POSITION DESCRIPTION JOB TITLE: Director of Culinary Operations
DEPARTMENT: The Grill
DEPT CODE: 0777
REPORTS TO: Executive Pastor of Ministries
STATUS: Exempt
HOURS: Full-time (40+)
TUITION: Taxable
LOCATION: FTL | 2401 W Cypress Creek Rd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309 At Calvary Chapel, we are called to make disciples of Jesus Christ by connecting people to God, people to people, and people to outreach. Our vision is to reach our community and change our world. As a staff member, it's not what we do, it's who we are. Your passion: The Director of Culinary Operations provides strategic leadership, operational oversight, and financial accountability for all culinary operations at Calvary Chapel, including The Grill restaurant, high-volume catering, cafeteria food service, Hub food production, and collaboration with Generous Cafés across Calvary campuses. This position is responsible for driving culinary excellence, operational efficiency, financial performance, and revenue growth while building and developing a high-performing culinary team. The Director of Culinary Operations will establish systems, processes, and standards that improve food quality, guest satisfaction, cost management, inventory control, and overall profitability. Through innovative menu development, disciplined financial stewardship, and effective leadership, this role will identify opportunities to increase revenue, reduce expenses, and maximize the effectiveness of Calvary's food service operations. Serving as a senior culinary leader, the Director partners with executive leadership and operational management to ensure that culinary operations are both financially sustainable and aligned with the mission and values of Calvary Chapel. You are: - Convinced a relationship with Jesus changes everything in a person's life.
- Committed to keeping your family as your first ministry.
- Dedicated in your personal study of God's Word.
- Consistently placing a high priority on worship and your personal prayer life.
- An excellent and generous steward of your personal finances.
- Obedient to God to take a Sabbath and make space for soul-keeping.
- Deeply compassionate towards people who are in need or hurting.
- Excited about global missions and local outreach — you want to change the world.
- A part of a healthy friendship community and accountability circle.
- Willing to give up personal pleasures and freedoms in order to live a life above reproach and that is aligned with our Leadership Covenant.
You will: Strategic Culinary Leadership & Operational Excellence - Provide leadership and oversight for all culinary operations, including The Grill restaurant, catering, cafeteria, Hub food production, and collaborative campus food service initiatives.
- Develop and implement operational strategies that improve efficiency, consistency, service quality, and financial performance.
- Establish and maintain culinary standards, standardized recipes, production procedures, and portion controls across all operations.
- Evaluate existing systems and implement improvements that streamline workflows, reduce inefficiencies, and maximize productivity.
- Ensure appropriate staffing models, scheduling practices, and labor utilization across all culinary operations.
- Develop scalable systems that support current operations and future growth.
- Foster a culture of excellence, accountability, teamwork, innovation, and continuous improvement.
Financial Performance & Cost Management - Take ownership of culinary financial performance, with a focus on food costs, labor efficiency, inventory management, and operational profitability.
- Develop and execute strategies to achieve established food cost percentages, labor targets, and departmental budget goals.
- Analyze food purchasing, production costs, waste, and inventory trends to identify measurable cost-saving opportunities.
- Implement effective inventory management systems, purchasing controls, recipe costing, and portion management practices.
- Monitor financial performance through regular reporting, cost analysis, and operational reviews.
- Identify opportunities to improve profit margins without compromising food quality or the guest experience.
- Collaborate with leadership to establish annual budgets, financial targets, and performance improvement initiatives.
- Demonstrate responsible stewardship of Calvary's financial resources through disciplined purchasing, planning, and operational decision-making.
Revenue Growth & Business Development - Partner with operational leadership to develop and execute strategies that increase restaurant, catering, and food service revenue.
- Identify opportunities to expand catering services, increase event bookings, and maximize existing food service capabilities.
- Evaluate menu pricing, product mix, and sales trends to improve revenue and contribution margins.
- Develop new culinary offerings, seasonal promotions, and revenue-generating initiatives.
- Collaborate with leadership on marketing, promotions, and guest engagement strategies that drive increased participation and sales.
- Analyze sales performance and guest feedback to identify opportunities for growth.
- Support the development of sustainable revenue streams while maintaining alignment with Calvary's ministry objectives.
Purchasing, Inventory & Vendor Management - Direct purchasing and inventory management across restaurant, catering, cafeteria, and Hub production operations.
- Establish consistent purchasing procedures and inventory accountability systems.
- Negotiate vendor pricing, contracts, and purchasing opportunities to maximize value.
- Evaluate vendor performance, product quality, and pricing competitiveness.
- Implement inventory tracking, stock rotation, and waste reduction procedures.
- Conduct regular inventory reviews and reconcile purchasing with actual food usage.
- Identify opportunities for consolidated purchasing and shared production efficiencies across campus operations.
Culinary Innovation & Menu Development - Lead menu development and culinary innovation across all food service operations.
- Create and maintain menus that balance exceptional quality, guest satisfaction, operational feasibility, and profitability.
- Establish standardized recipes with accurate ingredient costing, portion specifications, and production procedures.
