Culinary Innovation & Operations Lead

Paradies Lagardère; New York (NY); On-site; USD 45,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Paradies Lagardère is seeking a seasoned foodservice professional to oversee vendor relations and strategic alliances for prepared foods in New York. You will negotiate terms, drive product innovation, and ensure quality across multiple programs.

You will lead tastings and audits, manage line launches and expansions, and mentor culinary staff while aligning with seasonal and customer expectations. The role emphasizes data-driven decisions, space planning, and operational leadership.

Qualifications

• Excellent customer service skills with strong communication abilities.
• Self-starter capable of prioritizing and handling multiple tasks.

Responsibilities

• Builds cooperative relationships with national and local market prepared food vendors.
• Develop strategic alliances based on innovation and product development.
• Negotiate pricing, vendor programs, delivery, and payment terms for prepared food products.
• Facilitate promotional opportunities and support agreements.
• Be first to market in new products, innovation, and points of difference.
• Conduct regular Quality Assurance tastings and evaluations for recipe adherence and food quality.
• Launch/expand ready-to-sell prepared food lines and manage exit strategies for underperforming merchandise.
• Complete required reports, logs, and culinary audits in a timely manner.
• Contribute to and execute parts of the culinary strategic plan for the division.
• Launch line reviews aligning with customer and seasonal expectations.
• Use data-driven decisions to drive growth and profitability.
• Assist with kitchen schematics and arrange efficient space adjacencies.
• Orientate new cooks to standards and established food programs.
• Support new restaurant openings and renovations.
• Provide leadership to culinary team members and kitchen managers.
• Assist with training, coaching and development of staff.

Skills

Customer service

Effective communication

Team oriented

Self-starter

Education

ServSafe Food Manager Certification

Job description

Paradies Lagardère is seeking a seasoned foodservice professional to oversee vendor relations and strategic alliances for prepared foods in New York. You will negotiate terms, drive product innovation, and ensure quality across multiple programs.

You will lead tastings and audits, manage line launches and expansions, and mentor culinary staff while aligning with seasonal and customer expectations. The role emphasizes data-driven decisions, space planning, and operational leadership.