Culinary Services & Innovation Manager

Ventura Foods; Irvine (CA); Hybrid; USD 115,000 - 151,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical coverage from day 1

Dental coverage

Vision coverage

Profit Sharing

401(k) matching

Paid vacation

Holidays

Employee appreciation events

Job summary

Ventura Foods seeks a Culinary Services Manager to lead food innovation and customer partnerships from Irvine. The role champions culinary expertise across Sales, Product Development, Insights, and Marketing to accelerate speed-to-market and drive menu innovations that support revenue growth.

The manager will head the Sandy Spring, GA Innovation Center relation and collaborate with teams to align product development with business goals. Travel up to 40% is required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Culinary Arts, Food Science, or related field preferred.
• AA/AOC Culinary degree or equivalent will be considered.
• 7+ years progressive culinary experience in restaurant ops, food manufacturer, or culinary sales.
• 3+ years in a food manufacturer role preferred.
• Experience in hands-on kitchen operations, menu innovation, product development, and direct customer engagement.
• Ability to travel up to 40% for customer meetings and industry events.

Responsibilities

• Provides menu and product innovation services to key customers in multiple business channels.
• Develops menu concepts and products; leads cross-functional teams to present solutions.
• Employs digital tools for menu concepts, training, social media, and direct customer engagements.
• Acts as the culinary site leader; manages kitchen events calendar and coordination with facilities.
• Provides culinary support for company and industry events; develops concepts and execution plans.
• Documents all customer project activity in Salesforce CRM.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Customer focus

Independent work

Project management

Cross-functional teamwork

Culinary operations

Education

Bachelor's degree in Culinary Arts, Food Science, or related field

AA/AOC Culinary degree or equivalent

Job description

Ventura Foods seeks a Culinary Services Manager to lead food innovation and customer partnerships from Irvine. The role champions culinary expertise across Sales, Product Development, Insights, and Marketing to accelerate speed-to-market and drive menu innovations that support revenue growth.

The manager will head the Sandy Spring, GA Innovation Center relation and collaborate with teams to align product development with business goals. Travel up to 40% is required.