VP of Culinary

Salted•Los Angeles, CA

23d•$180,000 - $220,000

About The Position

Join the largest delivery-first restaurant group in the United States! At Salted, we believe the future of restaurants doesn’t look anything like what we see today. The most successful brands will focus primarily on delivery and take-out and use technology to nurture customer relationships that exist outside four walls. We’re looking for a VP Culinary to lead our culinary strategy as we embark on our next stage of growth and expand from 35 locations to over 100+ over the next 3 years. If you think this could be you, we'd love to hear from you. Please note that we encourage candidates who are interested in this role to email us directly at [email protected] with your resumé and a brief note about yourself. Please include "VP Culinary" in the subject line. We read every one of these emails. WHAT YOU’LL DO You will be the leader of our culinary strategy across our multi-brand portfolio (with a primary focus on our flagship brand, moonbowls). As our culinary leader, you will balance creativity with a systematic approach to creating consistent, profitable, and most importantly, uniquely positive customer experiences. This role reports directly to our CEO and initially will manage a team of two (Culinary Director + R&D Chef).

Requirements

10+ years experience working in the QSR or fast food industry in a culinary role
Deep understanding for how to ensure culinary consistency at national scale
Able to translate customer ratings, PMIX, and COGs data into actionable menu improvements
Test-and-learn oriented mindset
Effective planner who cares deeply about the details as well as the big picture strategy
Knowledge of HACCP, SOP’s, and government/industry food safety and quality regulations, codes, and standards
Proven ability to collaborate with other departments, proactively identify problems/opportunities, and take ownership of deadlines and deliverables
Must be based in the Los Angeles area with some flexibility to travel to kitchens around the US
Passionate about building something great!

Responsibilities

Define and execute a cohesive culinary roadmap that aligns with Salted’s brand positioning (better-for-you, clean label, unique + craveable) and long-term business goals (100+ locations, highly profitable, the gold standard in digital-first)
Maximize the culinary offerings of our core brand menus as we turn these brands into household names
Lead the R&D pipeline for both new brands as well as our core brands (every month, we test 1-2 new brands out of our Test Kitchen)
Develop and execute an LTO strategy that balances culinary innovation with the constraints (and benefits) of our small, extremely high volume footprints
Use data to optimize our product mix for financial results as well as customer frequency
Serve as the culinary voice to our partners and executive team, presenting compelling, data-backed menu strategies that drive growth
Research and stay current with supplier opportunities to reduce costs and improve the quality of ingredients
Collaborate with Ops to establish and enforce elite standards for prep, presentation, and safety (HACCP)
Partner with Marketing, Ops, and Tech teams to ensure new launches are promoted effectively and executed flawlessly in every kitchen
Lead your team with candor and directness
Stay obsessed with the customer experience. Identify unmet needs and emerging trends to keep Salted ahead of the curve in a fast-changing industry.