Culinary Director | Full-Time | Lucas Museum of Narrative Art

Oak View Group; Los Angeles (CA); Presencial; USD 145.000 - 180.000; Jornada completa

Ventajas ofrecidas por este puesto de trabajo

Health, Dental and Vision Insurance

401(k) with match

Paid Time Off

11 holidays

Descripción de la vacante

Oak View Group alongside The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art seeks a Culinary Director to lead the venue’s culinary team, coach employees, and own all culinary operations, ensuring quality, consistency, and budget adherence. The role covers restaurant, food hall, and private events, with a focus on delivering outstanding culinary experiences.

The position requires strong leadership, menu development, and cost management for a complex multi-space operation, and demands flexible availability for

Formación

• 5-7+ years of senior kitchen leadership in multi-faceted venues.
• ServSafe Manager certification is required.
• Bilingual (Spanish) is a plus.
• Strong budget and report writing abilities.
• Ability to lead a team of more than 40 people.
• Advanced administrative and computer skills.

Responsabilidades

• Stay up-to-date with culinary trends and diversify offerings.
• Champion sustainability in culinary operations.
• Develop relationships with internal museum partners for catering.
• Present to private event clients with sales team to win bids.
• Oversee technology used for menus and kitchen apps to stay current.
• Manage food ordering, inventory, and monthly reporting.
• Build operational structure and relationships with suppliers and logistics.
• Lead kitchen and BOH staff to align with culinary brand.
• Ensure health, safety, and food safety compliance.

Conocimientos

Leadership

Budgeting

Menu development

Team management

Food safety

Communication

Time management

Educación

Culinary Arts Diploma

Hospitality management degree

ServSafe Manager Certification

Herramientas

POS systems

Inventory control

Descripción del empleo

Oak View Group

Oak View Group (OVG) is the global leader in premium live entertainment infrastructure and services, with a platform spanning venue development and end-to-end capabilities across venue management, hospitality, and sponsorship sales. Founded in 2015, the company serves a collection of seven world-class owned venues and a client roster of the most iconic arenas, stadiums, convention centers, music festivals, performing arts centers, and cultural institutions, spanning four continents.

Oak View Group (OVG) is the global leader in premium live entertainment infrastructure and services, with a platform spanning venue development and end-to-end capabilities across venue management, hospitality, and sponsorship sales. Founded in 2015, the company serves a collection of seven world-class owned venues and a client roster of the most iconic arenas, stadiums, convention centers, music festivals, performing arts centers, and cultural institutions, spanning four continents.

Position Summary

The Culinary Director has the primary duty of managing the culinary team, a recognized department of the venue’s F&B operation. The Culinary Director will actively coach, counsel, direct, train, and mentor employees in meeting company quality standards and will independently initiate and authorize all employment actions such as hiring, termination, suspension, discipline, promotion, and transfer. The Culinary Director will actively and independently manage all aspects of employee relations to ensure a positive, harmonious, compliant, and cooperative work environment. The Culinary Director will take full ownership and responsibility for the culinary operations at The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.

This extensive role encompasses the restaurant, the food hall, and private events (including offsite commissary kitchen) operation within the museum. The core objective is to achieve both operational and commercial success for these diverse food and beverage spaces and verticals, ensuring that product, service, and the highest quality standards are consistently maintained. This position involves comprehensive oversight of all day-to-day culinary management aspects, with a mandate to guarantee the delivery of the museum's culinary product in terms of quality, consistency, and presentation, all while adhering to the financial constraints of the annual budget. This is a key position for the effective and profitable operation of the business. The Culinary Director must maintain excellent attendance and be available to work a variable event-driven schedule, which includes evenings and weekends. Open availability, professional presentation, outstanding interpersonal skills, and self-direction are required.

This role pays an annual salary of $145,000 - $180,000 and is bonus eligible.

Benefits for Full-Time Roles

Health, Dental and Vision Insurance, 401(k) Savings Plan, 401(k) matching, and Paid Time Off (vacation days, sick days, and 11 holidays).

This position will remain open until February 5, 2027.

About The Venue

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art celebrates the power of visual storytelling. Founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, the museum explores how images move us and shape our collective memory. From Frida Kahlo’s self-portrait to Norman Rockwell’s scenes of everyday life to Charles White’s portraits of dignity. Each invites reflection. Each tells a story. The museum is located in Expo Park in South LA.

Responsibilities

• Stay fully aware and up-to-date with new culinary trends and proactively diversify food and beverage offerings.
• Champion the sustainability agenda within the museum's culinary operations, aligning with the building's ethos.
• Develop extended relationships with internal museum tenants or partners for their food and beverage catering requirements, understanding their individual needs, and actively participating in tastings for new events opportunities.
• Present to potential private event clients along with the sales team to win high-profile event bids.
• Be fully aware of and contributing to the technology utilized within the museum, such as any relevant apps, to ensure it is maintained, kept up-to-date, and current.

Culinary And Kitchen Management

• Manage all food ordering and stock rotation, including the preparation of weekly and monthly reporting (inventory, labor, and COGS).
• Construct and maintain an effective operational structure and build strong relationships with logistical partners to ensure timely delivery of products.
• Allocate and manage time efficiently to cover all operational, administrative, and trend-related aspects across all museum outlets. This includes managing outlet concepts (like concessions and retail), kitchen budgets, cost of sales, staffing schedule audits against budget, Profit & Loss (P&L) reporting, and participating in Front of House (FOH) and Event meetings (BEO).
• Introduce reasonable logistical operational delivery solutions to efficiently provide food service to multiple floors or areas within the museum site.
• Implement and collate Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and recipes as required for generic kitchen procedures.
• Compile all staffing schedules for kitchen and kitchen porter staff, aligning with budget requirements and utilizing approved systems.
• Undertake regular daily debriefing sessions with key kitchen staff and attend leadership meetings to drive the business forward and maintain a key action list.

