Kitchen Manager — Houston Market

The Yay Company • Houston, TX

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The Kitchen Manager is the culinary operator for the Houston market, operating out of a shared commercial kitchen. This is a working kitchen leadership role — the Kitchen Manager directly runs day-to-day operations at the commercial kitchen and maintains check-in oversight of food distribution to seven school locations in the market that have staff onsite. The Kitchen Manager is accountable for food quality, kitchen team performance, production execution, and operational standards across all Houston schools that this location would provide food for.

Requirements

• Minimum of 4 years of experience in kitchen or food production operations
• Hands-on cook and leader
• Experience with batch production, food safety, and inventory management
• Strong people skills
• Organized and dependable
• Comfortable on the road — this role involves driving between Houston locations to handle issues and do spot checks at times; reliable transportation and a valid driver's license required
• ServSafe Manager certification or willingness to obtain within 30 days of hire
• Must be based in Houston area or within commuting distance of Houston, TX

Responsibilities

• Runs commercial kitchen from prep through pick-up — production schedule, food quality, and on-time execution
• Manages call-out coverage and real-time kitchen decisions during hours of production
• Ensures food is produced to Yay standards and delivered on time to schools served by the commercial kitchen
• Serves as primary point of contact for school Yay staff and Operations Leads at commercial kitchen location on day-of operational matters
• Checks in with Houston school locations during the week to confirm service status and address any real-time issues
• Sets the commercial kitchen schedule within labor budget provided by the Operations Manager
• Tracks actual hours versus scheduled hours daily; identifies and corrects overages
• Approves any schedule changes or additional shifts at the commercial kitchen
• Reports labor performance to the Operations Manager as part of daily and weekly reporting
• Monitors and reduces waste at the commercial kitchen — holds team accountable for portioning, FIFO, and end-of-day tracking
• Confirms inventory counts are accurate and that pars are correctly set for the week ahead
• Provides direct leadership to Prep Cooks at the commercial kitchen
• Supports Prep Cook development
• Leads onboarding for new kitchen hires and sets standards for the Houston market
• Escalates performance or operational issues to the Operations Manager as needed

Benefits

• $22.00/Hour
• This role has the potential to have a pay increase after 60 days from start with Yay
• A high-growth, mission-driven company where your work directly impacts what kids eat every day
• A leadership team that values accountability, transparency, and operators who take pride in their craft
• Real career growth as we expand into new markets and build out our kitchen leadership team

What This Job Offers

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