Director Nigerian Jobs (NOW HIRING)

CULINARY LEAD

Who We Are

Dùndú is an independent fast-casual Nigerian restaurant in Midtown Manhattan, minutes from Grand Central. We serve authentic Nigerian food prepared from scratch, with a focus on bold flavors, quality ingredients, consistency, and exceptionally high standards.

We are an ambitious, growing company with strong systems, a commitment to excellence, and a belief that great restaurants are built by great people. We value integrity, consistency, respect, ownership, continuous improvement, and people who take pride in their craft.

Our Culinary Lead ensures consistency across our food, culinary standards, and daily kitchen operations—so Dùndú delivers at the same high standard every day.

What You’ll Do

• Own food quality and consistency. Ensure Dùndú's recipes, cooking processes, production standards, portioning, and quality expectations are followed every day.
• Lead and develop the kitchen team. Train team members on recipes and cooking processes, coach them during production, give clear and respectful feedback, and ensure they are properly trained before working independently.
• Plan and lead production. Read production needs, understand what must be prepared and when, organize the work, and keep the kitchen ahead of service rather than reacting to it.
• Scale recipes accurately. Translate recipes and order quantities into accurate production amounts while protecting flavor, yield, portioning, and consistency.
• Execute high-volume production. Lead production for restaurant service and large catering orders, including bulk preparation, while maintaining Dùndú's standards for quality and timing.
• Keep production moving without compromising the food. Understand the pace of fast-casual service and ensure the kitchen is prepared for peak periods.
• Be the culinary reference point for the team. Know Dùndú's recipes, ingredients, techniques, yields, standards, and processes well enough to answer questions and correct execution when something is off.
• Run an organized, immaculate kitchen. Maintain exceptional standards for cleanliness, storage, labeling, prep, equipment, tools, and food-safety practices.
• Manage prep and shift readiness. Ensure each shift completes the production and prep required to set the next shift—and the next day's operation—up for success.
• Support smart inventory management. Coordinate on food inventory and ordering to maintain sufficient product while controlling waste.
• Solve problems and improve how the kitchen works. When something isn't working, don't simply work around it. Identify the cause, take ownership, and help build a better way.

Who You Are

• You are passionate about cooking real food from scratch. You care about technique, flavor, quality, and consistency and take genuine pride in what leaves the kitchen.
• You have strong production experience and an organized production mind. You are detailed and can use our established systems to translate order volumes into scaled recipes, prep needs, and an organized production plan.
• You understand culinary math and recipe scaling. Increasing a recipe isn't simply multiplying numbers—you understand yields, portions, timing, equipment capacity, and how scaling can affect execution.
• You think ahead. You anticipate production needs, plan ahead, and make sure the kitchen is prepared before service begins.
• You have high standards and notice details. “Almost right” isn't good enough when the same recipe needs to taste and look the same every time.
• You are disciplined, dependable and accountable. You follow recipes and processes consistently, follow through on responsibilities, and can be trusted without being chased.
• You lead by doing. You are comfortable coaching and directing others, but you're equally willing to roll up your sleeves and work alongside the team.
• You are confident without ego. You can teach others, give respectful feedback, receive feedback yourself, and remain willing to learn and improve.
• You solve problems. You think quickly during service, but when a problem keeps happening, you also ask what needs to change so it stops happening.

Experience & Requirements

• 2+ years of professional cooking experience in a high-volume restaurant or catering kitchen.
• Previous experience as a Lead Cook, Kitchen Supervisor, or similar kitchen leadership role.
• Experience training, coaching, or developing kitchen team members.
• Strong recipe-scaling and culinary-math skills.
• Experience reading production requirements and translating them into prep and production plans.
• Must have a NYC Food Handler's License.
• Experience with high-volume catering production is a plus.

Schedule

• Monday–Friday
• Weekend and holiday availability as required by the position

Physical Requirements

• This is an active, hands-on kitchen role.
• You must be able to stand and walk throughout a shift,
• Lift up to 40 lbs.
• Bend and reach frequently
• Safely handle kitchen tools and equipment.
• Remain alert and communicative in a fast-paced environment.

Why Dùndú?

This is an opportunity for a serious cook who wants to become stronger not only at cooking, but at leading production, developing people, and running an excellent kitchen.

You'll work with food made from scratch, established recipes and systems, and a team that cares deeply about consistency and quality. You'll also have the opportunity to learn directly from Dùndú's founder, a classically trained chef with more than two decades of experience cooking Nigerian food.

We are growing, and we want people who take pride in their craft, want greater responsibility, and are excited to grow with us.

Dùndú is an equal opportunity employer.

“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” — Peter Drucker