The Sr. Director, Culinary Operations & Innovation/Executive Chef is responsible for the research and development of recipes consistent with Miller's Ale House's (MAH) quality, standards, and innovation. Responsibilities include innovation that produces top-line sales growth and Guest satisfaction. The Sr. Director partners with other Restaurant Support Center (RSC) teams such as Marketing, Supply Chain, Operations, Training, IT, and FP&A on the development and execution of a focused and targeted menu strategy that drives top-line sales while maximizing gross margin, COGS, and labor productivity.
ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS & KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
- Researches and identifies culinary trends and new developments within the casual dining segment and broader business environment, benchmarks with other companies, and implements learnings
- Cultivates an environment focused on culinary innovation and flawless execution while holding oneself and others to very high standards
- Provides leadership for the development of culinary and product process improvements through testing, refining, evaluation, and implementation of preparation techniques, processes, or tools for both existing and new products
- Oversees testing, training, and implementation of culinary innovation (product and/or technique) with Purchasing, Marketing, Operations, and Training
- Garners a deep understanding of the MAH Guest profile and builds a culinary strategy to align with their needs and preferences
- Partners with Marketing and Supply Chain on core menu item development, lunch and dinner specials program, and seasonal LTOs designed to drive Guest traffic and/or improve prime costs. Coordinates roll-out efforts, both administrative and operational, for these initiatives with Training and other support departments
- Seeks operator feedback, visits restaurants and/or attends Operations meetings to gain insight into potential enhancements to systems, methods, and procedures
- Partners with BOH/Kitchen Managers, GMs, Directors of Operations, and DVPs to deliver consistently high-quality food to our Guests, including adherence to standardized recipes and procedures. Identifies success measures, analyzes, and reports on these identified actions, creating action plans for improvement
- Ensures the development and maintenance of the recipe database including ingredients from past, current, and future food products
- Strives to develop processes that facilitate better cost management as it relates to kitchen operations, including accurate production and labor standards (e.g. average production times, shelf lives) and cook times/line flow development.
- Researches the next generation of BOH design to create the kitchen of the future
- Other duties and responsibilities as assigned
REQUIRED SKILLS AND EDUCATION
- 4-year college degree or culinary arts degree required
- 15 years of experience is required in innovative culinary R&D with 10 years of demonstrated leadership of a culinary team
- 5+ years of multi-unit casual dining restaurant experience in a senior culinary operations leadership role
- Experienced with all Microsoft Office products including Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams, and PowerPoint
- Demonstrated ability to work in an interdependent, cross-functional team
- This position requires the candidate to reside in the Orlando area or be willing to relocate to the area
- Ability to travel required, workweeks will frequently be a mix of some office and majority of hands-on involvement at various restaurants
- Leverages culinary knowledge and insights to generate compelling food concepts
- Displays knowledge of restaurant operations and systems and empathy for operational priorities, methods, and processes with a strong focus on simplistic execution without reducing quality
- Culinary skills and technique: Demonstrates competence in the fundamentals of cooking and professional terminology
- Working knowledge of profit and loss statements, good analytical capability
- Experience with safety and sanitation management
- Good technical writing skills with strong attention to detail
- Proven administrative capability in coordinating various departmental information and assembling it into easy-to-use material to deploy food training throughout the organization
- Demonstrated ability to develop individual talent and teamthrough coaching, teaching, and mentorship
- Exhibits knowledge of current consumer and industry trends, behaviors, preferences, and needs
- Demonstrates the ability to project manage effectively to achieve desired outcomes on time and within budget
- Ability to build consensus and manage change in a strong culture with a long history
- Passion for food and the hospitality industry