MIDA Restaurant Group is searching for a Culinary Director to lead the company’s culinary operations.
About MIDA:
MIDA, by Chef Douglass Williams, debuted its South End location in November 2016 with the goal of becoming a great Italian neighborhood restaurant. Since then, the group has grown to include MIDA Newton, MIDA East Boston, MIDA Fenway, and La Tavernetta, our coastal Italian tavern concept on the East Boston waterfront. Across all of our restaurants, the menu revolves around playful interpretations of classic regional Italian cuisine, with a focus on high-quality ingredients, thoughtful technique, generous hospitality, and making great food feel fun and approachable.
- High-quality food should be made from scratch
- Supremely delicious food is about simplicity and flawless execution of the best ingredients
- Generous hospitality is the foundation a beloved neighborhood restaurant
Since opening MIDA, Chef Douglass Williams has been recognized by Food & Wine as one of the “Best New Chefs” in the country and as a James Beard Award Semifinalist for “Outstanding Chef.” Chef Williams has also become a vocal advocate for the importance of embracing diversity and community within our industry.
As the company continues to grow, we are seeking to expand our leadership team with talented, motivated hospitality professionals who can help drive excellence, consistency, and culture across our restaurants.
About the Role:
The position of Culinary Director requires the ability to oversee multi-unit operations independently and coach a team of managers that inspire others to work within the MIDA standards for culinary execution, service, and hospitality. Precision, patience, resourcefulness, and a passion for cooking unbelievably delicious food are essential elements to succeed in this role.
The Culinary Director is responsible for back of house teams, as well as all relevant systems connected to service, product, and hospitality. This position must take a global view of restaurant operations, understanding both creative elements of recipe development as well as the financial and organization structure of a well operated restaurant. The Culinary Directory will be tasked with using weekly financials and established experience within the MIDA brand to make smart decisions that promote culinary standards at profitable levels.
Coaching and developing managers and hourly staff to flourish in their positions is an essential skill for the role. Above all else, the Culinary Director must be a figurehead for the MIDA and LT culture as an ambitious and welcoming place to work where aspiring restaurant professionals can further their careers.
Responsibilities:
- Oversee flawless, consistent recipe execution, across multiple MIDA locations
- Coordinate all store managers to uphold cleanliness standards and safety across multiple units
- Ensure the restaurant follows all local, state, and federal regulations regarding food handling and sanitation
- Identify, onboard and train culinary managers at the store level
- Lead and support management teams regularly, with hands on training and in-shift participation during staffing transition
- Directly supervise of facilities and maintenance programs for all back-of-house equipment
- Produce regular hands-on training of management and hourly staff, demonstrating the ability and willingness to develop employees from the hourly to management level
- Guide culinary management teams to hire, train, develop and coach hourly staff, reviewing all personnel decision making around compensation, promotion, and termination.
- Manage all aspects of the front of house operation including staff scheduling, training, correct setup and breakdown before/after service, cleanliness of restaurant, equipment, and furniture
- Engineer product offerings to support all facets of MIDA’s service, including in-person dining, takeout, catering, patio service, and private events
- Develop and implement waste reduction systems to impact efficiency and restaurant financials
- Analyze menus to for costing and product mix to improve restaurant profitability
- Review and engineer menu items to increase efficiency and speed of production while retaining quality and overall MIDA brand standards
- Revise daily systems and scheduling to streamline staffing models in line with labor cost goals
- Coordinate rollout of new menu items across multiple locations, in partnership with operations
- Facilitate creative recipe development with senior leadership team
- Lead multi-unit restaurant operations comprehensively, extending to both the front of house and back of house teams
- Communicate with front and back of house staff on guest experiences, both positive and negative; constantly working to improve the flow and efficiency of service.
Requirements:
- Strong propensity to create hospitality for other people, both guests and employees
- Multiple years of prior multi-unit restaurant management experience, with 3+ years appreciated
- Excellent organizational skills
- Working knowledge of restaurant managerial accounting
- Strong practical knowledge of Italian culinary history and technique
- Result-driven, with a proven ability to be a self-starter and independent thinker
- Availability to work nights, weekends, and holidays
- Strong working knowledge of restaurant service, beverage, safety, and sanitation practices
- Able to work well in team-oriented environment
- Positive attitude, sense of urgency, willingness to develop initiatives that foster generosity and team wellness
- Empathy for others and their perspectives
- Humility to accept responsibility for continuous improvement
- Integrity to do the right thing no matter what
- Ability to stand for the entirety of an 8-hour shift, lift and transport items in excess of 50 lbs., kneel, bend over, lift items above head, work in small or cramped spaces
- Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions
Metrics of Success:
- Fosters and executes a commitment to team wellness, respect and belonging through successful hiring, training and staff development
- Achieves positive financial performance, regularly achieving labor, sales and beverage cost goals, while also working to improve upon the budget
- Successfully completes creative menu development initiatives in a timely fashion with seamless execution and communication
- Maintains immaculate cleanliness in all MIDA facilities
We are an equal opportunity employer
Pay: $110,000.00 - $150,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Employee discount
- Flexible spending account
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Paid training
Work Location: In person
