Kitchen Manager - Berkeley Culinary Center

SUMMARY

The Kitchen Manager is responsible for overseeing the daily operations of the kitchen, ensuring the consistent delivery of high-quality food while maintaining compliance with all food safety, sanitation, and regulatory standards. This role leads and develops kitchen staff, manages food preparation, inventory, purchasing, scheduling, and sanitation activities, and ensures efficient, safe, and productive kitchen operations. The Kitchen Manager drives operational excellence by optimizing food costs, labor utilization, and waste reduction while upholding Whitsons' quality standards and supporting a culture of safety, accountability, and continuous improvement.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS, RESPONSIBILITIES, AND DUTIES

Kitchen Operations & Production Oversight

• Oversee daily kitchen operations to ensure timely, accurate, and efficient food production; hire staff, purchases food and stock, and ensure all team members are trained in proper food preparation and kitchen safety techniques.
• Ensures food is prepared according to approved recipes, batch specifications, weights, and yields, and that Whitsons’ standards for appearance, proportion, and quality are upheld on every order.
• Monitors cooking, cooling, and handling processes to ensure consistency, quality, and food safety compliance.

Workforce Leadership & Training

• Supervises, trains, and develops kitchen staff on proper food preparation, kitchen safety, and equipment use.
• Monitors performance and provides coaching, feedback, and corrective action as needed; fosters a culture of accountability, safety, and continuous improvement.
• Coordinates onboarding and ongoing training to ensure staff competency, compliance with standard operating procedures, and consistent execution of quality and productivity expectations.

Food Safety, Quality & Sanitation Compliance

• Enforces strict adherence to food safety, sanitation, and applicable regulatory standards; develops and follows a sanitation schedule to ensure the kitchen is properly cleaned on a regular basis, and food is disposed of properly.
• Ensures proper food handling, storage, labeling, and documentation practices are consistently followed, and maintains audit readiness in support of internal and regulatory audits.
• Ensures compliance with the facility's HACCP/Food Safety Plan, including monitoring of Critical Control Points (CCPs), prioritizing allergen management procedures, environmental monitoring programs, and cross-contact prevention practices are effectively implemented.

Performance Management & Cost Control

• Manages food cost, waste, and labor hours to optimize costs and drive efficient kitchen operations; tracks key performance indicators including yield, labor efficiency, and waste reduction.
• Identifies opportunities to improve operational efficiency without compromising food safety or quality and supports labor planning and staffing adjustments based on production needs.
• Monitors inventory levels and purchasing practices to minimize shortages, reduce excess inventory, and support cost-effective kitchen operations while maintaining production requirements.

$65,000 - $75,000