Area Director of Culinary Operations - JRK! and Mangrove

About the Job

(Job Summary)

The Area Director of Culinary Operations - JRK! and Mangrove leads culinary strategy, menu development, food safety, cost discipline, kitchen execution, and culinary training across JRK! and Mangrove locations. This leader owns food menu performance, recipe standards, product quality, kitchen systems, operational controls, and leadership development to ensure every unit delivers consistent food quality, strong financial performance, safe operations, and a guest experience aligned with the JRK! and Mangrove brands.

What You Do:

(Duties/Responsibilities)

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Own food menu strategy and the full development cycle, including ideation, recipe development, costing, pricing recommendations, launch, and performance analysis for core menus, specials, LTOs, seasonal programs, Mangrove dinner and late-night menus, and delivery menus.
• Ensure no item launches without a standardized, costed, kitchen-tested specification, and evaluate every item based on contribution margin, popularity, and guest response.
• Remain accountable for food sales, food cost, and contribution margin against plan.
• Ensure every item is cooked to specification in every unit, on every shift, with no drift from approved standards.
• Create a quarterly visit calendar, post it in each unit monthly, and cover lunch, dinner, weekends, and Mangrove late-night service.
• Taste and temperature-check core menu items on every visit and complete daily business review calls with each unit to coach food and labor controls, including waste, yields, prep versus sales, and current prep plans.
• Partner with General Managers to forecast business needs and review and approve weekly sales forecasts, prep pars, orders, and schedules for each unit.
• Plan production from forecasted product mix and ensure schedules are written to the labor guide against verified hours of operation.

• Ensure weekly and monthly paperwork is accurate, inventory is counted to standard, actual-versus-theoretical food cost is reconciled monthly by unit, and quarterly inventory, food safety, cash control, and administrative audits are completed in every unit.
• Keep every unit inspection-ready each day under Florida DBPR Division of Hotels and Restaurants requirements, including cooking, hot and cold holding, cooling, reheating, marinade and raw-protein handling, Big 9 allergen controls, sanitation, and receiving.
• Validate every new item for food safety before launch and ensure food safety logs are complete and accurate in every unit, every day, with a standard of zero high-priority violations.
• Ensure every unit is staffed to the labor guide with a station-certified cook on every station, every shift.
• Build the kitchen bench through structured training programs, skills assessments, and management development plans, including station certification for every cook and all-station certification for every kitchen lead.
• Maintain ready-now successors for every Kitchen Manager and General Manager and ensure every cook is trained on new items before launch.
• Manage and support General Managers to ensure consistent execution of food and beverage policies, procedures, service standards, and operating expectations.
• Develop, implement, and evaluate operating policies and procedures so each location performs in accordance with ownership expectations.
• Manage restaurant profit and loss performance, identify operational variances and potential issues, and implement corrective action plans with owners and due dates.
• Monitor daily sales reports, scorecards, guest insights, inventory, labor, food and beverage costs, and operational trends to establish goals and coach teams.
• Maintain a rolling 12-month food menu calendar for core menu reviews, specials, LTOs, seasonal programs, and Mangrove dinner and late-night menus.
• Develop new item concepts using product-mix data, guest feedback and ratings, competitive and trend research, vendor and seasonal availability, and the brand’s Jamaican roots.
• Run each new item through the menu stage-gate process, including concept brief, kitchen trials, standardized recipe and build card, costing and pricing recommendation, operations test, leadership tasting, pilot when appropriate, launch, and 30/60/90-day reviews.
• Ensure new items fit existing stations, equipment, and peak-hour speed targets and cross-utilize current ingredients whenever possible.
• Run specials as a planned program with margin targets, product utilization, weekly sell-through review, and margin review.
• Protect signature items by requiring Co-Founder or VP of Culinary approval for changes and creating a new name when a build changes materially.
• Partner with the JRK! Marketing Team on naming, descriptions, photography, menu boards, launch communications, and food menu proof approvals.
• Maintain current costed recipe cards with tested yields for every active item, reprice cards at least quarterly, and update immediately when ingredient invoice cost changes by more than 10%.
• Set target plate cost and contribution margin for each new item before development begins and recommend pricing, including delivery pricing, with projected margin impact.
• Run monthly menu engineering by unit, category, and daypart using POS product mix and current plate costs, and assign each item a verdict to keep, reprice, reposition, rework, or remove.

