SR MANAGER CULINARY

Job Title: Senior Manager, Culinary (F&B)
Department: F&B Commercial Operations
Reports to: AVP Commercial (Non-Airline)

As Senior Manager Culinary (F&B), you will play a pivotal role in aligning culinary operations with commercial objectives, acting as the key link between the culinary team and outlet/event operations. This role is responsible for ensuring consistency, innovation, and quality across all touchpoints from menu planning and development to execution at high-profile events. You'll lead the coordination between culinary and operational teams to deliver customer-centric menus, standardized processes, and service excellence, while supporting the creation of new F&B concepts that elevate guest satisfaction and reinforce EKFC's reputation as a leading provider of premium catering experiences. This is a high-impact leadership role operating in a fast-paced, customer-focused environment. With multiple outlets and prestigious events on the calendar, you'll need to balance creativity with operational discipline, ensuring our culinary offerings remain industry-leading while scalable and efficient.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Strategic Culinary Direction: Provide visionary culinary leadership that aligns with business and operational goals, ensuring consistent, high-quality service delivery across all F&B touchpoints.
2. Menu Development & Innovation: Collaborate with the culinary team to design menus that are operationally feasible, financially sound, and aligned with guest expectations, delivering both creativity and profitability.
3. Operational Coordination: Act as the key liaison between outlet/event operations and culinary teams, ensuring smooth implementation of menu changes, issue resolution, and unified execution standards.
4. Quality Feedback Loop: Analyze culinary feedback from guests and clients, offering insights and recommendations to improve food quality and overall guest satisfaction.
5. Standardization & Best Practices: Implement culinary best practices to maintain food quality, presentation standards, and service delivery consistency across outlets and event experiences.
6. Supply Chain Collaboration: Work closely with procurement and supply chain teams to optimize ingredient selection, manage food costs, and support sustainable sourcing practices.
7. Cost Optimization: Identify cost-saving opportunities by analyzing menu performance and reducing waste, contributing to more efficient and profitable operations.
8. Business Development Support: Partner with commercial teams to provide culinary expertise in client proposals, menu presentations, and new business initiatives that drive growth.
9. Regulatory & Quality Compliance: Ensure all culinary activities comply with Dubai regulations and EKFC's food safety and quality standards, incorporating sustainability and efficiency initiatives where possible.
10. Culture of Innovation: Promote idea-sharing and feedback between culinary and operations teams to drive continuous improvement and innovation in guest experience.

Education:
Bachelor's in Culinary Arts, Hospitality, or a related field (required)
Master's degree (preferred)

Experience:

• Minimum of 8 years in F&B, including at least 5 years in a leadership role managing culinary operations in high-volume or event-focused environments
• Strong background in aligning culinary and operational teams to deliver seamless guest experiences
• Deep understanding of health & safety, lean operations, and quality assurance practices
• Demonstrated experience in menu design, recipe development, and costing

Key Skills & Competencies:

• Strategic thinker with strong problem-solving skills
• Excellent leadership and delegation capabilities
• Highly organized with a keen attention to detail
• Strong communication and team training skills
• Creative mindset with the ability to think outside the box
• Financial acumen and data-driven decision-making
• Ability to build a culture of excellence, collaboration, and innovation