Culinary Chief for Detroit-Style Pizza & CPG

Buddy; Farmington Hills (MI); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Buddy's is seeking a Director of Culinary / Corporate Executive Chef to lead culinary strategy for both restaurant and frozen retail lines in the Detroit metro area. You will own recipes, standards and the pipeline from test kitchen in Detroit to co-manufacturer production.

You will drive brand consistency, develop new items, manage cost targets and oversee kitchen training, while traveling to partner sites and stores to ensure execution across channels.

Qualifications

• Culinary background with 8+ years in professional kitchens and 3+ years in leadership roles in a multi-unit setting.
• Strong product development experience from bench to production with co-manufacturers or plants.
• Deep knowledge of pizza, dough, fermentation, cheese, and bake processes.
• Proven restaurant execution across multiple locations and ability to launch menu items.
• Cost discipline with recipe costing and food cost management.
• Solid food safety knowledge (ServSafe or equivalent) and labeling awareness.
• Excellent communication skills for training and presenting to buyers and finance teams.
• Willingness to travel regularly, including metro Detroit area and Midwest partners.

Responsibilities

• Own brand recipes, specs, and training programs across restaurants and CPG.
• Lead restaurant menu development from concept to launch with operations and marketing input.
• Drive frozen product development from bench to shelf; oversee plant trials with co-manufacturer.
• Ensure quality checks in-market and fix deviations in recipes, ingredients, or processes.
• Manage food cost targets and pricing discussions with purchasing and finance.
• Develop kitchen training programs for managers and line cooks; certify processes.

Job description

Buddy's is seeking a Director of Culinary / Corporate Executive Chef to lead culinary strategy for both restaurant and frozen retail lines in the Detroit metro area. You will own recipes, standards and the pipeline from test kitchen in Detroit to co-manufacturer production.

You will drive brand consistency, develop new items, manage cost targets and oversee kitchen training, while traveling to partner sites and stores to ensure execution across channels.