Position Summary
The Kitchen Manager owns everything that happens in the back of house: food quality, food cost, labor, sanitation, and the people who make it all run. This is a hands-on leadership role in a scratch kitchen that features a diverse menu. The Kitchen Manager is a full member of the management team and is accountable for hitting financial targets, not just running shifts.
Core Responsibilities
Food Cost & Financial Management
- Maintain complete, current food costing on every menu item; provide updated cost analyses to ownership when ingredient prices shift and recommend menu price adjustments
- Manage food cost to target through disciplined purchasing, portioning, and prep
- Contribute to the restaurant's overall prime cost goal through disciplined purchasing and labor control
- Plan and execute weekly ordering against budget by category
- Track and minimize waste with documented reasons for all recorded waste
Inventory & Purchasing
- Conduct weekly inventory counts (beginning/ending) for food, non-food, and bar non-food categories
- Maintain the actual vs. theoretical inventory system and investigate discrepancies
- Manage vendor relationships; document and resolve vendor/supply issues
Labor & Scheduling
- Build BOH schedules that match projected volume; adjust staffing immediately when volume drops to protect labor cost
- Staff major events to standard
- Track BOH labor cost against target and scheduling accuracy
Team Leadership & Training
- Train the kitchen team on new menu items and recipes before launch
- Cross-train staff across stations and document training needs by individual
- Complete quarterly performance evaluations for all BOH staff on the company evaluation schedule
- Address staff performance issues promptly and document them
Food Safety & Facility
- Maintain health department readiness at all times; own inspection outcomes
- Enforce daily cleaning checklists and weekly deep cleaning schedules
- Ensure food temperature compliance and proper storage/labeling practices
- Monitor equipment condition, schedule preventive maintenance, and minimize downtime
Menu & Culinary
- Execute the full menu to spec with consistent quality, presentation, and ticket times
- Develop and cost new menu items and specials; input new recipes into the POS/recipe system
- Support special culinary programming
- Report on menu items performing well or poorly and recommend changes
Qualifications
- 5+ years kitchen management experience in a full-service restaurant
- Demonstrated ability to manage food cost, complete plate costing, and run inventory systems
- Experience scheduling and managing a BOH team
- ServSafe Manager certification
- Open availability
Physical Requirements
- Stand and walk for extended periods
- Lift and carry heavy items regularly
- Work in hot, fast-paced kitchen conditions
- Safely operate commercial kitchen equipment
Location: Farmville, Virginia
Reports To: Owner / General Manager
Direct Reports: Line cooks, prep cooks, expediters, dishwashers
Classification: Full-time, salaried, exempt
Schedule: Open availability required; includes nights, weekends, holidays, and major event days
Pay: $60,000.00 - $70,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
Work Location: In person