• Complete post-launch reviews for LTOs and specials within 30 days of close, covering sales, mix, contribution margin, incremental versus cannibalized sales, guest ratings, and operational impact.
• Act on menu cost flags, including items above 40% plate cost for two consecutive months, top-20 items without current recipe cards, and prep yields untested in 12 months.
• Ensure the signature jerk program is executed to specification in every unit, including marinade production, marination time, cooking, holding, and sauce standards.
• Own production standards for marinades, sauces, and spice blends, including batch size, yield, labeling, shelf life, version control, and proprietary recipe protection.
• Launch every menu change on one coordinated date across recipe and build cards, POS items and modifiers, menu boards, in-unit POP, and delivery menus.
• Lead new-product training and hold Mangrove’s kitchen to full-service standards for plated presentation, a la carte ticket timing, and late-night menu execution.
• Own off-premise food quality across Uber Eats storefronts, including delivery-specific menus, packaging, travel-hold standards, order accuracy, and ratings.
• Ensure managers earn Certified Food Protection Manager status within required timeframes and that each licensed unit has certified manager coverage for all periods of operation.
• Ensure new-hire paperwork is complete before the first shift, food employees complete approved food handler training within required timeframes, and proof of certification and training is maintained for inspection.
• Ensure compliance with OSHA and applicable federal, state, and local requirements.
• Maintain current allergen and dietary matrices and route consumer advisories, service and operations charge disclosures, and statutory menu language to Legal for review.
• Lead DBPR inspection responses, close violations within allowed timeframes, and maintain cleaning, sanitation, and pest control schedules.
• Meet mall and food hall landlord requirements, including operating hours, grease, refuse, and fire safety requirements at Aventura Mall and Dadeland.
• Drive profitability and key performance indicators by increasing sales, managing labor, controlling food and beverage costs, reducing waste, and improving the guest experience.
• Review weekly flash results, monthly profit and loss reports, and food menu scorecards, and provide unit commentary for monthly financial reviews.
• Control food cost through ordering to par, vendor specification compliance, receiving checks, yield testing, waste tracking, and supplier management.
• Manage the menu development budget within the approved allowance and ensure inventory levels, cooking equipment, holding equipment, refrigeration equipment, hood systems, and fire-suppression systems are maintained through approved vendors.
• Build strong teams by selecting, coaching, mentoring, developing, and retaining managers and supporting onboarding and training for new hires.
• Conduct semiannual performance evaluations for direct reports and make annual salary adjustment recommendations.
• Champion JRK! and Mangrove culture through authentic Jamaican food, warm hospitality, and pride in craft.

• Send a weekly written recap to the Founders covering results, risks, opportunities, and next actions with owners and due dates.
• Coach teams on safety-first procedures, food quality, friendliness, cleanliness, order accuracy, and speed of service across dine-in, pickup, and delivery.
• Partner with Mangrove bar leadership on food and cocktail pairings, beverage cost, inventory, and responsible alcohol service.
• Support new restaurant openings, including pre-opening operations, staffing, training, menu adaptation, kitchen setup, opening inventories, and execution plans.
• Run the Culinary Visit standard on every visit, followed by a written recap with owners and due dates within 24 hours.
• Conduct at least one unannounced opening or closing visit per unit each month, including Mangrove late-night service.
• Demonstrate expert command of unit operations and back-office systems, including Toast POS and reporting, recipe-costing systems, inventory tools, and Uber Eats merchant tools.
• Maintain the required operating rhythm, including daily reporting review and DBR calls; weekly forecast, prep, order, schedule, visit, trial, waste, and recap work; monthly inventory, menu engineering, financial commentary, and corrective action plans; quarterly menu reviews, recipe repricing, calendar updates, audits, and visit calendar publication; launch reviews; semiannual performance evaluations; and annual menu strategy, AOP input, salary recommendations, and equipment planning.
• During the first 90 days, work every daypart in every unit, deliver a culinary baseline, load current recipe and build cards, stand up the master recipe book, complete the first menu engineering reviews, present the 12-month menu and LTO calendar, confirm certification and training compliance, and complete the first internal food safety audit.
• Track success measures for unit profit and loss, food menu results, food cost control, menu health, LTO performance, labor, food safety, speed and accuracy, guest ratings, staffing, succession planning, and turnover.
• Perform other job-related duties as assigned.

What You Bring to the Table:

(Requirements)

• 6+ years of progressive kitchen and restaurant leadership experience, including at least four years of multi-unit restaurant management with full profit and loss responsibility.
• Minimum of two years of experience managing four to ten direct reports.
• Proven success overseeing multiple restaurant locations and achieving operational and financial performance goals.
• Chef’s foundation with experience leading kitchens, cooking every station, teaching culinary execution, and writing standardized recipes, build cards, and SOPs that other kitchens can execute.
• Documented record of developing and launching menu items in a multi-unit or high-volume operation, including concept, costing, rollout, post-launch analysis, and results.

• Hands-on menu engineering and pricing experience using POS product mix and plate cost data; advanced spreadsheet skills and experience with a recipe-costing system; Toast experience preferred.
• Strong business acumen and knowledge of restaurant operations, labor management, inventory, food and beverage cost controls, actual-versus-theoretical variance, waste, yield management, food safety, and guest service.
• Demonstrated ability to recruit, coach, develop, and retain high-performing managers and teams, including hands-on experience developing training programs, assessing skills, and creating management development plans.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, presentation, planning, and organizational skills, with a self-motivated leadership style and the ability to solve complex problems, manage competing priorities, and make sound operational decisions.
• Certified Food Protection Manager through an ANAB-CFP accredited program accepted by Florida DBPR, such as ServSafe Manager; if not current at hire, must obtain certification within 30 days.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced restaurant environment and travel between locations as needed, including early mornings, nights, late-night service, weekends, and holidays.
• Valid driver’s license and reliable transportation for local travel between units.
• Preferred experience with Jamaican or Caribbean culinary methods, including jerk marinades and cooking methods, braises such as oxtail and curry, rice and peas, and patties.
• Preferred fast-casual research and development or LTO pipeline experience, plus experience in full-service plated kitchens.
• Preferred new-unit opening experience, including non-traditional venues such as food halls, malls, and airports.
• Culinary degree, formal apprenticeship, or equivalent experience preferred.
• HACCP certification and allergen training, such as ServSafe Allergens, preferred.
• Bilingual English/Spanish preferred; Haitian Creole a plus.
• Third-party delivery experience preferred, including delivery menu engineering, packaging, and ratings management.