Director of Culinary Excellence

WHO WE ARE
We’re looking for a Director of Culinary Excellence to be the newest member of a team that is transforming the restaurant industry. At Salted, we’re building the next generation of fast-casual brands all across the country, with a focus on better-for-you cuisine that's delivery and take-out only. If you have a passion for culinary excellence and want to make a big impact in building the brands of tomorrow, then we want to hear from you!

WHAT YOU’LL DO
In this position, you will play a key role in driving culinary excellence at our kitchens across the country.
Key responsibilities:

• Provide vision for ongoing culinary development.
• Innovation and Planning.
• Collaborate with our Senior R&D chef to introduce new items to existing brand menus and develop new brands from scratch.
• Spearhead the rollout of new licensed brands that we introduce to our kitchens, ensuring these brands are properly integrated into our existing training materials, tools, and kitchen operations.
• Research and stay current with supplier opportunities to reduce costs and improve the quality of ingredients.
• Collaborate with our Operations team to manage supply chain challenges and opportunities.
• Collaborate with our Senior R&D Chef and marketing team to develop culinary initiatives that align with business goals, market trends, and customer preferences.

Development and Training

• Develop strategies to simplify and improve our culinary operations.
• Manage the quality and consistency of our culinary documentation and supporting tools that are used to train kitchen team members.
• Collaborate with key Operations team members to ensure the correct training materials are always in place and used as intended.
• Solicit and incorporate feedback from kitchen team members to constantly improve our training materials and tools.
• Collaborate with our Senior R&D Chef to optimize recipes, yields, and portion sizes to maintain consistency across our backend recipe management and ordering systems.

Quality Assurance

• Provide culinary guidance and support to Kitchen Managers and Area Operation Managers across the country.
• Oversee a team of Culinary Excellence Managers specifically tasked with ensuring our culinary standards are met on a day-to-day basis.
• Conduct regular quality checks, remotely and occasionally in person, to ensure adherence to established recipes and standards.
• Address any issues related to food quality, taste, or presentation promptly, and work with Kitchen Managers, Area Operation Managers, and Culinary Excellence Managers to take the appropriate action.

WHO YOU ARE
The ideal candidate is extremely detail-oriented, has a deep understanding of the complexities of scaling quality and consistency across hundreds of locations, is comfortable working in a fast-changing environment, and has an unquenchable thirst to create food that impacts millions of people’s lives.

• Highly organized and able to juggle multiple tasks with changing priorities.
• 5+ years experience working in the QSR or fast food industry in a culinary role (eg, R&D, training/development, project management).
• Deep understanding of the inner workings of a fast-paced kitchen environment and the necessary controls to ensure quality at scale.
• Knowledge of HACCP, SOPs, and government/industry food safety and quality regulations, codes, and standards.
• Ability to collaborate with other departments, proactively identify problems/opportunities, and take ownership of deadlines and deliverables.
• Wants to work in an extremely fast-paced, data-driven environment with ambitious goals.
• Must be based in the Los Angeles area with the ability to commute to local kitchens and the flexibility to travel to kitchens around the US.
• Passion for better-for-you food and building something great.

You can apply here, but we highly recommend that serious candidates email us directly ([email protected]) with a brief note about yourself and your resumé. Please include “Culinary Excellence” in the subject line.

SALARY
$100,000 – $180,000/annually

BENEFITS

• Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental & Vision)
• 401k with a 4% employer match
• Stock Options in Company
• Parental Leave
• Career Advancement Opportunities
• Work with a team that’s transforming the restaurant industry!

We understand that there is no such thing as “perfect prior work experience” and encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet all the desired qualifications. One of the most important qualities we’re looking for is someone who is driven, eager to learn, and has a growth mindset.

Responsibilities and tasks outlined in this document are not exhaustive and may change as determined by the needs of the company.