Manager, Chef Culinary F&B

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd•Miami, FL

2d•Onsite

About The Position

This position is on – site in our Royal Caribbean Headquarters 1050 Journey with us! Combine your career goals and sense of adventure by joining our exciting team of employees. Royal Caribbean Group is pleased to offer competitive compensation and benefits package, and excellent career development opportunities, each offering unique ways to explore the world. The Royal Caribbean Group’s F&B team has an exciting career opportunity for a full Manager, Culinary Development & Operations reporting to Senior Director, Culinary Operations & Excellence. Position Summary The Manager, Culinary Development & Operations provides enterprise‑level culinary leadership for onboard dining, ensuring the delivery of innovative, scalable, and operationally sound culinary experiences that align with brand standards, guest expectations, and financial targets. This role leads key aspects of culinary concept development, product standardization, and fleetwide implementation, while developing culinary talent and partnering closely with Operations, Product Development, Procurement, Finance, and Marketing. A strong focus on continuous improvement is central to the role, including proactively identifying opportunities to enhance or replace existing menu items. The Senior Manager is also responsible for maintaining accurate and complete documentation of product reviews, recipe development and iterations, costing analyses, and photography to ensure disciplined tracking, evaluation, and successful execution of all culinary initiatives.

Requirements

5–7 years of progressive culinary leadership experience in high-volume, premium hospitality environments (cruise line, resort, hotel, or comparable).
Demonstrated multi-unit or enterprise-level experience preferred.
Proven experience leading teams, driving cross-functional initiatives, and balancing innovation with operational execution.
Strong business acumen with experience influencing cost, margin, and operational performance.
Bachelor’s degree in Culinary Arts or related field preferred; equivalent experience considered.
Cruise line experience preferred.
Strategic and systems oriented thinking
People leadership and talent development
Strong financial and operational acumen
Executive-level communication and influence
Data-informed decision making
Ability to manage multiple enterprise initiatives concurrently

Nice To Haves

Demonstrated multi-unit or enterprise-level experience preferred.
Cruise line experience preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead the development and evolution of culinary concepts, including island, complimentary, charters and for pay restaurants along with island menus, and recipes aligned with brand positioning, guest experience goals, and operational feasibility from inception to food tastings and approvals.
Own culinary input for new builds, revitalizations, and enterprise initiatives (e.g., Supper Club, Aqua-Dome and future brand initiatives).
Guide product ideation, prototyping, testing, validation, and scale-up for limited-time introductions and full fleet launches.
Provide final culinary recommendations on product readiness, performance, and scalability.
Oversee F&B initiatives for both on and off premises events, including food preparation and plating for marketing, charity, or run of shows, or attending approved food innovation and equipment shows.
Lead fleet-wide culinary implementation efforts, partnering with shipboard and shoreside leadership to ensure consistent execution of new concepts, menus, and processes.
Establish and govern culinary development standards, SOPs, and gold-standard benchmarks.
Oversee recipe documentation, costing integrity, and technical specifications to ensure consistency and compliance across the fleet.
Serve as culinary subject matter expert for gold standard evaluations, identifying non-conformities and partnering with Procurement and Operations on corrective actions.
Drive culinary decisions that support targeted profitability and influence enterprise food costs across the fleet (>$750M annually).
Partner with team to assess margin, waste, yield, COS, and labor implications of menu and concept changes.
Include waste reduction initiatives, data accuracy, and continuous improvement programs that improve efficiency and reduce losses for all new and continuous improvement projects.
Develop menu strategies to mitigate slow-moving inventory and improve overall product performance.
Lead, coach, and develop culinary development team members, setting clear performance expectations and development plans.
Build bench strength and succession pathways for future culinary leaders for shoreside team.
Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and operational excellence within the culinary development function.
Partner closely with Product Development, Food & Beverage Operations, Procurement, Supply Chain, Marketing, and Design to deliver integrated culinary solutions.
Represent Culinary Development in enterprise reviews, leadership forums, and brand initiatives.
Communicate culinary strategy, outcomes, and risks clearly to senior leadership, translating technical details into business and guest impact.
Ensure culinary standards meet or exceed USPH, food safety, and regulatory requirements.
Uphold brand integrity through disciplined execution, training, and audit readiness across the fleet.
Oversee culinary training content and SOP development to support consistent onboard execution.
Provide oversight for special menus, groups, charters, and VIP culinary programs.
Oversee crew food program standards and continuous improvement initiatives.
Responsible for maintaining accurate and complete documentation fo product reviews, recipe development and interactions, costing analyses, and photography to ensure proper tracking.
Support galley design and equipment decisions related to culinary functionality and workflow.
Represent the brand at approved food, equipment, and industry events; lead culinary demonstrations and activations as required.
Travel up to 25% to support fleet implementation, testing, and key initiatives.
Performs other duties as required. This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee occupying this position. Employees will be required to perform any other job-related duties assigned by their supervisor or management.