Head of Culinary

Call Your Mother; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 145,000 - 196,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

Unlimited PTO

Parental leave (12 weeks)

401(k) with company match

Stock options

Annual bonus opportunity

Bagels on the house

Job summary

Call Your Mother, a DMV-area deli brand, seeks a Head of Culinary to guide R&D, QA, and culinary standards across shops and commissaries. You’ll partner with founders to shape the menu, lead development from concept to launch, and drive high-quality, scalable food experiences that embody the brand’s nostalgic, crave-worthy style.

You’ll oversee cross-functional teams, champion process rigor, and steer culinary strategy through growth, while ensuring guest love for signature items and new

Qualifications

• 7+ years of culinary leadership experience across a multi-unit restaurant organization.
• Completed professional culinary training or built equivalent expertise through hands-on experience.
• Led menu innovation, product launches, recipe implementation, commercialization, and operational training across multiple locations.
• Developed high-performing culinary teams through coaching, trust, and accountability.
• Highly organized and can juggle multiple priorities, projects, and timelines with attention to detail.
• Knowledge of food safety, quality assurance, kitchen systems, and production management.
• Belief that great food combines creativity with relentless execution and evolving menus.

Responsibilities

• Partner with Co-Founder & Chief Culinary Officer to bring culinary vision to life.
• Lead R&D and QA teams, building a high-performing culinary organization.
• Establish culinary standards to protect integrity while growing, improving consistency, quality, speed, and profitability.
• Own end-to-end product development from idea to post-launch optimization.
• Develop new menu items, seasonal offerings, beverages, and products that align with the brand.
• Protect and improve core menu while ensuring guest favorites remain delicious as we expand.
• Build scalable recipes, systems, and standards for chef-quality food across shops and commissaries.
• Collaborate with Operations, Supply Chain, Training, Marketing, Finance, and Development for rollout feasibility.
• Establish and evolve QA standards, auditing programs, and food specifications.
• Source, develop, and commercialize ingredients with suppliers to meet quality standards.
• Stay curious about ingredients, techniques, equipment, and consumer insights to evolve the menu authentically.

Skills

Culinary leadership

Professional culinary training

Menu innovation

Team development

Organization

Food safety

Cross-functional collaboration

Attention to detail

Education

Professional culinary training

Job description

HEAD OF CULINARY

WASHINGTON, DC

THE BEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD.

THE BEST-ISH BAGELS IN THE WORLD.

OUTTA THIS WORLD OPPORTUNITY.

DEEPER THAN BAGELS

Call Your Mother is the Jew-ish deli where Boca meets Brooklyn, grandma-level hospitality meets seriously good bagel sandwiches, and hard work meets face-melting vibes.

Husband-and-wife team Andrew and Chef Dani built Call Your Mother around a simple idea: make scrumptious, nostalgic food and unforgettable experiences without being bougie or taking ourselves too seriously. From our first little farmer’s market stand in 2018, to shops across the DMV, Colorado, Chicago, and Philadelphia in 2026, we’re spreading carb love all over the map and our ovens are just getting warmed up! We’ll take bagels to mars if the locals are hungry up there.

WE’RE HIRING OUR FIRST HEAD OF CULINARY, BASED IN THE DMV

This is a once-in-a-career opportunity to help shape the future of Call Your Mother. As our first-ever Head of Culinary, you'll partner directly with our Co-Founders and Chief Culinary Officer to shape the next chapter of our menu, culinary strategy, and food innovation. You'll lead our Research & Development and Quality Assurance teams while partnering cross-functionally with Operations, Supply Chain, Training, Marketing, and Finance to bring great ideas to life.

We're looking for someone who's equal parts chef, coach, builder, and problem solver. You’ll dream up the next guest obsession, then build the systems, standards, and team that make it consistently exceptional across every shop and commissary. From seasonal sandwiches and schmears, to entirely new carb adventures, you'll help create food people obsess over while protecting the quality, hospitality, and nostalgia our guests know and love.

If you’re picking up what we’re laying down, keep reading!

