Culinary Operations Manager

RiverWoods Exeter•Durham, NH

About The Position

RiverWoods is hiring a full-time Culinary Operations Manager to direct kitchen operations at RiverWoods Durham, serving independent living and supportive living residents, employees, and guests. This is a hands-on leadership role that involves working directly with kitchen staff and managing operations within the approved budget. The manager is responsible for efficient, sanitary, and safe food preparation and handling; employee learning and development; and compliance with local, state, and federal requirements. The role oversees seasonal menu development and daily food production across multiple dining venues, including the main dining room, bistro/café, health center, and small-house or memory-support kitchens. It includes managing therapeutic and modified diets, food safety and regulatory compliance, food and labor costs, purchasing, inventory, equipment maintenance, and staffing. The manager also recruits, trains, coaches, and evaluates team members; coordinates with dining, nursing, and dietary services; and supports community events and resident care planning. RiverWoods describes its communities as bright, attractive, and vibrant, and emphasizes meaningful work, resident well-being, and long-term career opportunities.

Requirements

High school diploma or GED.
Formal education in Culinary Arts.
At least five years of experience as a sous chef, chef, or manager in a continuing care retirement community, hotel, restaurant, hospital, or school.
Successful prior work experience.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office, including word processing and entering information into Excel worksheets.
ServSafe Food Protection Manager certification, or ability to obtain it within 90 days of hire.

Nice To Haves

A two- to four-year Culinary Arts degree is preferred.
Certified Dietary Manager (CDM) or Certified Culinary Professional credential is preferred.

Responsibilities

Create seasonal menus using approved partners and local and sustainable practices when practical and within budget.
Plan, prepare, and execute daily menus across the main dining room, bistro/café, health center, and small-house or memory-support kitchens.
Maintain ACF-format standardized recipes and plan for compostable by-products.
Ensure at least 85–90% scratch-cooked production in keeping with community culinary standards.
Partner with the Regional Director of Culinary Operations on seasonal menus, rotation cycles, daily specials, and resident satisfaction feedback.
Maintain consistent plate presentation, portioning, and food quality across simultaneous service points.
Ensure accurate preparation of physician-ordered therapeutic and texture-modified diets in accordance with IDDSI standards.
Coordinate with nursing and dietary professionals and reconcile PointClickCare-fed diet orders with kitchen production.
Maintain consistent therapeutic-diet terminology and procedures across levels of care.
Manage Big-9 allergen identification, labeling, and cross-contact prevention.
Maintain HACCP compliance, including temperature logs, receiving standards, and critical control point monitoring.
Serve as a primary contact for food-service-related state health department and other regulatory surveys.
Ensure cleaning and sanitation are completed and documented in accordance with the Uniform Food Code across kitchens, pantries, and storage areas.
Maintain ServSafe certification or equivalent and ensure appropriate certification coverage among kitchen leadership.
Ensure timely, thorough inventories of perishable and non-perishable goods.
Manage food costs, labor costs, and waste targets; analyze variances and adjust production.
Manage purchasing, receiving, inventory, and vendor relationships in partnership with procurement.
Plan production to reduce over-production and food waste.
Use menu and production management systems and POS data to inform forecasting.
Schedule culinary operations staff within budget two weeks in advance.
Maintain kitchen equipment, submit repair orders, and work with the Regional Director on preventive maintenance.
Select, hire, orient, train, coach, recognize, and evaluate culinary team members, directly and through subordinate staff.
Recruit, train, schedule, and develop a kitchen team that includes full-time and per diem staff.
Develop job flows that define critical tasks, procedures, desired outcomes, and expected completion times.
Set performance expectations and provide hands-on coaching, particularly for high school- and college-age per diem staff.
Build a positive kitchen culture that supports cross-training and internal advancement.
Coordinate with the Dining Operations Manager and supervisors to ensure smooth handoffs between kitchen production and dining-room service.
Collaborate with internal and external teams and partner with nursing and dietary services on resident dietary needs and care-plan changes.
Support community dining, special functions, and fundraising events with menu design and execution.
Represent culinary operations in interdisciplinary care conferences as needed.
Participate actively in the Dining Committee.
Model professionalism, integrity, ethical conduct, and commitment to high-quality products.