Corporate Culinary Operations Chef

Blackstone Consulting, Inc.•Los Angeles, CA

1d•Remote

About The Position

Blackstone Consulting, Inc. (BCI) is seeking an experienced Corporate Culinary Operations Chef to serve as a company-wide culinary and operational resource supporting new contract startups, existing business improvement, menu and production development, culinary training, and business development initiatives. This is a hands-on operational role designed for an experienced culinary leader who can enter an operation, quickly assess performance, identify opportunities for improvement, develop practical solutions, train and mentor teams, and establish sustainable operating standards. The Corporate Culinary Operations Chef will work closely with Operations leadership, field management, and site culinary teams and will travel frequently to support BCI food service operations throughout the United States.

Requirements

7+ years of progressive culinary or food service leadership experience.
Strong experience in high-volume food production and institutional food service.
Demonstrated experience with menu development, standardized recipes, production planning, food costing, inventory management, portion control, and waste reduction.
Ability to quickly assess an operation and identify culinary, production, staffing, and process deficiencies.
Strong leadership, training, coaching, problem-solving, and communication skills.
ServSafe Manager certification or equivalent required.
Must be willing and able to travel extensively based on operational requirements.

Nice To Haves

Military, government, university, healthcare, corporate dining, or other large-scale food service experience preferred.
Experience opening, transitioning, or improving large food service operations strongly preferred.
Experience supporting proposals, culinary presentations, or business development activities preferred.
Experience with food service management, inventory, recipe, or production management technology preferred.
Culinary degree or recognized professional culinary certification preferred.

Responsibilities

Support mobilization, transition, startup, and stabilization of new food service contracts.
Assist with kitchen organization, production planning, opening food orders, inventories, equipment readiness, staffing workflows, and operational readiness.
Develop and validate opening menus, recipes, production quantities, and food requirements.
Provide hands-on culinary leadership and training during contract startups.
Identify startup deficiencies and assist Operations leadership with corrective actions.
Conduct post-startup assessments and document lessons learned and best practices.
Deploy to existing operations requiring culinary or operational assistance.
Evaluate food quality, production methods, presentation, portion control, sanitation, food cost, waste, and kitchen efficiency.
Identify operational deficiencies and develop practical corrective action plans.
Assist field leadership with improving food quality, customer satisfaction, production efficiency, and overall culinary execution.
Support locations preparing for customer inspections, quality evaluations, and operational assessments.
Follow up on improvement initiatives to ensure changes are sustained by local management.
Develop and refine standardized cycle menus, recipes, yields, portion sizes, preparation methods, and production standards.
Ensure menus are executable within contractual requirements, staffing levels, available equipment, and established food-cost targets.
Establish and improve production planning, forecasting, batch cooking, food utilization, inventory, and waste-control practices.
Assist with implementation and refinement of company food production and culinary management systems.
Develop repeatable culinary standards and best practices that can be implemented across multiple BCI food service operations.
Assist operations with improving food-cost management, inventory controls, production forecasting, and waste reduction.
Evaluate food usage, yields, portions, menu mix, production practices, and purchasing patterns.
Identify opportunities to improve financial performance without compromising food quality or contractual requirements.
Assist locations with establishing appropriate production quantities, pars, ordering practices, and inventory controls.
Train and mentor Food Service Managers, chefs, cooks, and culinary teams.
Provide hands-on training in production planning, recipe execution, food presentation, batch cooking, portion control, sanitation, and food-cost management.
Develop culinary training materials, operating guides, and standardized production practices.
Identify culinary talent and assist Operations leadership with employee development and succession planning.
Build site-level capabilities with the goal of creating sustainable operations that do not require ongoing corporate intervention.
Serve as a culinary subject-matter expert supporting Business Development and proposal activities.
Review prospective food service opportunities, solicitations, PWS/SOW requirements, meal volumes, menus, equipment, and operating requirements.
Assist with developing proposed menus, culinary concepts, production methodologies, staffing assumptions, and operational solutions.
Participate in site visits, solution-development sessions, proposal reviews, customer presentations, and oral presentations as required.
Evaluate kitchen layouts, equipment capabilities, production requirements, and potential operational risks.
Help ensure culinary solutions proposed during Business Development can be successfully implemented by Operations following contract award.