Culinary Operations Manager

Fresh Kitchen is a revolutionary fast-casual restaurant chain committed to redefining the meaning of "fast food" by delivering real, wholesome food made entirely from scratch. With a vision to expand to 100 remarkable restaurants by 2034, Fresh Kitchen blends its dedication to high-quality ingredients, superior food standards, and an inspiring company culture. The brand prides itself on using 100% pure olive oil, avoiding seed oils, hand-cutting vegetables, providing antibiotic and hormone-free meats, responsibly sourcing seafood, and maintaining 100% gluten-free recipes. The commitment Fresh Kitchen makes to providing "Good Food Forever" is evident in every aspect of its operations from sourcing ingredients to customer experience.

As a Culinary Operations Manager at Fresh Kitchen, you play a pivotal role in overseeing the entire back-of-house operations. This is not a typical back-office managerial role - it demands hands-on leadership, operational excellence, and a passion for culinary quality and team development. You are accountable for ensuring all food meets the company’s exacting standards of quality, consistency, and safety, while also driving operational efficiency and a positive, high-performance kitchen culture.

The role requires leading and inspiring a kitchen team through real-time coaching and setting the tone for each shift to guarantee smooth kitchen flow, speed, and accuracy. The Culinary Operations Manager works in close partnership with the Managing Partner, Assistant Culinary Manager, and Restaurant Operations Manager to synchronize back-of-house execution with front-of-house activities and online ordering volumes. Ownership is fundamental to the role; the manager operates with discipline, excellent organization skills, and a people-first mentality.

Success in this role looks like consistently delivering incredible food, maintaining peak operational performance during busy service periods, and fostering a culture where standards never slip. Key responsibilities include overseeing food quality and consistency, maintaining sanitation and food safety standards, managing staffing and training, and optimizing costs through disciplined inventory management and waste reduction. The manager ensures all kitchen audits and safety inspections are up-to-date and that the back-of-house remains aligned with front-of-house operations for a seamless guest experience.

Fresh Kitchen values leadership that combines high standards with empathy and accountability—coaching team members proactively, maintaining a calm presence during high-pressure situations, and creating repeatable systems for operational excellence. The ideal candidate is an experienced culinary manager or chef with a proven track record in high-volume, food-focused restaurants who is passionate about food, people, and building successful teams. This is a career-growth opportunity offering a competitive salary range from $65,000 to $75,000, plus an 8-12% profit-sharing bonus and comprehensive benefits in a values-driven, supportive workplace environment.