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Sr. Director, Culinary Operations & Innovation/Executive Chef

Miller's Ale House
Full-time
On-site
Orlando, Florida, United States
Executive Chef

Work and Perks

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

Requirements and Qualifications

  • 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