Director General e Instructor Principal de Cocina

Taste Buds Kitchen - Norwalk; Norwalk (CT); On-site; USD 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

401K

Paid Time Off

Competitive pay

Employee discounts

Free uniforms

Training & development

Opportunity for advancement

Job summary

Taste Buds Kitchen - Norwalk is seeking a General Manager & Lead Culinary Instructor to drive the success of our studio. You will teach classes, manage day-to-day operations and staff, and create an exceptional client experience.

You will interact with guests daily, recruit and train a motivated team, and help set up this new business. This role blends culinary instruction with hands-on operations leadership in a vibrant, family-friendly environment.

Qualifications

• Ability to lead and train a staff team.
• Experience managing events and customer-facing roles.
• Comfort with working in a small-business environment.
• Open availability including nights and weekends.

Responsibilities

• Instruct cooking classes, camps, and parties for all ages.
• Open availability including nights and weekends.
• Assist owner with setup and daily operations.
• Ensure customer satisfaction and staff performance.
• Maintain kitchen cleanliness and branding standards.
• Manage HR tasks: hiring, training, scheduling, and development.
• Oversee operations compliance with policies.
• Interact with clients to provide exceptional experiences.

Skills

Leadership

Staff training

People management

Customer service

Events experience

Education

Business or management degree

Job description

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Competitive salary
• Employee discounts
• Free uniforms
• Health insurance
• Opportunity for advancement
• Training & development

Company Overview:

Taste Buds Kitchen has taken the country by storm with a refreshingly simple concept. We provide culinary entertainment to kids, families, and adults in a fun, beautiful, and state-of-the-art Kitchen Studio. Kids ages 2 to teen love our hands-on cooking classes, camps, birthday parties, and field trips. Adults love our BYOB date night cooking classes, birthday parties, bachelorettes, showers, and corporate events. Our innovative programs are as entertaining as they are educational! We always strive to engage and delight our guests.

Benefits/Perks:

• Competitive pay
• Health Insurance
• 401K
• Paid Time Off

Job Description:

We are looking for a General Manager & Lead Culinary Instructor to play a critical role in the success of Taste Buds Kitchen Norwalk! You will have the skills and experience to teach our cooking classes, manage the day-to-day operations and staff in our Kitchen, create an exceptional client experience and be a natural leader. This is the perfect opportunity to interact with clients on a daily basis to create a supportive and meaningful community.

Responsibilities:

• Open availability is required, including nights and weekends. Taste Buds Kitchen hosts events 7-days a week.
• This role will assist the owner in the setup and running of this new business. You can expect to spend 50-75% of your time instructing classes initially. The time spent instructing classes will decrease over time as our business and our team grows.
• Instruct Classes - Instruct cooking classes, camps, and parties for ages 2-99. Engage and teach guests about various cooking/baking skills related to the class menu. Interact with all guests to ensure customer satisfaction. Be the perfect example and role model of what is expected of a Culinary Instructor. As part of your training, you will learn all aspects of event operations.
• Customer Service - Ensure all clients have a great experience
• Human Resources - Assist in/responsible for, hiring, training, managing, scheduling, and developing the employee team. Act as an emergency substitute if an employee cannot attend their shift.
• Operations - Ensure all company policies, systems, and laws are followed and ensure that all classes, staff, and facilities are meeting Taste Buds Kitchen standards. Improve and streamline systems for efficiency.
• Facility - Maintaining high cleanliness & branding standards in the kitchen.

Qualifications:

• Great leader capable of recruiting and training staff as well as managing and maintaining a motivated team
• Comfortable with a range of cooking techniques. Formal culinary education or equivalent experience a plus but not a requirement
• Experience working with people of all ages
• Experience working in an events business
• 1-3 years experience in a management position
• Strong customer service skills. A business or management degree is a plus
• Must enjoy the atmosphere of a small business