The Regional Chef partners with airport platform leadership to drive culinary execution, food quality, operational consistency, and financial performance across full-service restaurants, quick-service restaurants (QSRs), coffee shops, and markets, and Vino Volo. The role provides hands-on support for back-of-house operations, restaurant and retail foodservice openings, menu implementation, training, and performance improvement while ensuring compliance with company, brand, food-safety, and airport requirements. This position reports to the Senior Director of Culinary.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Conduct food-quality and taste assessments across assigned airport platforms; document findings, communicate priorities, and partner with local leadership to implement and verify corrective actions that meet or exceed company and brand standards.
- Establish and monitor regional culinary performance expectations, including food quality, recipe compliance, food cost, waste, sanitation, training completion, and opening-readiness standards; develop corrective action plans with platform leadership when results fall below expectations.
- Support culinary operations within the unique constraints of airport environments, including secured-area access, delivery and receiving restrictions, limited storage, variable passenger demand, extended operating hours, and disruption recovery.
- Partner with the Sr. Director of Culinary on proprietary-brand development, including concept and menu development, recipe testing and documentation, equipment and smallwares selection, and china and serviceware specifications.
- Maintain accurate order guides for proprietary brands in partnership with Purchasing and platform teams to support product availability, specification compliance, consistent quality, and food-cost objectives.
- Develop, implement, and audit line-check procedures for proprietary brands to verify product quality, recipe execution, holding standards, station readiness, and food-safety compliance.
- Partner with the Director of Food Safety and Regulatory Compliance on HACCP monitoring, sanitation, and corrective-action follow-through.
- Partner with the Sr. Directors of Culinary and Food Safety to maintain and implement PLDD receiving procedures.
- Partner with airport platform leaders to establish and monitor food-cost controls, analyze variances, identify the operational causes of COGS performance gaps, and implement corrective actions.
- Work with the Sr. Director of Culinary to develop, test, document, and implement menu updates for proprietary brands.
- Support openings and RFP presentations for full-service restaurants, quick-service restaurants (QSRs), coffee shops, and markets as needed, including culinary planning, kitchen and equipment readiness, menu execution, product and smallwares availability, team training, tastings, and post-opening stabilization.
- Partner with Purchasing to select products that meet company quality, availability, specification, and pricing standards and can be consistently executed across assigned airport locations.
TYPICAL KNOWLEDGE and SKILLS:
- Proven experience leading culinary operations, training, and performance improvement across multiple restaurant locations in a high-volume dining environment is required.
- Demonstrated commitment to food quality, guest experience, operational consistency, and continuous improvement.
- Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to collaborate effectively with airport platform leaders, restaurant teams, brand partners, Purchasing, Food Safety, and other support functions.
- Excellent communication, organization, coaching, and problem-solving skills.
- Demonstrated ability to prioritize multiple locations and initiatives, follow through on commitments, and achieve goals within assigned areas of responsibility.
- Ability to work respectfully and effectively with individuals across roles, functions, and backgrounds.
- Advanced working knowledge of Microsoft Office, including Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
- Working knowledge of recipe-management software, including recipe documentation, costing, scaling, and specification control.
POSITION QUALIFICATIONS:
- Legal Age: 18 years
- Education or Equivalent Experience: A bachelor's degree in culinary arts, hospitality, hotel and restaurant management, or a related field is preferred. An equivalent combination of culinary education and relevant leadership experience will be considered.
- Certifications: ServSafe certification is required.
- Function-Specific Experience: Minimum of seven years of experience in culinary leadership, including responsibility for high-volume restaurant operations, multiunit execution, team development, food quality, and cost control. Demonstrated knowledge of current culinary and restaurant-industry trends is required.
- Travel Requirements: Up to 50% travel to assigned airport locations is required. When not traveling, the position will be based at the Paradies Lagardère Service Center or Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to support back-of-house operations.
- Schedule: The position may require nights, weekends, and holidays based on operational needs.
WORKING CONDITIONS: Work is performed in airport restaurants, commercial kitchens, storage and receiving areas, offices, and other operational spaces. The role may involve exposure to heat, cold, noise, cleaning chemicals, food allergens, wet or slippery surfaces, and moving equipment. Travel through airports and access to secured areas are required, subject to applicable airport badging and security requirements.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:
- Must be able to sit, stand, walk, bend, reach, and move throughout airport terminals, restaurant kitchens, storage areas, and receiving areas for extended periods.
- Must be able to lift and carry items weighing up to 15 pounds.
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