Vice President of Culinary Services, Restaurants

Compass Group•New York, NY

14d•$185,000 - $215,000

About The Position

Become part of Restaurant Associates, the industry’s leading provider of dining and event catering for some of the nation's most prestigious museums, performing arts centers and corporations! Voted Glassdoor's Employee Choice Awards- Best Places to Work, This is R/A !Job Summary:The VP of Culinary, Restaurant Services is a senior culinary executive responsible for shaping and elevating the culinary vision across R/A’s full restaurant portfolio. Reporting to the SVP Culinary, this leader drives menu innovation, culinary standards, brand consistency, and operational excellence across all restaurant concepts.

Requirements

Culinary Degree required, bachelor’s degree preferred
7+ years of culinary management experience
Project management skills
Ability to generate revenue by building top-line driven initiatives, understanding the importance of middle and bottom-line tactics
Strong strategic and analytic thinking
Experience with sustainability practices, waste reduction strategies, and nutritional/labeling systems

Nice To Haves

A proven track record in managing and leading an R&D team and/or menu innovation process - a plus
Has experience in both restaurant/casual dining environments and contract food service, with proven success in scaling growth and thriving in a company of diverse market segments - preferred

Responsibilities

Lead development and evolution of culinary direction and menu strategy.
Identify market trends and translate them into scalable, profitable offerings.
Drive innovation cycles from ideation to opening.
Establish and maintain culinary execution standards and quality assurance protocols.
Ensure best-in-class hospitality, food quality, and presentation.
Lead culinary audits and feedback loops.
Oversee waste reporting processes, partnering with operations and analytics to reduce food waste through thoughtful menu engineering, portioning, and sustainability-forward practices.
Ensure accurate and compliant food labeling and nutritional transparency across all restaurants, including alignment with Webtrition and other corporate systems.
Optimize food cost, menu mix, and labor models.
Partner on purchasing, contracting, and sustainability.
Work cohesively with all Restaurant Services VPs to achieve all financial and operational goals
Partner with operations, marketing, design, and finance.
Support new restaurant openings and brand refresh initiatives.
Lead culinary strategy for all new business opportunities, including tastings and presentations.
Partner with Sales, Marketing, and Operations to develop compelling, brand-aligned culinary materials.
Oversee tasting menus, presentation content, and cross-functional coordination for RFPs and client-facing events.
Ensure tastings and presentations highlight menu innovation, scalability, sustainability, and value.
Lead reporting Supervising & Regional Chefs, holding them accountable to all department key initiatives
Recruit, mentor, and lead corporate and field culinary teams.
Build a culture of creativity, accountability, and continuous learning.