Culinary Director & Team Leader

Aramark; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); On-site; USD 90,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

Aramark is seeking an Executive Chef to lead chef managers and hourly culinary staff, developing and executing culinary solutions to meet customer needs and tastes. You will oversee operations to meet production, presentation, and service standards while applying techniques to food preparation and final plating.

The role requires strong leadership to drive standards, coach staff, manage costs, and deliver consistent quality across menus and services in a dynamic environment.

Qualifications

• Requires at least 4 years of culinary experience.
• At least 2 years in a management role preferred.
• Requires a culinary degree or equivalent experience.
• Ability to multi-task.
• Ability to simplify the agenda for the team.
• Requires advanced knowledge of the principles and practices within the food profession.
• This includes experiential knowledge required for management of people and/or problems.
• Requires oral, reading, and written communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Ensures culinary production connects to the Executional Framework.
• Ensures proper culinary standards and techniques for preparation, presentation, and service.
• Manages a culinary team, including chef managers and hourly staff, to ensure quality in final presentation of food.
• Train and manage culinary and kitchen employees to use best practice food production techniques.
• Coach employees by creating a shared understanding about what needs to be achieved and how it is to be achieved.
• Reward and recognize employees.
• Plan and execute team meetings and daily huddles.
• Maintain staff records including training, opening/closing checklists and performance data.
• Develop and maintain effective client and guest rapport for mutually beneficial relationships.
• Interact directly with guests daily.
• Aggregate and communicate regional culinary and ingredient trends.
• Responsible for delivering food and labor targets.
• Focus on margin improvement; monitor performance metrics, data, orders and inventory trends.
• Ensure efficient execution and delivery of all culinary products in line with the daily menu.
• Maintain integrity of the Aramark food offer; ensure food quality and safety.
• Comply with Operational Excellence: waste management, standard menus, recipes and ingredients with labor standards.
• Understand end-to-end supply chain and procurement processes; use only authorized suppliers.
• Implement the Food Framework.
• Estimate food consumption for requisitions and/or food purchases.
• Ensure proper equipment operation and maintenance.
• Comply with Aramark SAFE food and Quality Assurance standards and safety policies.

Skills

Culinary leadership

Multi-tasking

Communication

Team management

Staff training

Education

Culinary degree or equivalent

Job description

Aramark is seeking an Executive Chef to lead chef managers and hourly culinary staff, developing and executing culinary solutions to meet customer needs and tastes. You will oversee operations to meet production, presentation, and service standards while applying techniques to food preparation and final plating.

The role requires strong leadership to drive standards, coach staff, manage costs, and deliver consistent quality across menus and services in a dynamic environment.