Director of Culinary
Apply NowCompany: Chipotle Mexican Grill
Location: Irving, TX 75061
Description:
About Us
On The Border is the most iconic and one of the largest Tex-Mex restaurant chains in the United States, known for its vibrant atmosphere and authentic Tex-Mex cuisine. As we continue to innovate and grow, we are seeking a creative and passionate Director of Culinary to join our team. This role will be pivotal in shaping our culinary offerings and driving our brand's culinary innovation to new heights. If you have a passion for culinary excellence, a knack for creative menu development, and thrive in a dynamic environment, we invite you to be a key player in driving the success of our brand.
Position Overview
Reporting to the Chief Marketing Officer, the Director of Culinary will collaborate with key stakeholders to proactively create and deliver new and innovative food options for the On The Border brand. The Director of Culinary is responsible for the development and implementation of projects related to the brand's food development, providing hands-on support for product evaluation, recipe development, and operations training on new or modified recipes. Additionally, this role supports marketing and media promotions, ensuring our culinary offerings consistently exceed guest expectations.
Key Performance Elements/Essential Functions
Qualifications
Education
Culinary Degree or commensurate experience and/ or training
5+ years of menu category development and operations experience, demonstrating a record of progressively increasing responsibility
Basic knowledge of food production and processing at plant level; thorough knowledge of food safety standards, HAACP, and Serve Safe Certification; basic culinary knowledge related to equipment and technical skills.
Experience:
Ability to think outside the box and translate that idea into an executable product
Theoretical understanding and practical application of culinary principles
Knowledge of food identification and quality standards
Demonstrated understanding of Mexican and Border Cuisine and chain restaurant concepts
The ability to accept constructive feedback on a dish without taking it personally is essential to moving big ideas forward to success.
Demonstrated understanding of food manufacturing
Spiced Up Compensation, Benefits, & Rewards
As member of the Restaurant Support Center Team, you'll enjoy an extensive array of Benefits, Rewards and Growth Opportunities designed specifically for you, including:
Join us in our journey to bring the best Tex-Mex cuisine to our guests and contribute to the success of On The Border as our Director of Culinary.
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer by both policy and practice and subscribe to Federal and State Laws which forbid discrimination because of race, religion, color, age, sex, gender, national origin, disability, and actual or perceived sexual preference or orientation. Employment at On The Border is at-will, and therefore, can be terminated, with or without cause, at any time, at the option of the employee or of the company. Your signature does not modify this at-will agreement.
On The Border is the most iconic and one of the largest Tex-Mex restaurant chains in the United States, known for its vibrant atmosphere and authentic Tex-Mex cuisine. As we continue to innovate and grow, we are seeking a creative and passionate Director of Culinary to join our team. This role will be pivotal in shaping our culinary offerings and driving our brand's culinary innovation to new heights. If you have a passion for culinary excellence, a knack for creative menu development, and thrive in a dynamic environment, we invite you to be a key player in driving the success of our brand.
Position Overview
Reporting to the Chief Marketing Officer, the Director of Culinary will collaborate with key stakeholders to proactively create and deliver new and innovative food options for the On The Border brand. The Director of Culinary is responsible for the development and implementation of projects related to the brand's food development, providing hands-on support for product evaluation, recipe development, and operations training on new or modified recipes. Additionally, this role supports marketing and media promotions, ensuring our culinary offerings consistently exceed guest expectations.
Key Performance Elements/Essential Functions
- Leverage consumer, marketplace and internal data to produce menu offerings that support the brand's short-term and long-term innovation strategy
- Establish continuous "best in class" food prototypes delivering front end menu pipeline fillers
- Ensure new food items balance business priorities (i.e. quality, guest appeal, margin versus value financials, choice)
- Initiate development of multiple prototypes that deliver on concept or strategy: menu description, operational feasibility, and financial realities.
- Maintain and update complete library of recipes, ingredients, specifications and procedure manuals, including regional/ seasonal items. Provide and ensures accurate collation of information towards ingredient, recipe and finished product costing
- Lead execution of culinary and consumer testing to validate prototype delivery and performance on key attributes
- Leads the development of new product concepts from concept through implementation in test environments
- Work in collaboration with cross-functional and external experts in support of the brand's innovation strategy
- Participate in the training and development of brand team members in the foundation of culinary excellence and technique
- Setting up and executing trials based on scientific method and sensory evaluation criteria.
- Support and manage projects as requested from Training, Marketing, and Operations departments to generate Training and Implementation guides, prep-sheets, HACCP guidelines, food cost and theoretical analysis, Quality Assurance follow-ups, and testing programs
- Creates recipes for core and LTO entrees
- Partner with operations and training to seek feedback and ensure a seamless hand off from R&D to roll out
- Partner with Supply Chain team to refine product or specifications to deliver and execute quality product consistently.
- Participate in team meetings, product tastings, and presentations
Qualifications
Education
Culinary Degree or commensurate experience and/ or training
5+ years of menu category development and operations experience, demonstrating a record of progressively increasing responsibility
Basic knowledge of food production and processing at plant level; thorough knowledge of food safety standards, HAACP, and Serve Safe Certification; basic culinary knowledge related to equipment and technical skills.
Experience:
Ability to think outside the box and translate that idea into an executable product
Theoretical understanding and practical application of culinary principles
Knowledge of food identification and quality standards
Demonstrated understanding of Mexican and Border Cuisine and chain restaurant concepts
The ability to accept constructive feedback on a dish without taking it personally is essential to moving big ideas forward to success.
Demonstrated understanding of food manufacturing
Spiced Up Compensation, Benefits, & Rewards
As member of the Restaurant Support Center Team, you'll enjoy an extensive array of Benefits, Rewards and Growth Opportunities designed specifically for you, including:
- Highly competitive salary positioned at the top 25% of the industry
- Medical, Dental, Vision and Life Insurance including domestic partner benefits
- Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)
- Annual Bonus
- Market Leading 401(k) Savings Plans with company match
- Paid Vacation
- 100% Paid Maternity Leave
- 100% Paid Paternity Leave
Join us in our journey to bring the best Tex-Mex cuisine to our guests and contribute to the success of On The Border as our Director of Culinary.
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer by both policy and practice and subscribe to Federal and State Laws which forbid discrimination because of race, religion, color, age, sex, gender, national origin, disability, and actual or perceived sexual preference or orientation. Employment at On The Border is at-will, and therefore, can be terminated, with or without cause, at any time, at the option of the employee or of the company. Your signature does not modify this at-will agreement.