Bring Flavor to the Frontlines - Become a District Chef in K-12 Food Service! Are you a passionate chef who wants to inspire teams and create meals that truly matter? As a District Chef, you'll design menus, lead culinary training, and elevate school food across an entire region. This role blends creativity with impact, giving you the chance to mentor cooks, shape food programs, and bring bold, nutritious flavors to students every day.
Position Summary
The District Chef plays a critical role in the planning and execution of school meal programs. This includes creating balanced menus, developing recipes, ensuring food safety standards, and training kitchen teams. The position serves as a hands-on leader, helping maintain high culinary standards while supporting operations across multiple schools.
Key Responsibilities
Prepare and cook food according to standardized recipes and production records
Create new recipes using commodity and purchased ingredients
Conduct taste tests and chef demonstrations with students and staff
Design cost-effective, appealing, and nutritionally balanced student menus
Enter menus into the nutritional analysis program
Place food and supply orders while monitoring cost control
Train kitchen staff on food safety, HACCP, cooking techniques, and presentation
Collaborate with Cafeteria Managers to ensure meal quality
Follow all local health department and company safety regulations
Supervise and evaluate kitchen team members
Submit reports as assigned and ensure timely compliance
Support other duties as assigned to improve culinary operations
Qualifications
High school diploma or GED required
Associate's degree in Culinary Arts or related Bachelor's degree strongly preferred
3+ years of experience in kitchen/back-of-house operations
Prior school food service experience strongly desired
Knowledge of budgeting and food cost control required
Strong culinary skills with hands-on leadership experience
Food safety certification (or food handler's card within 2 weeks of hire) required
Must be able to pass a background check, fingerprinting, and MVR audit
Clear, professional communication skills
Proficiency with Microsoft Office and basic computer systems
Must be respectful, inclusive, and able to work with diverse communities
Basic cooking and cleaning abilities required
Physical & Work Environment Requirements
Must be able to stand for long periods (up to 5 hours)
Regular bending, lifting (up to 50 lbs), reaching, and moving required
Regularly uses hands and must be able to hear and communicate clearly
Must be able to work a full-time schedule
Typical workweek is 50-60 hours
Moderate noise levels; computer and phone use required
Travel to schools and company meetings may be required
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, Gender/Minority/Veterans/Disabled and participates with E-Verify Employment Eligibility Program
