Kitchen Manager

Kitchen Manager

The Kitchen Manager (KM) is a senior leader responsible for the overall success and execution of all culinary operations within the restaurant. As a peer to the Assistant General Manager (AGM), the KM is accountable for setting and maintaining food quality, safety, operational consistency, and team performance standards. This role ensures strategic alignment with the General Manager and Executive Culinary Team, while directly supervising, developing, and leading the Back-of-House (BoH) team.

Reports to GM

Essential Functions & Responsibilities:

• Lead all daily BoH operations, ensuring team performance, food quality, safety, and cleanliness standards are consistently met.
• Directly supervise kitchen staff, including scheduling, coaching, performance evaluations, and corrective actions.
• Collaborate with the General Manager and Executive Culinary Team to implement systems, improve productivity, and drive culinary excellence.
• Oversee food cost control, inventory management, and vendor ordering in alignment with budget expectations.
• Ensure compliance with all local, state, and federal health and safety regulations.
• Own the full lifecycle of BoH staffing, including recruitment, hiring, onboarding, performance management, and development.
• Build and execute training plans to promote internal growth and operational excellence that ensure long-term leadership continuity.
• Partner cross-functionally with front-of-house leadership to ensure smooth service execution and shift flow.
• Uphold and enforce all company policies and procedures, leading by example with professionalism and integrity.
• Perform kitchen audits and monitor preparation and plating to ensure alignment with recipes and presentation standards.
• Lead pre-shift and team communication huddles to reinforce expectations, celebrate wins, and address improvement opportunities.
• Other duties as assigned, with a focus on strategic leadership and continuous improvement.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities:

• Minimum 3 years in a culinary leadership role within a high-volume, full-service environment.
• Proven ability to lead, coach, and develop teams.
• Strong understanding of labor management, inventory systems, and food safety regulations.
• Excellent communication, problem-solving, and organizational skills.
• Ability to work a flexible schedule, including nights, weekends, and holidays.

Qualifications:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

Education and/or Experience: Minimum of 3 years of culinary leadership experience in a high-volume, full-service restaurant environment. Proven track record of leading and developing BoH teams. Strong knowledge of kitchen operations, food safety standards, and inventory/labor management systems required. Experience with training, coaching, and performance management of hourly staff preferred.

Language Skills: Ability to read, write and speak fluently, in the primary language of the property location. Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations. Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and interpret procedure manuals. Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of employees, clients, customers, and the public.

Reasoning Ability: Ability to define and solve problems, dealing with a variety of variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. Ability to successfully re-prioritize tasks in a moment's notice. The ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.

Mathematical Skills: Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, proportions, percentages, and ratios. Ability to meet budgets in all areas of cost control with consistent focus on cost of sales and payroll.

Confidentiality: Due to the sensitive nature of the information dealt with, all job-related information will be held in strict confidence unless otherwise directed by the CEO or CPO.

Physical Demands and Working Environment: The conditions herein are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job functions.

Environment: Work is performed primarily in a restaurant setting with public contact and frequent interruptions.

Physical: Primary functions require sufficient physical ability and mobility to work in a restaurant setting; to stand or sit for prolonged periods of time; to frequently stoop, bend, kneel, crouch, reach, and twist; to lift, carry, push, and/or pull light to heavy amounts of weight; to operate office equipment requiring repetitive hand movement and fine coordination including use of a computer keyboard; and to verbally communicate to exchange information.