What you’ll do:
Taste Buds Kitchen is seeking an energetic, hospitality-driven Culinary Training Manager to serve as our brand's national culinary authority and training leader. Based at our Chester, MD headquarters, you will own the end-to-end training journey for incoming franchise owners, lead seasonal recipe testing, and ensure operational culinary excellence across our national studio network.
This premier individual contributor role blends kitchen leadership, adult education, and instructional content creation. You will take new franchise partners and their culinary staff from initial onboarding through comprehensive culinary certification—empowering them to run joyful, safe, and profitable studios.
Key Responsibilities
1. Franchise Culinary Onboarding & Training Programs
- Lead On-Site Cohorts: Facilitate multi-day culinary certification cohorts for new franchise owners and lead instructors at HQ, covering event pacing, kitchen safety, and brand standards.
- Lead Seasonal Training Clinics: Spearhead network-wide prep and operational training clinics for peak revenue drivers—including Summer Camp readiness, holiday Gingerbread House 101, and seasonal class launches.
- Instructional Coaching: Coach non-culinary owners and experienced chefs alike to master our scratch-cooking techniques, kitchen systems, and hospitality-first teaching style.
- Launch Continuity & Readiness: Help establish and lead structured virtual check-ins and kitchen readiness evaluations for newly opening studios; serve as secondary backup for grand openings (0–2 trips/year).
- Cohort Support: Coordinate occasional per diem kitchen assistants for training support, prep and dishwashing during peak training weeks.
2. Recipe Testing, Event Standards & Kitchen Oversight
- Menu Testing & Refinement: Test, scale, and standardize seasonal scratch recipes across youth, family, and adult classes—ensuring ease of execution, allergen adaptability, and profitability.
- Marketing Collaboration: Partner with Marketing to operationalize buzz-worthy seasonal menus and limited-time event packages that drive bookings.
- Brand Standards & Test Kitchen: Maintain our digital recipe and event guides, tray guides, allergen substitutions, and visual event resources. Oversee the corporate Test Kitchen inventory, equipment, and prep logistics.
3. Digital Learning & Brand Ambassadorship
- Video Production: Film instructional recipe videos and setup demonstrations for our digital training library to ensure network consistency.
- LMS & Curriculum Development: Maintain digital training manuals, checklists, and assessments in our operations platform (Operandio). Partner with internal SMEs as needed to format and assemble non-culinary operational modules.
- HQ Workshops: Host occasional signature workshops and corporate Discovery Day events at HQ to test new concepts and connect with prospective owners.
Qualifications & Experience
- 2–4 Years of Experience: Combined background in professional culinary operations, culinary instruction, restaurant training, or hospitality education. Practical industry experience required.
- Kitchen Intuition & Food Passion: High comfort level in commercial or scratch-cooking environments. A formal Culinary Arts degree is welcome, but equivalent boots-on-the-ground kitchen experience and serious culinary instincts are just as valued.
- Recipe Competence: Solid instincts for recipe scaling, timing, seasonal adjustments, and allergen protocols (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, nut-free).
- Facilitation & Stage Presence: Dynamic public speaker with warmth, energy, and the ability to command a room, engage adult learners, and present confidently on camera.
- Procedural Detail: Strong eye for detail when creating SOPs, checklists, and recipe guide sheets; comfortable with digital platforms and LMS tools.
- Certifications: Current ServSafe Manager certification (or ability to obtain prior to hire).
Compensation & Benefits
- Salary: $60,000 – $70,000 annually, commensurate with experience.
- Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision insurance; 401(k) with company match.
- Time Off & Balance: Unlimited paid time off (PTO), paid company holidays, and a collaborative, family-first culture.
- Perks: Free culinary classes and event discounts for friends and family at our HQ Kitchen; ongoing professional development.
Position Details at a Glance
- Work Location & Schedule: Fully on-site at our Corporate HQ & Test Kitchen in Chester, MD. 15–20 minutes east of Annapolis via an easy reverse-commute across the Bay Bridge with free on-site parking. Standard Monday through Friday schedule to support active kitchen operations, ingredient prep, recipe testing, and scheduled training cohorts (with occasional evening/weekend flexibility for Discovery Days or event launches).
- Travel: Minimal (0–2 trips/year) for new studio grand opening backup.
- Hands-On Kitchen Stamina: Comfortable on your feet for extended training cohorts, active recipe testing, and event execution. Requires frequent bending, reaching, and safely lifting or maneuvering kitchen supplies and bulk ingredient boxes weighing up to 50 lbs.
- Reports To: Executive Leadership / Director of Operations.
About Us
Taste Buds Kitchen has taken the country by storm with a refreshingly simple concept. We provide culinary entertainment to kids, families and adults in a fun, beautiful and state-of-the art Kitchen Studio. Kids ages 2 to teen love our hands-on cooking classes, camps, birthday parties and field trips. Adults love our byob date night cooking classes, birthday parties, bachelorettes, showers and corporate events. Our innovative programs are as entertaining as they are educational. We always strive to engage and delight our guests.
Job Opportunities
We have incredible career opportunities in each of our growing Kitchen Studios nationwide, as well as our corporate office. Get involved in an exciting and growing company. We are always looking for dynamic talent to join our fun-loving and hard-working team! Perfect for culinary professionals, passionate foodies, teachers, managers, administrators, marketers and college and high school students alike.