Fresh Food Concepts

Description

Job Summary

The Corporate Chef leads culinary strategy, product innovation, recipe standardization, and field execution for GBC Food Services and its fresh-food concepts, with particular emphasis on sushi and Asian-inspired programs in franchise and retail environments. This role converts customer, retailer, franchisee, and business needs into scalable menu items, precise production standards, effective training, and commercially sound launches. The Corporate Chef owns the culinary lifecycle from ideation and bench testing through costing, validation, documentation, rollout, and post-launch improvement, partnering with Operations, Merchandising, Food Safety and Quality Assurance, Supply Chain, Training, Sales, and vendor partners to deliver consistent quality, food safety, speed, yield, and profitability.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Supervise and develop assigned culinary specialists, trainers, test-kitchen team members, and other direct reports.
• Establish clear performance expectations, provide regular coaching, conduct evaluations, and implement development plans.
• Direct the project-based work of field operators, franchise partners, vendors, and cross-functional launch teams, including resources outside the formal reporting line.
• Partner with Human Resources to recruit, onboard, recognize, counsel, and, when necessary, discipline or separate assigned team members in accordance with company policy.

Primary Duties & Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain the culinary vision, menu architecture, and innovation pipeline for GBC's sushi, Asian-inspired, and other fresh-food programs.
• Lead ideation, recipe development, bench testing, sensory evaluation, pilot production, field validation, and commercialization for new and improved products.
• Create and control standardized recipes, ingredient specifications, yields, portion sizes, preparation methods, equipment settings, shelf-life guidance, storage requirements, labeling, and presentation standards.
• Build accurate recipe and menu costs; evaluate margin, labor, throughput, waste, shrink, and operational complexity; reformulate products to achieve approved financial and execution targets.
• Partner with Supply Chain, Procurement, and suppliers to qualify ingredients, packaging, equipment, and substitutions; review samples and protect product quality and continuity.
• Collaborate with Food Safety and Quality Assurance on allergen controls, sanitation, time and temperature standards, traceability, labeling, and applicable regulatory, retailer, and GBC requirements.
• Design and deliver hands-on training, certifications, train-the-trainer sessions, job aids, videos, and production tools that enable consistent execution by franchisees and field teams.
• Conduct store, commissary, warehouse, and vendor visits to observe production, audit culinary standards, coach teams, and identify practical improvements.
• Provide culinary leadership for new store openings, conversions, pilots, franchise transfers, retailer presentations, and market launches, confirming readiness before go-live.
• Diagnose product quality, consistency, equipment, workflow, and execution issues; define corrective actions, owners, due dates, and verification steps.
• Partner with Merchandising, Sales, and Marketing on assortment, packaging, product presentation, seasonal programs, customer demonstrations, photography, and sales-support materials.
• Maintain a controlled culinary documentation library and change-management process so current recipes, specifications, training materials, and approvals are accessible and consistently used.
• Establish and report KPIs for launch readiness, recipe compliance, food cost, waste, quality, sales performance, and field feedback; recommend actions to senior leadership.

Travel & Schedule

• Travel: Up to 40-50% travel is required for store and commissary visits, culinary trials, vendor reviews, training, new openings, retailer meetings, and market launches.
• Schedule: Full-time, Monday-Friday, with flexibility for early mornings, evenings, weekends, and extended on-site periods to support production trials, openings, training, and urgent quality or operational needs.

Qualifications:

• Culinary & Technical Expertise: Advanced knowledge of sushi and Asian cuisine, fresh-food production, recipe scaling, knife skills, ingredient functionality, equipment, sensory evaluation, and high-volume kitchen execution.
• Product Development & Commercialization: Demonstrated ability to translate concepts into scalable products, lead disciplined trials and pilots, document standards, manage approval gates, and deliver launches on schedule.
• Food Safety & Quality: Strong command of food safety, sanitation, allergen management, time and temperature controls, labeling, traceability, and quality systems in retail and foodservice environments.
• Financial & Analytical Acumen: Proficiency in recipe costing, yields, margins, labor, waste, inventory, and performance analysis; able to balance culinary quality with commercial and operational requirements.
• Leadership & Partnership: Credible, hands-on leader who can coach diverse audiences and influence franchisees, retailers, executives, operators, vendors, and cross-functional partners without relying on authority.
• Communication & Execution: Excellent presentation, writing, project management, organization, and follow-through skills; able to manage multiple priorities, make sound decisions, and remain effective in fast-changing field environments.

Education and Experience:

• Degree or diploma in culinary arts, food science, hospitality management, or a related discipline preferred; equivalent progressive culinary experience considered.
• Eight to ten years of progressive culinary experience, including product development and multi-unit foodservice, retail, franchise, commissary, or manufacturing support.
• At least three years of culinary leadership experience and demonstrated success developing, standardizing, and launching sushi, Asian-inspired, or other fresh-food products across multiple locations.
• Current ServSafe Manager Certification, or ability to obtain and maintain it; Certified Executive Chef, HACCP, food safety, or product-development credentials preferred.

Physical Requirements:

• With or without reasonable accommodation, ability to stand and walk for extended periods and perform frequent bending, reaching, repetitive hand work, and precise knife or food-preparation tasks.
• Ability to lift and carry up to 50 pounds and safely work around sharp tools, hot surfaces, steam, refrigeration and freezer environments, raw foods, and common food allergens.
• Ability to travel by air and ground and work in corporate kitchens, test kitchens, warehouses, vendor facilities, commissaries, and retail food-preparation areas as business needs require.

Equal Opportunity Statement:

We are an equal opportunity employer, deeply valuing diversity. Our commitment is to foster an inclusive environment for all employees, basing employment decisions on merit, qualifications, and business needs.

Other Duties:

Please note this job description isn't exhaustive. Duties and responsibilities may change, or new ones may be assigned at any time with or without notice.