Head of Culinary Innovation & Guest Experience

Levy Restaurants; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 160,000 - 175,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical

Dental

Vision

Life Insurance/AD

Disability Insurance

Retirement Plan

Flexible Time Off Plan

Paid Parental Leave

Holiday Time Off

Personal Leave

Associate Shopping Program

Health and Wellness Programs

Discount Marketplace

Identity Theft Protection

Pet Insurance

Commuter Benefits

Employee Assistance Program

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)

Job summary

Levy Sector is seeking a Senior Executive - Culinary Innovations to shape forward-thinking culinary strategies that elevate guest experiences and drive revenue growth. You will lead menu and product innovation, identify emerging trends, and partner with across operations, purchasing, and finance to implement scalable, cost-effective concepts.

The role requires leading high-end culinary initiatives in a premium hospitality environment, with cross-functional collaboration and a willingness to

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management, Business, or a related field preferred.
• 7–10+ years of progressive culinary leadership experience.
• High-end culinary experience in award-winning or luxury environments.
• Demonstrated experience leading menu development and culinary innovation initiatives.
• Proven innovative and data driven culinary leader.
• Experience with culinary trend forecasting, menu engineering, recipe development, and product development.
• Proficiency in financial analysis, menu costing, and contribution-margin analysis.
• Experience with project management, vendor management, and strategic planning.
• Travel up to 20% of the time.

Responsibilities

• Lead development of innovative food and beverage concepts.
• Identify emerging culinary, beverage, wellness, and sustainability trends.
• Design, test, costs, and standardize new menu offerings across service channels, with a focus on premium operations.
• Develop seasonal, promotional, signature, and limited-time menu offerings.
• Optimize menus using guest feedback, market trends, sales performance, and contribution margins.
• Create visually compelling dishes and culinary experiences that support guest engagement and brand storytelling.
• Incorporate local flavors, chef collaborations, and regional influences into culinary programming.
• Partner with culinary and operations teams to launch scalable and operationally feasible programs.
• Develop training materials and implementation guides to support consistent execution.
• Analyzes food costs, sales, menu mix, and profitability to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Builds relationships with suppliers, manufacturers, culinary innovators, and key business partners.
• Evaluates new ingredients, products, equipment, and culinary technologies.
• Leads vendor tastings, innovation showcases, workshops, and ideation sessions.

Skills

Culinary leadership

Menu development

Financial analysis

Project management

Travel flexibility

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Culinary Arts / Hospitality Management / Business

Job description

Levy Sector is seeking a Senior Executive - Culinary Innovations to shape forward-thinking culinary strategies that elevate guest experiences and drive revenue growth. You will lead menu and product innovation, identify emerging trends, and partner with across operations, purchasing, and finance to implement scalable, cost-effective concepts.

The role requires leading high-end culinary initiatives in a premium hospitality environment, with cross-functional collaboration and a willingness to