Culinary Services Director

POSITION SUMMARY The Culinary Services Director (CSD) is the department head responsible for the overall leadership, financial performance, culinary quality, hospitality, staffing, regulatory compliance, and day-to-day operation of Culinary Services.

This is a hands-on, working leadership position. The CSD is expected to spend the majority of their working time actively engaged in culinary operations, including cooking, food preparation, training, coaching, and developing team members in the kitchen. Administrative responsibilities are an important part of the position but should support, rather than replace, active leadership within the operation.

The CSD is accountable for both front-of-house (FOH) and back-of-house (BOH) operations and is expected to lead by example, maintain a visible presence during meal periods, and step directly into production and service as operational needs require.

RESPONSIBILITIES include but are not limited to the following:

Culinary Operations & Hands-On Leadership Maintain a consistent and visible presence in the kitchen and dining operation, with the majority of working time spent actively supporting culinary production, training, coaching, and service execution.

Regularly work alongside the culinary team in food preparation, cooking, plating, and execution of meal periods.

Lead by example and be prepared to work any culinary station when operationally necessary.

Demonstrate proper culinary techniques, recipe execution, presentation standards, sanitation practices, organization, and efficient kitchen workflow.

Use daily production as an opportunity to evaluate team performance, identify skill gaps, and provide real-time coaching and development.

Oversee daily culinary operations to ensure efficient, consistent, and high-quality meal service.

Ensure company recipes, menus, portion standards, presentation standards, and production expectations are consistently followed.

Maintain responsibility for food quality, taste, presentation, consistency, and overall execution.

Leadership, Staffing, & Team Development Provide strategic leadership for the Culinary Services department in alignment with community and company goals.

Lead, mentor, coach, and develop the culinary team while promoting a culture of accountability, hospitality, excellence, teamwork, and continuous improvement.

Maintain appropriate staffing levels through proactive recruiting, interviewing, onboarding, scheduling, training, retention, coaching, and performance management.

Directly lead and develop cooks, sous chefs, servers, dishwashers, and other Culinary Services team members.

Provide hands-on culinary training to develop the technical skills and confidence of the culinary team.

Conduct performance evaluations and provide ongoing feedback, coaching, accountability, and opportunities for professional growth.

Address performance and accountability concerns promptly and consistently.

Develop the Sous Chef and other emerging leaders to create departmental succession and operational coverage.

Front-of-House & Back-of-House Operation Maintain full operational ownership of both front-of-house and back-of-house Culinary Services operations.

Ensure proper execution of kitchen production, dining room service, sanitation, dishwashing, opening and closing procedures, and meal-period readiness.

Establish and maintain appropriate schedules based on resident census, meal volumes, operational requirements, and approved labor targets.

Maintain a visible leadership presence during meal periods and actively support both culinary production and dining service.

Ensure resident preferences are accommodated and excellent service is consistently provided to residents and guests.

Establish clear expectations and accountability for…