Manager Culinary Standards

Etihad Airways; Abu Dhabi; On-site; USD 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading airline in the UAE is seeking a Culinary Manager to oversee the development and delivery of their food and beverage program. This role involves managing a team, ensuring compliance with standards, and driving product quality improvements across all routes. Ideal candidates will have significant experience in food and beverage management in an airline context, fluent English skills, and a relevant degree.

Qualifications

• Experience in food and beverage product development and financial management.
• 10 years with a Diploma or 7 years with a Degree, including 4-5 years in a similar function.
• Fluent in English with strong report writing and influencing skills.

Responsibilities

• Manage menu planning structure and timelines for meal services.
• Lead team to ensure compliance with style, standards, and budget.
• Analyze food quality performance and provide detailed reports.

Skills

Food hygiene

Menu development

Project management

Communication

Education

Graduate in Hotel Management

Food hygiene training

Job description

To manage the process and delivery of Etihad's culinary and design program. Accountable for a consistent menu style, standards, product specifications and development process including all documentation of requirements and budgets tracking of, timelines and deliverables network-wide.

Accountabilities

• Maintain, update and communicate menu planning structure, timelines and detailed requirements for all routes and meal services ensuring consistency of EY's FandB offer network-wide and ensuring compliance with development and delivery timescales and budgets.
• Manage a team of Menu Specification Managers to ensure compliance with all requirements of style, standards and budget and leads the drive for continuous improvement in the quality of EY's FandB offer.
• Translates the EY food and beverage vision, style and standards into actionable plans, documents, procedures and processes to ensure delivery of a coherent and understandable style, characteristics, profile and language across the fleet and consistent, on-time delivery.
• Tracks product quality performance worldwide in regards to food and beverage delivery with detailed reports to colleagues and senior management to build and drive delivery of improved consistency of EY food and beverage.
• Drive the development of all sourcing opportunities in all markets to improve product consistency and reduce cost. Actively monitors cost impacts and seeks our brand alliance opportunities to enhance the Guest offer whilst mitigating cost. Ensure co-ordination with Delivery and Commercial teams at all times.
• Leads culinary input to station catering supplier selection processes and other supplier selection recommendations delivering robust analysis of caterer capability and commercial rational to support clear recommendations enabling good business decisions.
• Builds and delivers robust plans to maximize product development and new delivery opportunities to improve product quality and consistency.
• Reviews and recommends ancillary product definition according to segmentation, demographic per class
• Negotiates and supports catering service agreements, global contracts
• Works with all key suppliers, and especially EASC to determine and deliver a food category and commodity plan and to introduce a food supplier plan which leverages tactical and strategic supplier relationships to deliver tangible Guest benefit and decreased cost.
• Ensures close and robust liaison with Delivery and Commercial teams within EY Catering and with PandSM, GS and suppliers to ensure all stakeholder needs are effectively managed and ensuring all communication is clear and unambiguous.
• Collates competitor analysis of hospitality trends in FandB and reports quarterly to senior management on key changes and potential vision development requirements.

Education & Experience

• Graduate in Hotel Management and Catering or related fields
• Food and beverage product development, project management and financial management experience
• With Diploma, 10 years of work experience with minimum 5 years within a similar function
• With Degree, 7 years of work experience with at least 4 years within a similar function
• Preference having worked in an ancillary driven airline environment
• Native English speaker or hold a minimum CEFR C2 level qualification or equivalent
• Food hygiene training to higher-level. Halal training is an advantage.
• Excellent business report writing, menu development and writing skills and broad communication and influencing skills in fluent English.

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, was formed in 2003 and quickly went on to become one of the world’s leading airlines. From its home in Abu Dhabi, Etihad flies to passenger and cargo destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and North America. Together with Etihad’s codeshare partners, Etihad’s network offers access to hundreds of international destinations. In recent years, Etihad has received numerous awards for its superior service and products, cargo offering, loyalty programme and more.All this ties into Etihad’s ambitious Journey 2030 strategy. The airline plans to double its fleet size and triple the number of customers over the next six years as it sets out to be the airline everyone wants to fly!

Recruitment Fraud Alert

Beware of fraudulent job offers from individuals or organizations claiming to represent the Etihad group. We will never ask for personal information, bank details, or payment during the recruitment process. Interviews are conducted face-to-face or via video / telephone before any formal offer. If you are asked for money, please treat it as fraudulent.