Food & Beverage Specialist

Position Overview

Based at our headquarters, this role is the bridge between culinary artistry and operational excellence. You will be responsible for the creation and refinement of our restaurant and café menus, ensuring that every dish meets our signature standards across all locations through meticulous standardization. In addition to menu development, you will collaborate with our engineering team to translate traditional cooking techniques into automated processes and oversee the stewardship of our HQ staff kitchen to ensure seamless, high-quality service.

Key Responsibilities

1. Menu Creation & Culinary Standardization

• Gastronomic Development: Conceptualize and refine new recipes, seasonal offerings, and signature beverages for the company’s diverse portfolio of restaurants and cafés.
• Standardized Recipe Authoring: Translate "chef’s intuition" into precise, repeatable formulas. Develop comprehensive Product Specification manuals and instructional guides to ensure consistency in every kitchen.
• Kitchen Automation Integration: Act as the culinary consultant for our technology team; deconstruct traditional cooking methods into mechanical steps for robotic equipment and refine machine parameters to meet gourmet quality standards.

2. HQ Kitchen Management & Provisioning

• Stewardship & Supply Continuity: Oversee the daily procurement of all food stock, dry goods, and service wares (crockery, packaging, utensils) for the HQ staff dining room and coffee station to ensure uninterrupted service.
• Office Hospitality: Manage the inventory and replenishment of the executive pantry and staff break areas; curate food and beverage offerings for internal meetings and company events.
• Service Quality Control: Supervise the daily operations of the HQ dining facility, ensuring rigorous hygiene standards, impeccable presentation, and a superior dining experience for the team.

3. Sourcing & Cost Control

• Ingredient Sourcing: Identify and cultivate relationships with premium suppliers. Conduct regular quality assessments and price negotiations to ensure the finest ingredients are sourced at the best value.
• Culinary Math: Perform detailed cost-per-plate analysis during the development phase to ensure all menu items meet company food-cost targets and profitability goals.

4. Training & Culinary Apprenticeship

• Technique Training: Lead hands-on training workshops for regional Head Chefs and store managers to ensure the correct execution of new menu items.
• Test Kitchen Trials: Utilize the HQ kitchen as a "Test Kitchen" to debut new creations, gathering feedback and fine-tuning recipes before they are released to the wider market.

5. Others

• Ad-hoc Tasks: Undertake additional responsibilities and temporary assignments as directed by senior management to support specialized projects or operational needs.

Qualifications

• Culinary Pedigree: A degree in Culinary Arts, Gastronomy, or Hospitality Management. 2+ years of experience in menu development or kitchen management for established F&B or specialty coffee brands.
• Meticulous Precision: A passion for standardization; the ability to organize complex cooking processes into clear, professional SOPs.
• Operational Dedication: A strong sense of duty toward kitchen logistics; an expert at inventory management with a "never-out-of-stock" mindset.
• Innovation Mindset: An interest in the future of the industry, with the ability to work alongside engineers to adapt classical techniques to modern technology.
• Communication & Leadership: Exceptional interpersonal skills for supplier negotiation and cross-departmental collaboration.

Job Type: Full-time

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Monday to Friday 9am-5pm
• Some travel required and may involve weekend stays

Work Location:

In person

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Employee discount
• Food provided
• Health insurance
• Paid time off