Area Chef

Area Chef

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.
• 23 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.