KITCHEN MANAGER

Job Description

Job Description

About the Role

Tapestry, the cafe at the Ismaili Center, is looking for a Kitchen Manager who can execute. This

is a quick service operation running fifteen to twenty menu items a la carte, and every one of

them has to come out right, hot, and on time. Our corporate chefs at Jackson and Company will

set the menu, the recipes, and the systems. Your job is not to invent. Your job is to uphold and

deliver world class food out of a fast kitchen, every single ticket, and to hold your team to that

standard.

About the Ismaili Center

Tapestry is the cafe inside the Ismaili Center, Houston, the first Ismaili Center in the United

States and the seventh in the world. Set on eleven acres along Montrose Boulevard, the Center

is a cultural and civic landmark built to advance pluralism, public understanding, and civic

outreach. It is a place of dialogue, learning, and connection that welcomes people of every

background and faith, celebrates the arts, and builds bridges across cultures.

That mission shapes how we operate. The setting is calm, gracious, and deliberately unhurried.

Guests come here for a performance, an exhibition, a lecture, a meal, or a quiet moment, and

our team is expected to meet them with the same warmth and composure the Center is known

for. In keeping with the Center, alcohol is not served. We are looking for people who take pride

in gracious hospitality and who will represent this environment with the care and respect it

deserves.

Hours of Operation

This is a daytime and early evening operation. There are no overnight closes and no shifts

running into the early morning.

• Monday: closed

• Tuesday through Thursday: 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM

• Friday and Saturday: 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM

• Sunday: 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM

For anyone who has spent years in restaurants working until two in the morning, this schedule is

a rare opportunity to do excellent hospitality work and still have your life outside of it.

Compensation

$40,000 to $45,000 annually, plus medical benefits effective the first of the month

following 90 days of employment.

Key Responsibilities

• EXECUTION. Deliver every item on the menu to spec. Same recipe, same portion, same

plate, every time, whether it is the first ticket of the day or the two hundredth.

• COORDINATED DELIVERY. The entire guest order goes out together. No item sitting in

the window while another finishes. You own the timing across the line.

• SPEED OF SERVICE. This is a quick service operation. Know your ticket times, work to

them, and answer for them.

• TEMPERATURE. Food goes out at the correct temperature. This is non negotiable and it

is on you.

• PRESENTATION. Every plate leaves the kitchen looking the way it is supposed to look.

You are the last set of eyes before it reaches a guest.

• ACCOUNTABILITY. Hold your back of house team to the standard. Coach, correct,

document, and when someone will not meet it, address it directly rather than letting it slide.

• TRAINING. Train your team on the systems and recipes provided by our corporate chefs.

Get new hires to standard fast and keep the whole line consistent.

• FOOD COST. Own your food cost through portion control, waste reduction, proper

storage, and disciplined ordering. Know the number and know where it is heading.

• ORDERING AND INVENTORY. Manage ordering, receiving, par levels, rotation, and

counts. Nothing runs out mid service and nothing dies in the walk in.

• SANITATION AND FOOD SAFETY. Own health code compliance and cleanliness. No

exceptions, no reminders needed.

• ON THE LINE. This is a working role. You will be on the line during service, not watching

from the back.

Qualifications

• Two or more years running a kitchen, with real responsibility for output and for the team.

• Proven experience in a high volume or quick service environment where speed and

consistency mattered.

• The ability to run a coordinated line and get complete orders out together under pressure.

• A track record of holding a kitchen team accountable, including the difficult conversations.

• Working knowledge of food cost, waste control, and inventory management.

• Strong command of food safety and sanitation standards.

• Food Manager certification, or the ability to obtain it before your start date.

• Availability that matches the needs of the business, including weekends.

A Note on Scope

Menu development is handled by our corporate chefs at Jackson and Company. This role is

about execution, consistency, and leading a kitchen team that delivers.

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