Health, Safety, And Food Safety Management

• Maintain high levels of food hygiene practices and due diligence as designated by legislation, including all HACCP, Health & Safety (H&S), and Food Safety recording and documentation, following any and all local, municipal, and company policies and procedures alongside chosen partners.
• Be an integral part of managing H&S in the workplace, actively participating in monthly H&S meetings and audits.
• Ensure follow-up communication to internal FOH, Back of House (BOH), and general management regarding action plans.
• Provide accurate data records and follow-up of internal data sheets (MSDS) by maintaining an up-to-date compliance diary and compliance center for all kitchens and teams.

Menu Design And Development

• Develop all menu changes in collaboration with the on-site management team, regional executives, and the Global Culinary Director. This includes arranging tastings and specifications for all menus for final approval by key stakeholders.
• Adhere to any and all sustainability principles and initiatives in the selection and use of products for menus.
• Complete and review allocated costs of menu changes and daily specials to ensure smooth implementation of any menu changes following approved processes.
• Format all menus, recipes, and files, including methods and yields, and implement systems that are followed and documented using the company's recipe management tools.
• Maintain and update the recipe database, proactively adjusting pricing and products based on market fluctuations of costs.
• Conduct frequent menu engineering reports to analyze sales patterns of dishes and make appropriate decisions based on the information presented.
• Conduct frequent quality checks of the restaurant, café, and concession offerings to ensure they are in line with the museum's own standards and remain competitive.
• Collaborate closely with the corporate culinary leadership on new dishes, ensuring they align with the museum's concept and overall culinary vision for the business.

Financial Management And Profitability

• Maintain budgets set for food purchasing, labor costs, and general costs associated with culinary operations.
• Ensure all ingredient prices are regularly checked using the company's recipe management tool, verifying prices are competitive and aligned with market value.
• Ensure all menu items are appropriately and correctly costed.
• Ensure that there is no overordering and food wastage is kept to a minimum.
• Use existing nominated suppliers only, leverage any contracted pricing, and liaise closely with the procurement department on any challenges or required changes to set product baskets.
• Sign off on weekly produced budgets and timesheets and prepare accurate data for monthly payroll for the culinary department.
• Check, monitor, and approve invoices, working closely with the venue's Area Finance Manager.
• Assist with, track, and oversee weekly flash reports pertaining to Food Cost of Sales (COS).
• Maintain adequate and appropriate tracking of culinary department labor budgets to ensure alignment with approved numbers.
• Support across the venue with events, offering culinary staff assistance as needed to help keep costs aligned.

Staff Training And Development

• Direct, motivate, and manage all kitchen and BOH staff to ensure they are working under the museum's culinary brand and guidelines, as well as the overall building ethos.
• Identify, define, and retain key talent within the kitchen department by ensuring adequate succession planning and career progression in collaboration with Human Resources and the senior management team.
• Ensure provision of Health & Safety and Food Safety training (local and ServSafe), as well as general development, coaching, or counseling for any staff member in accordance with internal policies and SOPs.
• Direct the correct induction process for all new culinary employees on site.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Financial/Cost of Sales (COS): Demonstrate a full understanding of kitchen budgets and the allocation of food and labor percentages, working to be in line with approved numbers and margins.
• Guest Satisfaction/Quality of Food: Achieve set targets for guest feedback and satisfaction from the different operational channels.
• Health & Safety & Sustainability: Achieve set targets pertaining to staff training, Food Safety audits, and local Health Department inspections. Achieve site-level goals for the implementation of sustainability initiatives.
• Staff Engagement/Development/People Management Skills: Achieve set targets in conducting regular team meetings, reviews, survey participation, and maintaining staff retention at desired levels.
• Purchasing: Ensure alignment to internal procurement guidelines.

Qualifications

• 5-7+ years of senior kitchen leadership in multi-faceted venues.
• Proven track record of achieving and exceeding set operational targets and work experience within a similar food service management or fast-paced retail environment.
• Advanced administrative and computer skills.
• Strong budget and report writing abilities.
• Bilingual (Spanish) is a plus.
• Ability to write menus that are both creative and profitable.
• ServSafe Certified – Manager Level.
• Strong people management and communication skills.
• Ability to effectively lead a team of more than 40 people.
• Obsessive about planning, time management, and organizational skills.
• Flexibility in work shifts and hours (weekends and holidays).
• Proactive, team-oriented working approach.
• Ability to meet deadlines under pressure.
• Must be punctual and reliable.
• Ability to work independently and also collaborate with others.
• Strong interest in food development and trends.
• Ability to positively influence others' actions, decisions, opinions, or thinking.

Preferred Qualifications

• Culinary Arts Diploma (e.g., Associate's or Bachelor's degrees in Culinary Arts).
• Hospitality management degree or bachelor's in applied science in hospitality, catering, or event management.

Strengthened by our Differences. United to Make a Difference

At OVG, we understand that to continue positively disrupting the sports and live entertainment industry, we need a diverse team to help us do it. We also believe that inclusivity drives innovation, strengthens our people, improves our service, and raises our excellence. Our success is rooted in creating environments that reflect and celebrate the diverse communities in which we operate and serve, and this is the reason we are committed to amplifying voices from all different backgrounds.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Oak View Group is committed to equal employment opportunity. We will not discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on any legally recognized basis (“protected class”) including, but not limited to veteran status, uniform service member status, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information or any other protected class under federal, state, or local law.