Culinary Manager

The Culinary Manager is responsible for managing all aspects of the Culinary Department including staff, sales, margin, and labor. 

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Prepares the weekly sales and labor projections for the Culinary Department in order to maximize sales and profits; ensures department operations are within the labor percent allowed.
• Monitors and controls all costs and expenses; includes maintaining proper ordering and inventory control, ensuring proper weighing procedures, controlling shrink, and monitoring ad displays.
• Manages the Culinary Department staff including hiring, training, scheduling, coaching, and initiating required performance reviews; ensures staff is trained on all policies and procedures.
• Oversees shift operations including writing and/or approving Department work schedules.
• Ensures weekly flyer ads are in stock and ready for sale during business hours and that products for the upcoming ads are ordered, in stock, and available for processing.
• Stocks food service cases; includes presentation of product, facing, filling, and organization of all product items as set by the Culinary Department schematics as well as ensuring tag and pricing accuracy.
• Ensures cleanliness of food service aisles, storage area, and work area for safety; includes cleaning of shelves and products, keeping floors free of liquid spills or water, removing hazardous debris from floor and sweeping.
• Responds positively to customer’s inquiries and assists customers with purchases, information and product selection while working the food service counter; requires selling and cross selling of products.
• Receives, inspects, and logs products for accuracy of shipment, temperature, and quality.
• Monitors the rotation of all food service products paying particular attention to expired stock and discarding outdated or spoiled items.
• Balances the Culinary Department general ledger and financial statements; responsible for all department margins.
• Oversees pre-inventory preparation; includes back stock and assuring tags match products.
• Manages department inventory control ensuring no out of stocks and/or over-stocks.
• Uses knowledge of scales, weight measures, and tares to accurately weigh and label products; includes packaging and wrapping product and following the proper dating procedures.
• Monitors that proper temperatures are being maintained at all stages during the production of deli, cheese, and bakery items.
• Sustains a high level of product knowledge and product preparation.
• Walks department regularly to ensure an organized, sanitary, and overall clean appearance at all times.
• Other duties as assigned.

Education and Experience

• High school diploma or equivalency degree.
• Must have a minimum of 4 years professional experience in culinary management.
• Preferred 3-5 years grocery retail experience in Food Service department processes and procedures.
• Previous experience in a natural foods industry is a plus.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Must maintain the highest level of customer service at all times.
• Ability to adapt to the ever changing high volume retail while working in a cross-functional team environment.
• Must have the capacity to take initiative when problems arise.
• Flexibility to adapt in a variety of situations.
• Must have advanced attention to detail with the capability to prioritize and meet deadlines.
• Excellent written communication and documentation skills.
• Excellent verbal communication and interpersonal skills for dealing cross functionally with peers and senior management.
• Must have knowledge with MS Office including Outlook, Word, and Excel.
• Ability to multitask and have excellent organizational skills is essential.
• Must be able to lead, support and contribute to team goals.
• Ability to work varied hours/days as business dictates.
• Must be familiar with Health Department guidelines and regulations as they pertain to a grocery retail environment.
• Must have advanced knowledge of math, weights, and measures.
• Demonstrate ability to analyze and interpret Company financial statements and results.
• Must have skills working with all food service equipment such as knives, slicers, scales, and ovens.
• Ability to follow and direct team to follow recipes, spec, and schematic.

Work Environment/Physical Demands

• The potential for prolonged standing, walking, squatting and/or bending.
• The ability to lift up to 50 lbs.
• Occasional high stress when dealing with systems/customers/staff.
• Ability to enter the cold case, cooler, and freezer thereby being subjected to cold temperatures for extended periods of time.

The above declarations are not intended to be an all-inclusive list of the duties and responsibilities of the job described, nor are they intended to be such a listing of the skills and abilities required to do the job. Rather, they are intended only to describe the general nature of the job.