Culinary Leader- Operational Chef Leader

Hiring Pros•Pittsburgh, PA

4d•$95,000 - $115,000

About The Position

Bistro To Go isn’t just a catering company — it’s a hospitality organization that has spent more than twenty years building something rare in Pittsburgh that inspires relationships. The team executes drop-off catering, full-service weddings, corporate events, and community gatherings with a level of speed and quality that has earned them the 2025 Pittsburgh’s Caterer of the Year award from Pittsburgh Magazine. Founder Nikki Heckman has built the company around a simple belief: when people feel invested in and supported, they do their best work. This role is designed for a leader who enjoys bringing structure and clarity to a fast-moving operation while preserving the culture that made it successful in the first place. You’ll work directly with the Executive Culinary Director to oversee day-to-day kitchen operations, ensure consistent food quality, and lead a seasoned culinary team through high-volume production and complex events. This role has real influence; you'll help shape how the kitchen runs, how the team operates, and the standards that define the Bistro brand. The environment is fast-moving and hands-on. A single weekend may include multiple weddings, last-minute catering requests, and hundreds of meals moving through the kitchen at once. Plans don’t always go exactly as expected, so the ability to adapt calmly and keep operations moving is critical. The team relies on leaders who can communicate clearly, stay composed under pressure, and bring stability when things get busy. Success in this role also means thinking beyond just cooking. Bistro places a strong emphasis on presentation, execution, logistics, and the full guest experience. Leaders who are only focused on food production, without interest in how everything comes together, may find this environment challenging. As Bistro continues to grow and expand into new locations, this role is being created to strengthen kitchen leadership, build structure, and support the next phase of scale.

Requirements

A culinary leader with 10+ years of serious catering or high-volume food service experience, with a background that shows depth, longevity, and a clear love for the craft and the people in it
A hands-on operator who is just as comfortable making sandwiches and filling prep sheets as they are running a team through a ten-wedding weekend
A relationship-builder whose first move in any new kitchen is to listen, ask questions, and earn trust before exercising authority
A calm, stabilizing presence under pressure who is comfortable operating in a fast-moving, constantly changing environment where plans shift and adaptability matters
A team-first leader who measures their own success by how capable and confident the people around them become
Someone with multicultural culinary fluency who embraces diverse menus, diverse teams, and the wide variety of events and clients Bistro serves
A future-minded operator who understands food cost, labor percentage, and operational accountability, and is ready to help build the KPI structure that will carry Bistro to its next phase of growth

Responsibilities

Start each day walking the kitchens — hot kitchen, cold kitchen, café, and specialty areas — checking in with team leads, assessing staff, identifying any issues from the night before, and adjusting priorities before production kicks into full gear.
Oversee food quality, recipe consistency, and production standards across all culinary departments, ensuring every order going out the door meets Bistro’s standard of freshness and excellence.
Lead and mentor the culinary team through daily operations, seasonal surges, and the organized chaos that comes with executing drop-off catering, full-service events, and large-volume orders simultaneously.
Manage scheduling, inventory awareness, and vendor coordination in partnership with the administrative team, while maintaining awareness of food costs, labor percentages, and operational efficiency.
Serve as the leadership presence the team turns to by running daily check-ins, coaching individuals, managing conflict, and building trust across the kitchen.
Work alongside the Executive Culinary Director to learn Bistro’s systems, eventually owning boots-on-the-ground operations at the main location while leadership expands oversight to the hotel and future sites.
Establish clear production systems and operational rhythms that allow the kitchen to consistently execute high-volume events while maintaining Bistro’s standards for quality and hospitality.