The Sr. Director, Culinary Operations & Innovation (Executive Chef) is responsible for the research and development of recipes consistent with Miller’s Ale House’s (MAH) quality, standards, and innovation. Responsibilities include innovation that produces top-line sales growth and Guest satisfaction. The Sr. Director partners with other Restaurant Support Center (RSC) teams such as Marketing, Supply Chain, Operations, Training, IT, and FP&A on the development and execution of a focused and targeted menu strategy that drives top-line sales while maximizing gross margin, COGS, and labor productivity.
ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS & KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
- Researches and identifies culinary trends and new developments within the casual dining segment and broader business environment, benchmarks with other companies, and implements learnings
- Cultivates an environment focused on culinary innovation and flawless execution while holding oneself and others to very high standards
- Provides leadership for the development of culinary and product process improvements through testing, refining, evaluation, and implementation of preparation techniques, processes, or tools for both existing and new products
- Oversees testing, training, and implementation of culinary innovation (product and/or technique) with Purchasing, Marketing, Operations, and Training
- Garners a deep understanding of the MAH Guest profile and builds a culinary strategy to align with their needs and preferences
- Partners with Marketing and Supply Chain on core menu item development, lunch and dinner specials program, and seasonal LTOs designed to drive Guest traffic and/or improve prime costs. Coordinates roll-out efforts, both administrative and operational, for these initiatives with Training and other support departments
- Seeks operator feedback, visits restaurants and/or attends Operations meetings to gain insight into potential enhancements to systems, methods, and procedures
- Partners with BOH/Kitchen Managers, GMs, Directors of Operations, and DVPs to deliver consistently high-quality food to our Guests, including adherence to standardized recipes and procedures. Identifies success measures, analyzes, and reports on these identified actions, creating action plans for improvement
- Ensures the development and maintenance of the recipe database including ingredients from past, current, and future food products
- Strives to develop processes that facilitate better cost management as it relates to kitchen operations, including accurate production and labor standards (e.g. average production times, shelf lives) and cook times/line flow development.
- Researches the next generation of BOH design to create the kitchen of the future
- Other duties and responsibilities as assigned