Operations and Culinary Lead

Summary

Our client is a growing, chef-driven restaurant organization known for delivering a distinctive culinary experience in a high-volume, fast-paced environment. As the business continues to expand, they are seeking an experienced Culinary & Operations Lead to oversee restaurant performance, protect the integrity of the brand, and build strong, accountable leadership teams. You will provide operational leadership across multiple locations. They will be responsible for ensuring consistency in food quality, guest experience, financial performance, training, staffing, and overall execution. This is a highly visible, hands-on role for an accomplished restaurant operator who understands that strong results come from disciplined systems, well-developed leaders, exceptional products, and a culture where standards matter. 

Responsibilities

Description

Operational Leadership

• Oversee the overall performance of restaurant locations, ensuring each unit meets established operational, culinary, service, cleanliness, and financial standards.
• Conduct regular store visits, operational assessments, line checks, and quality-control inspections.
• Develop clear action plans to address performance gaps and follow through with restaurant leadership.
• Ensure all locations consistently execute approved recipes, preparation methods, food specifications, portion standards, and sanitation procedures.
• Maintain zero tolerance for ongoing deficiencies in product quality, cleanliness, food safety, service, or operational execution.
• Ensure company policies, standard operating procedures, and quality-of-operations expectations are consistently followed.
• Lead the operational planning and execution of new restaurant openings.
• Travel to restaurant locations as required to support operations, training, new programs, and openings.

Culinary Standards & Food Quality

• Protect the quality, consistency, and integrity of the culinary program across all locations.
• Conduct routine line checks and assess food preparation, presentation, handling, storage, and production practices.
• Ensure restaurant teams follow established recipes and product specifications.
• Identify opportunities to improve kitchen organization, production efficiency, waste management, food handling, and overall execution.
• Work closely with restaurant leaders to resolve food-quality or consistency concerns.
• Ensure all managers and employees maintain required food-safety certifications.

Financial Performance

• Partner with Ownership to establish budgets, sales targets, labour expectations, cost-of-goods goals, and controllable expense targets.
• Review daily and weekly operating results, identifying trends, risks, and opportunities.
• Evaluate sales performance against budgets, previous periods, and historical results.
• Monitor labour hours, overtime, training expenses, productivity, and scheduling effectiveness.
• Review food costs, purchasing, inventory, waste, spoilage, yields, portioning, and production practices.
• Work with unit managers to develop corrective action plans when financial targets are not achieved.
• Ensure budgeted controllable expenses and profitability goals are met.
• Participate in restaurant inventories and support accurate reporting and cost controls.

People Leadership & Development

• Build a strong culture of accountability, professionalism, hospitality, and continuous improvement.
• Ensure restaurant locations maintain appropriate management and hourly staffing levels.
• Support the recruitment, selection, onboarding, training, and development of managers and team members.
• Ensure all hiring and employment practices meet applicable legal and company requirements.
• Coach restaurant leaders to strengthen operational knowledge, communication, decision-making, and leadership effectiveness.
• Complete management performance evaluations and create meaningful development plans.
• Monitor the progress of management trainees and communicate updates to Ownership.
• Maintain an open-door culture and ensure restaurant leaders create the same environment for their teams.
• Address management performance concerns promptly and professionally.
• Ensure required workplace conduct, anti-harassment, food-safety, and compliance training is completed.

Training & New Openings

• Assist in developing, improving, and updating employee and management training programs.
• Support manager-in-training programs and evaluate trainee progress.
• Develop training schedules and coordinate opening teams for new restaurant launches.
• Manage operational readiness, training support, and training budgets for new openings.
• Ensure new locations open with the appropriate systems, staffing, leadership, and brand standards in place.
• Provide post-opening support and follow-up to stabilize performance.

Vendor, Supply Chain & Facilities Management

• Manage vendor and supply-chain relationships to support quality, consistency, availability, and cost control.
• Identify and resolve ordering, pricing, delivery, production, and inventory concerns.
• Monitor repairs and maintenance needs across restaurant locations.
• Ensure repair work is properly authorized, competitively priced, completed promptly, and assigned to the appropriate vendor.
• Confirm warranty work is handled correctly and invoices accurately reflect warranty coverage.
• Follow up with restaurant managers to ensure facility and equipment issues are fully resolved.

Brand & Local Marketing

• Uphold and reinforce the company’s culture, values, and brand standards in every area of the operation.
• Identify opportunities for local store marketing and community engagement.
• Collaborate with Ownership and brand partners on approved marketing initiatives.
• Support the rollout and execution of local and system-wide programs.
• Ensure marketing initiatives are implemented consistently and evaluated for effectiveness.

Requirements

Requirements

• A minimum of five years of progressive restaurant leadership experience within a high-volume, chef-driven, fast-casual, quick-service, or comparable multi-unit concept.
• Demonstrated experience overseeing restaurant operations, culinary standards, financial performance, and people development.
• Strong working knowledge of restaurant financials, including sales, labour, food cost, inventory, controllable expenses, and profitability.
• Experience supporting multiple restaurant locations or leading a complex, high-volume operation.
• Proven ability to open new restaurant locations and coordinate operational readiness, training, and launch support.
• Strong understanding of food safety, sanitation, kitchen systems, production standards, and quality control.
• ServSafe certification or an equivalent food-handler certification.
• Valid authorization to work in Canada.
• Excellent communication, organization, coaching, and problem-solving skills.
• Highly proactive, self-directed, and comfortable making decisions in a fast-moving environment.
• Demonstrated commitment to exceptional guest service and employee development.
• Ability to establish credibility with HO, restaurant managers, culinary teams, vendors, and hourly employees.
• Ability and willingness to travel locally and nationally according to business requirements.