Kitchen Manager

Job Description

The Kitchen Manager is responsible for all aspects of the kitchen such as BOH operations, recipe management, financial responsibility, portion and inventory control, food quality, and employee supervision. The Kitchen Manager provides leadership, training, and hands‑on management of the kitchen staff, ensuring the kitchen runs smoothly and customers have an excellent dining experience while upholding all Cru Hospitality Group standards. The role elevates the experience offered by the entire operation.

Primary responsibilities include supervising daily back‑of‑house restaurant operations, executing the menu vision as directed by CHG, providing continuous training, managing the kitchen staff, and guiding them to deliver quality food in a timely manner. The Kitchen Manager reports to the General Manager of the location.

• Strong knowledge of cooking, food handling, preparation, and kitchen maintenance
• Strong understanding of culinary terms and the restaurant industry
• Exhibit sincere hospitality and teamwork
• Intuitive in knowing where help is most needed
• Strong communication skills
• Coach and teacher; coachable
• Lead by example

• Successfully executes all food service operations and daily kitchen operations, including serving as Expeditor.
• Provides direction to kitchen staff, ensuring execution of all employee duties.
• Ensures compliance with all health and fire department regulations.
• Implements and manages kitchen and restaurant policies and procedures.
• Ensures that kitchen staff maintain a clean and organized station at all times and are keeping their stations stocked and supplied.
• Participates in daily and monthly inventory process.
• Uses in-house systems to order and receive food and supplies.
• Participates in menu evolution; leads teams to develop ideas for menus under CHG guidelines.
• Supervises opening and closing tasks. Holds staff accountable.
• Coaches, teaches, and motivates fellow team members in cooking and kitchen skills as well as the proper preparation of CHG menu items.
• Ensures products are stored at the correct temperature.
• Ensures recipes are up to date with current menu items, portions, and ingredients.
• Creates and ensures use of prep sheets and makes sure they are up to date.
• Upholds all recipe and service standards.
• Communicates all 86’d items to both BOH and FOH staff. Has daily counts ready before service.
• Coordinates and communicates with runners and front of house staff to ensure proper service.
• Completes the duties of a line cook when needed and is capable of performing the duties of all kitchen positions.
• Organizes, schedules, and leads kitchen meetings.
• Attends weekly management meetings as set forth by the General Manager.
• Professional handling of the Coworker Relationship: includes BOH and FOH staff.
• Monitors labor costs to attain budgeted goals.
• Anticipates, identifies, and corrects any issues with inventory, systems, and staffing.
• Continues to learn and educate themselves on food, cooking, and industry trends.
• Leads and participates in the hiring process for all kitchen staff: includes posting job opportunities, interviewing, and onboarding new hires.
• Assures all members of your team are properly trained, including Serve Safe certified.
• Maintains the highest quality, consistent product standards.
• Demonstrates great hospitality by example.
• Ensures all CHG standards are upheld or exceeded.

Operates as a member of a team, helping others and requesting help as needed. Further duties not currently detailed here may be added at the discretion of the General Manager and Director of Operations.