame.

• Hands-on and dependable: You are willing to support production and service while protecting time for planning, documentation, and follow-through.

Compensation:

$42,500 - $50,000 yearly

Responsibilities: Recipe building and culinary consistency

• Work with culinary leadership to develop, test, standardize, and document approved recipes.

• Build complete recipe records in Meez, including ingredients, quantities, units of measure, sub-recipes, batch yields, portions, preparation steps, equipment, holding instructions, allergen information, and plating photographs.

• Conduct yield and portion tests, calculate recipe costs, and identify discrepancies between the documented recipe and actual kitchen execution.

• Keep recipe costing aligned with current purchasing data and flag cost changes for review.

• Maintain station guides, prep sheets, batch plans, and production standards that employees can actually follow.

• Train the team on approved changes and verify execution. Recipe, ingredient, portion, and presentation changes require designated culinary approval.

Inventory, receiving, purchasing, and waste

• Organize storage areas and maintain accurate inventory records in MarginEdge or the approved system.

• Coordinate scheduled counts and high-value product spot checks; verify units, pack sizes, and count accuracy.

• Establish and adjust proposed pars using demand, shelf life, delivery schedules, storage capacity, and approved budgets.

• Prepare or place orders within delegated authority and reconcile deliveries against purchase orders or invoices.

• Investigate shortages, over-ordering, invoice discrepancies, spoilage, and unexplained inventory variance.

• Review waste records and actual-versus-theoretical usage where reliable data is available, then recommend corrective actions.

• Maintain product labeling, rotation, storage, and receiving standards.

Scheduling, labor, and production planning

• Build back-of-house schedules in HotSchedules using forecasted covers, reservations, events, station needs, employee availability, and skill levels.

• Match staffing and prep plans to expected demand without compromising food safety, quality, or service.

• Review scheduled versus actual hours, overtime exposure, and labor productivity; explain variances and recommend adjustments.

• Coordinate coverage, training shifts, and changes with management, ensuring all work time is accurately recorded.

• Plan prep quantities and assignments to balance readiness, freshness, and waste.

Team training and daily leadership

• Lead organized kitchen opening, shift preparation, service, handoffs, and closing.

• Teach recipes and station procedures through demonstration, supervised practice, and practical verification.

• Maintain training records and identify where employees need coaching or cross-training.

• Give timely, specific feedback and follow up to confirm improvement.

• Communicate product shortages, delays, equipment problems, staffing concerns, and guest-impacting issues promptly.

• Support hiring and performance evaluation within assigned authority.

Food safety and operating discipline

• Enforce sanitation, allergen communication, temperature monitoring, cooling, reheating, and cross-contamination controls.

• Verify completion of cleaning schedules, logs, opening and closing checklists, and corrective actions.

• Escalate unsafe conditions and equipment failures immediately; do not allow service pressure to override safety.

• Maintain an orderly kitchen and partner with management on repairs, vendor visits, and inspection readiness.

Qualifications:

• Demonstrated experience leading kitchen employees in a full-service restaurant or similarly complex food-service operation.

• Strong working knowledge of food preparation, recipe execution, portion control, sanitation, and station organization.

• Experience with recipe documentation, food costing, inventory counts, purchasing, and labor scheduling.

• Ability to calculate recipe yields, unit conversions, portion costs, cost percentages, and inventory variances accurately.

• Confidence using spreadsheets and digital operating tools; able to learn new software and keep records current.

• Clear communication, sound judgment, and a track record of responding constructively to feedback.

• Ability to perform the essential duties of a hands-on kitchen role, with reasonable accommodation where applicable.

• Availability consistent with the restaurant’s operating needs, including evenings and weekends.

• Required food-safety credentials must be current or obtained within an approved timeframe before performing duties that require them.

About Company

7th Floor Hospitality Group (7FHG) is a multi-concept hospitality company bringing vibrant, downtown-style experiences to suburban communities. We believe hospitality is more than food and drinks—it’s about creating spaces where people connect, celebrate, and build community. As a rapidly growing company, we offer team members the chance to be part of a dynamic, business-driven culture where ideas are valued, growth is encouraged, and excellence is the standard.