YOU'LL CRUSH THIS ROLE IF YOU…

• Have 7+ years of culinary leadership experience across a multi-unit restaurant organization, with a deep understanding of what it takes to execute food consistently at scale
• Have completed professional culinary training or built equivalent expertise through hands-on experience
• Have successfully led menu innovation, product launches, recipe implementation, commercialization, and operational training across multiple locations
• Have developed high-performing culinary teams through coaching, trust, and accountability
• Are highly organized and can confidently juggle multiple priorities, projects, and timelines without losing sight of the details
• Know food safety, quality assurance, kitchen systems, and production management like the back of your hand
• Believe great food is equal parts creativity and relentless execution and get just as excited about improving a beloved classic as you do creating the next guest obsession
• Sweat the details because you know guests can taste the difference
• Lead with humility, curiosity, high standards, and a roll-up-your-sleeves mentality
• Can move comfortably between the test kitchen, supplier meetings, executive conversations, commissaries, and shop operations
• Are digging our big BIG V.I.B.E.S. (Vibrancy, Integrity, Belonging, Energy, and Seize the Moment)

Shall we proceed? If you blurted out an audible "YES INDEED!" then please keep reading.

What You’ll Really Be Doing

• Partner side-by-side with our Co-Founder & Chief Culinary Officer to bring our culinary vision to life and help shape what's next for Call Your Mother
• Lead our Research & Development and Quality Assurance teams, building a high-performing culinary organization rooted in creativity, collaboration, and accountability
• Establish and uphold culinary standards that protect the integrity of our food as we continue to grow, while identifying opportunities to improve consistency, quality, speed, and profitability
• Own the end-to-end product development process: from first idea and kitchen experimentation through testing, operational validation, commercialization, launch, and post-launch optimization
• Develop new menu items, seasonal offerings, beverages, and products that surprise and delight guests while staying true to the Call Your Mother brand
• Protect and continuously improve our core menu, ensuring our guest favorites remain consistently delicious as we grow
• Build scalable recipes, systems, and standards that deliver chef-quality food across every shop and commissary
• Partner closely with Operations, Supply Chain, Training, Marketing, Finance, and Development to ensure every new product is operationally executable, financially sound, and ready for successful rollout
• Establish and evolve quality assurance standards, auditing programs, and food specifications that protect consistency across all products and locations
• Collaborate with supplier partners to source, develop, and commercialize ingredients that meet our quality standards while supporting long-term growth
• Stay relentlessly curious about food, ingredients, techniques, equipment, and consumer insights, not to chase trends, but to thoughtfully evolve the menu in ways that feel authentically Call Your Mother
• Roll up your sleeves. Some days you'll be in the kitchen, some days in a shop, some days at a commissary, and some days in a conference room. We believe the best culinary leaders stay close to the food and the people making it

Physical Requirements

The physical demands for this position include seeing, hearing, speaking, reading, and communicating effectively; standing, walking, reaching, bending, and performing repetitive physical movements; lifting up to 50 pounds; and safely operating equipment and tools using manual dexterity. This role also requires working in a fast-paced environment around hot equipment, sharp tools, and varying temperatures, and occasionally working in confined spaces. These physical requirements may be accomplished with or without reasonable accommodation.

AND FINALLY, IF YOU NEED MORE REASONS TO APPLY:

• Competitive salary $170,000, plus annual bonus opportunity and stock options
• Make an impact. You'll work directly with our Chief Culinary Officer to influence standards, recipes, and how every shop executes
• Health Insurance. Health, dental, and vision insurance
• Unlimited paid time off because you deserve it…duh
• 100% Paid, 12 week parental leave for time with the itty, bitty baby!
• 401(k) with 4% company match. Plan for a bright and beautiful future!
• Step your knowledge game up. Free English and Spanish classes, plus Duolingo reimbursement
• Real support when life gets complicated. Confidential therapy and professional resources for mental health, legal guidance, financial wellness, and more
• BAGELS ON THE HOUSE! Plus 50% off when you're off the clock

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Call Your Mother is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We enthusiastically celebrate the diversity of our team and believe that talent, passion, and experience are the only relevant criteria for considering new team members. We provide equal opportunities to everyone who works for us and every applicant. We consider applicants for all positions without regard to sex or gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other legally protected status.

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