Culinary Director

Just Fare • Oakland, CA

10d • $110,000 - $150,000 • Onsite

About The Position

The Culinary Director leads Just Fare’s catering kitchen and front-of-house (FOH) operations, with accountability for food quality, hospitality, team performance, and financial results. The role connects the Oakland production kitchen with the experience guests receive at client sites, ensuring meals are thoughtfully designed, consistently executed, and delivered within budget.

The Culinary Director leads culinary and catering FOH managers, strengthens daily operating systems, and develops a lunch program with greater variety and choice. The role also develops fresh food product lines for Snack & Drink pantry programs, working with pantry leadership to move products from concept through reliable production, sourcing, and service.

The position reports to the CEO, with the reporting relationship transitioning to the COO when that position is filled. It works closely with pantry leadership, Client Experience, Front of House & Logistics, Finance, and People Operations.

Just Fare is an Oakland-based food company providing workplace catering and pantry services in the Bay Area and multiple cities, using its own culinary production as well as local restaurant and catering partners. Its Community Kitchen supports people facing food insecurity in the Bay Area. One percent of revenue supports donated meals through Just Fare Community Kitchen; the company reports having delivered over 505,250 meals.

Requirements

• Significant culinary leadership experience, typically eight or more years, including management of high-volume catering, commissary, workplace dining, or comparable food operations.
• Experience overseeing both kitchen production and FOH service, including leading managers and hourly teams.
• Demonstrated ability to improve food and labor costs while maintaining quality and hospitality.
• Strong menu and fresh product development, recipe costing, and production planning skills.
• Food safety knowledge, including refrigerated foods and packaging for off-site service.
• Experience building practical systems in a growing business and managing changes across multiple client programs.
• Clear communication and sound judgment.
• Proficiency with spreadsheets and shared scheduling and project tools.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with restaurant partnerships or off-site catering.
• Spanish language skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead menu planning and development across catering programs, balancing flavor, seasonality, variety, dietary needs, and cost.
• Develop a cohesive rotating lunch program that offers guests meaningful choice and remains practical to produce and serve.
• Standardize recipes, portions, yields, substitutions, and client customizations across ordering, production, and service.
• Lead culinary development of restaurant and catering partnerships, including menus, portions, dietary standards, tastings, and quality reviews; coordinate with Account Management on client requirements, partner onboarding, service coordination, and feedback.
• Develop fresh food products for Snack & Drink programs, including refrigerated grab-and-go meals, protein salads, breakfast items, and snacks, based on client needs and feedback.
• Create product recipes, portions, packaging, allergen information, and food safety and shelf-life specifications; determine whether products should be made in-house or sourced from local partners.
• Partner with pantry leadership on pricing and cost targets, demand forecasts, delivery and replenishment plans, and pilots; refine products based on sales or consumption, guest feedback, and waste.
• Establish repeatable production and sourcing standards for products offered across accounts and markets.
• Lead daily kitchen production and catering FOH service through the Executive Chef and hospitality managers, establishing clear ownership and reliable handoffs.
• Align production plans, staffing, packaging, dispatch readiness, and service schedules with client headcounts and approved changes.
• Set and maintain standards for presentation, setup, replenishment, guest interaction, breakdown, and communication between kitchen and service teams.
• Maintain and verify compliance with documented food safety, allergen, sanitation, and time and temperature procedures from receiving through transport and service.
• Improve purchasing, inventory, equipment use, kitchen workflow, and waste tracking; plan production capacity for new accounts and increased volume.
• Own catering food and kitchen and FOH labor performance against agreed budgets, partnering with Finance to review results and address variances.
• Use recipe costing, purchasing data, production yields, and service feedback to manage portions, waste, overtime, and cost per meal.
• Evaluate the cost and operational impact of new offerings and customizations before committing to them with Sales and Client Experience.
• Coach culinary and FOH managers, set clear expectations, and build a culture of accountability, respect, and hospitality.
• Partner with People Operations on staffing plans, hiring, onboarding, training, performance reviews, and corrective action.
• Build cross-training and coverage plans to help teams maintain service when staffing or client needs change.

Benefits

• Cell phone stipend.
• Health, dental, and vision insurance after 90 days.
• Self-managed vacation and paid time off (PTO) after 90 days.
• 401(k) retirement account for all employees after 90 days.
• Pre-tax commuter benefit after 30 days.
• Meals provided daily onsite at the Oakland Commissary Kitchen and at most client sites.
• Opportunity to develop skills and work with people focused on social change.
• Competitive wages in an equitable tiered pay structure for all positions.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: No Education Listed