- Evaluate menu performance using sales data, food costs, profitability, and guest feedback.
- Introduce seasonal offerings, promotional items, and innovative culinary concepts.
- Ensure menu offerings meet the diverse needs of restaurant guests, catering clients, and campus food service customers.
- Continuously evaluate opportunities to improve product quality, presentation, and consistency.
Catering & High-Volume Production - Provide strategic and operational oversight for catering events ranging from small meetings to large-scale campus functions.
- Partner with the catering team to improve menu offerings, production planning, event execution, and profitability.
- Establish efficient production systems that support high-volume catering while maintaining quality and consistency.
- Evaluate catering pricing, labor utilization, food costs, and production processes to maximize financial performance.
- Ensure effective coordination between culinary, catering, and event operations teams.
- Support the growth and expansion of catering opportunities through innovative offerings and reliable execution.
Team Leadership & Development - Lead, mentor, coach, and develop culinary managers, supervisors, and team members.
- Establish clear expectations, performance standards, and accountability throughout culinary operations.
- Identify leadership potential and develop team members for increased responsibility.
- Implement training programs focused on culinary execution, food safety, operational efficiency, cost awareness, and guest service.
- Conduct regular performance evaluations and provide constructive feedback.
- Build a positive, collaborative, mission-driven culture that encourages ownership, excellence, and professional growth.
- Partner with leadership to assess staffing needs, organizational structure, and succession planning.
Campus Collaboration & Operational Integration - Collaborate with Generous Cafés and campus food service leadership to improve consistency, product quality, and operational effectiveness.
- Identify opportunities for shared purchasing, centralized production, and operational efficiencies across campuses.
- Support menu development and culinary initiatives for campus food service locations.
- Partner with ministry and campus leaders to ensure culinary operations effectively support events, programs, and outreach initiatives.
- Establish systems and standards that can be implemented consistently across multiple food service locations.
Quality Assurance, Safety & Compliance - Establish and maintain exceptional standards for food quality, presentation, consistency, sanitation, and safety.
- Ensure compliance with all applicable health department regulations and food safety requirements.
- Conduct regular operational evaluations and quality assurance inspections.
- Develop and enforce food handling, storage, sanitation, and safety procedures.
- Oversee proper maintenance, care, and utilization of kitchen equipment.
- Implement corrective action plans when operational or quality standards are not being met.
- Maintain a safe, clean, organized, and professional culinary environment.
Performance Management & Accountability - Establish measurable key performance indicators (KPIs) that evaluate culinary and operational success.
- Monitor and report on food cost percentages, labor costs, inventory accuracy, waste reduction, revenue growth, and operational efficiency.
- Develop actionable plans to address performance gaps and improve results.
- Provide regular financial and operational updates to leadership.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of implemented strategies and make adjustments based on measurable outcomes.
- Ensure culinary initiatives contribute to the overall financial health, operational excellence, and long-term sustainability of Calvary's food service operations.
You have: - Minimum 7 years of progressive culinary leadership experience, preferably including senior management or multi-unit operational oversight.
- Demonstrated experience leading high-volume restaurant, catering, and institutional food service operations.
- Proven success improving food costs, inventory management, labor efficiency, and overall profitability.
- Experience developing and executing strategies that increase revenue and improve financial performance.
- Strong understanding of budgeting, financial reporting, purchasing, inventory control, and food service profitability.
- Proven ability to develop, lead, and hold culinary teams accountable to established performance standards.
- Experience implementing operational systems, standardized recipes, production procedures, and quality control programs.
- Strong knowledge of menu engineering, recipe costing, pricing strategies, and culinary innovation.
- Experience managing vendor relationships, purchasing agreements, and supply chain efficiencies.
- Comprehensive knowledge of food safety, sanitation regulations, and kitchen operations.
- Excellent organizational, analytical, communication, and leadership skills.
- Ability to balance strategic leadership with hands-on operational involvement when necessary.
- Ability to work flexible hours, including evenings, weekends, and special events as needed.
What you are required to know: - We are an EEO employer.
- You may have to bend, sit or stand for prolonged periods of time, lift, pull, push and/or move up to 35 lbs.
- This is a full-time (40+ hours/week) salary exempt position.
- You may have to work evenings and/or weekends to assist with special events or emergencies.
- As an employee of and an associate minister of the Gospel, Calvary Chapel expects all employees to:
- Participate and lead regular times of prayer, devotion and worship as a regular aspect of your role on staff.
- Teach from the Bible in the appropriate environments inclusive of staff meetings, conferences, camps and/or outreach events.
It would be incredible if: - You love what you do and have fun doing it!
- You have experience overseeing multiple food service concepts or locations.
- You have successfully improved profitability and operational performance in previous culinary leadership roles.
- You enjoy developing leaders and building high-performing teams.
- You are passionate about culinary innovation, hospitality, and exceptional guest experiences.
Work Schedule: Staff culture is important to what we do. To love like family, we require all staff to attend all staff meetings, department meetings and serve with a willing heart especially at all major campus events. Full-time (40+ hours/week)
|