Culinary Field Chef

Vallarta Supermarkets is a renowned foodservice company known for its commitment to delivering authentic and high-quality culinary experiences. As a leader in the retail and foodservice industry, Vallarta operates a variety of foodservice concepts including Taquerias, Tortillerias, full-service restaurants, and prepared foods sections. The company is dedicated to maintaining exceptional standards of food quality, guest service, and operational excellence. With a focus on continuous growth and innovation, Vallarta values teamwork, culture, and culinary expertise to create memorable dining experiences across all its locations. Vallarta’s culinary team plays a vital role in upholding these standards, ensuring consistency and excellence at every touchpoint.

The Culinary Field Chef position at Vallarta Supermarkets is an exempt, full-time role reporting directly to the Director of Culinary. This role is critical to the day-to-day field culinary operations across all foodservice programs offered by the company. Primarily responsible for providing hands-on operational support, coaching, and culinary expertise, the Culinary Field Chef works closely with Kitchen Managers and foodservice teams to ensure consistent execution of Vallarta’s culinary standards. This role actively supports menu execution, recipe adherence, training, and operational improvements designed to enhance sales growth, product consistency, and guest satisfaction across company locations.

The Culinary Field Chef is a key field resource who spends approximately 80% of time in the field supporting multiple concepts such as Taqueria, Tortilleria, Restaurants, Prepared Foods, and Catering divisions. The role collaborates closely with the Corporate Chef and other cross-functional teams to support menu development, product rollouts, and company-wide culinary initiatives. This includes leading new store openings, remodels, and training execution to establish Vallarta’s culinary and operational standards from the outset.

Key to this position is the ability to provide consistent coaching and support to culinary teams and Kitchen Managers in the field, ensuring recipe accuracy—covering portioning, presentation, and flavor profiles—adherence to food safety practices, and operational improvements. The role is also instrumental in monitoring kitchen cleanliness, safety compliance, food cost control, inventory management, and supporting overall business initiatives aligned with Vallarta’s goals.

As a Culinary Field Chef, one must be adept at fostering a strong team culture by promoting accountability, teamwork, training, and performance standards. The position requires excellent communication skills to maintain clear and effective dialogue with leadership regarding operational challenges such as production needs, shortages, or food safety concerns. Safety compliance and proper use of equipment are paramount, alongside supporting continuous culinary program enhancements and addressing customer feedback professionally to uphold Vallarta’s Nuestra CASA service standards.

This is an opportunity for a culinary professional with 5+ years of experience in culinary operations, multi-unit leadership, or restaurant management to join a growing company that prioritizes operational excellence, food quality, and guest experience. Vallarta offers a dynamic, fast-paced work environment requiring flexibility in work hours, including evenings, weekends, and holidays, with a significant amount of travel involved—approximately 80% within operating regions, including overnight stays. Mileage reimbursement is provided for approved business travel. The company supports ongoing employee development and values team leadership as fundamental to business success.

In summary, the Culinary Field Chef at Vallarta Supermarkets plays a critical role in not only maintaining but also enhancing the company’s culinary standards across all foodservice outlets by providing expert field support, training, and operational leadership. This position offers a challenging yet rewarding environment for culinary professionals who thrive in fast-paced settings and are passionate about delivering exceptional food and guest experiences consistently.