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Whitsons Culinary Group · 1 day ago

Director of Culinary Operations

Berkeley, IL

Full-time

Onsite

Director/Executive

$110K/yr - $130K/yr

10+ years exp

Whitsons Culinary Group is seeking a Director of Culinary Operations who will lead culinary strategy and product development across various divisions. This role involves overseeing recipe development, ensuring quality control, and collaborating with multiple departments to deliver high-quality food products in a large-scale manufacturing environment.

Food and BeverageFood DeliveryFood ProcessingRestaurantsWholesale

Hiring Manager

Joe Taranto

Responsibilities

Develop new meals and menu items for School Nutrition, Culinary Center, and internal Whitsons business lines

Identify Ready-to-Eat (RTE) meals and à la carte items suitable for large-scale production and school programs

Lead recipe creation for entrées, soups, sauces, pastas, proteins, salads, and prepared components

Industrialize all recipes by developing accurate BOMs, formulations, yields, and preparation standards

Conduct regular reviews of existing BOMs to ensure accuracy, efficiency, and cost alignment

Condense and streamline recipes and ingredient lists where practical to improve production efficiency

Design standardized preparation, cooking, cooling, and handling procedures for all products

Establish yields and preparation processes and compare standards to actual production results

Observe daily BOM-related production functions to ensure adherence to approved formulations

Assist production planning to reduce changeovers and improve line efficiency

Ensure all work is performed safely and in compliance with company and regulatory standards

Maintain expert knowledge of all cooking, preparation, and processing equipment used in production

Develop equipment-specific training standards for efficient and consistent use

Partner with Training and Operations teams to document and implement culinary procedures

Train equipment operators and production teams on new recipes and formulations

Require documented sign-off confirming understanding and readiness to execute new products

Develop quality control and testing procedures for all new and existing products

Establish QA standards related to appearance, taste, texture, viscosity, and portioning

Conduct test tastings and focus groups with internal stakeholders and senior clients

Set meal portions, plating diagrams, and gold standard references in English and Spanish

Observe production lines periodically to verify portioning accuracy and gold standard compliance

Collaborate with QA to ensure HACCP, USDA, and internal quality standards are consistently met

Establish and maintain all BOM costs, yields, and absorbed labor calculations

Work with Procurement to ensure ingredient sourcing, availability, and cost alignment

Partner with Plant Leadership, COO, and CFO to vet and approve all BOM-related costs

Monitor plate costs to ensure meals remain within program-specific cost targets

Communicate proactively when cost, yield, or execution risks are identified

Provide day-to-day culinary leadership that aligns with the plant’s mission and core values

Partner with Operations, Safety, QA, Procurement, Finance, and Training teams to support plant goals

Develop plans with the Safety Team to reduce accidents and improve food handling safety

Maintain strong communication across departments to support smooth product launches and execution

Build a catalog of products that can be efficiently produced within cost and capacity guidelines

Qualification

Culinary degreeServSafe CertificationHACCP certificationRecipe IndustrializationFood Safety ComplianceBusiness AcumenOperational Problem SolvingLeadership DevelopmentContinuous ImprovementCommunication SkillsTime ManagementCross-Functional Collaboration

Required

Culinary degree required; certification in Culinary Arts essential

ServSafe Certification required

HACCP, safety, and customer service training certifications required

Local ordinance certification required

Minimum of 10 years of culinary and management experience

3–5 years of food manufacturing or large-scale production experience required

Business and Financial Acumen

Recipe Industrialization & BOM Development

Quality Systems & Food Safety Compliance

Operational Problem Solving

Leadership & Team Development

Communication & Cross-Functional Collaboration

Continuous Improvement Mindset

Time Management & Execution Discipline

Preferred

Certified Executive Chef (CEC) accreditation

USDA-regulated production experience

Company

Whitsons Culinary Group

Founded in 1979, Whitsons Culinary Group® provides dining services to consumers in both public and private organizations throughout the United States, and our Whitsons Family of Companies continues to grow as we expand across the country.

Founded in 1979

Islandia, New York, USA

1001-5000 employees