Senior Culinary Lead

Chick-fil-A, Inc.•Atlanta, GA

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

Chick-fil-A, Inc. is seeking a Sr. Culinary Lead to work on the Menu & Packaging Team in Marketing. This role will support Menu and Supply Chain innovation projects, including the identification and development of products, processes, and tools that drive growth and/or reduce costs while ensuring product quality and execution standards. The primary responsibilities involve supporting short and long-term projects focused on creating craveable menu items and optimizing costs. This individual will need technical expertise for the development and review of formulations, tools, procedures, specifications, and quality requirements for current menu items. The role requires a high level of self-direction, a proactive mindset, and the ability to provide innovative solutions. A passion for exceeding customer expectations, food science, execution, and the Chick-fil-A brand is essential. The ability to collaborate effectively across internal and external teams and influence senior leadership is also important.

Requirements

Mastery of fundamental culinary techniques
Strong technical understanding of food production, particularly in a quick service restaurant environment
Successful track record of creating, developing and executing new menu items in a restaurant environment
Demonstrates a contagious energy and passion for food and the Chick-fil-A brand
Ability to think critically about issues and opportunities and identify solutions and options
Experience in designing and executing experiments, process, Sensory or consumer testing
Strong communication skills to present to senior leadership and work effectively with internal & external international business partners
Commitment to maintain and guard confidential proprietary company information as appropriate.
Proficient at Project Management

Nice To Haves

10+ years of culinary development experience

Responsibilities

Drive growth for the organization through leading new menu development projects and enable growth through protecting the core menu.
Lead the development of solutions in partnership with Supply Chain Innovation to improve cost across network while maintaining or improving quality.
Lead and manage various aspects of projects including conceptualizing, designing, developing and evaluating menu item solutions.
Work with autonomy to drive outcomes while managing relationships with suppliers, internal and external partners.
Lead complex projects, as a subject matter expert, effectively and professionally to ensure stakeholders are informed and aligned while also ensuring Restaurant Operator and customer expectations are met.
Develop recipes or applications and convert them to final formulations for products and production.
Coordinate field tests in Chick-fil-A restaurants and analyze results prior to chainwide launch.
Organize and lead product showings and customer taste tests.
Work hands-on in a kitchen/R&D facility, as well as in Restaurants, at suppliers or in manufacturing facilities.
Design food production methods that simplify existing Chick-fil-A menu items as well as supporting new menu items.
Integrate simplification techniques into the food production process to ensure that all future menu items not only meet culinary standards but are operationally feasible.
Responsible for deep understanding of the food production process and the impact to food quality and team member experience.
Responsible for spending time engaging in Chick-fil-A Restaurants, learning from Operators and Team Members on operational opportunities.
Actively explore food trends to stay abreast of changes in the marketplace.
Exhibit strong knowledge and awareness of historical and competitive marketplace.
Maintain professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops, reviewing professional publications, establishing personal networks, benchmarking state-of-the-art practices, and participating in professional societies.
Demonstrate Enterprise-Wide thinking and decision-making skills.
Exhibit the ability to present content and recipes to multiple levels of leadership – Executive Committee, Strategy Teams, Operators, Team Members, etc.