Culinary Lead (East Coast)

What you’ll do:

• Support Production Leadership in overseeing the production process on the kitchen floor, which includes:
• Production execution, Quality Control/Quality Assurance, and time tracking.
• Ensure employees are following GMPs, products are consistently produced and controlled according to policy.
• Maintain working knowledge of current standards and processes with the assistance of  implementation of new and existing SOPs and policies across production teams; ensure processes and policies are adhered to at all times.
• Assist on training, instruction, and support on all kitchen equipment.
• Maintain a positive work environment with encouraging and supportive leadership.
• Communicate with supervisors and managers any concerns regarding staff members' concerns or frustrations.
• Driving and pushing the culinary team for better efficiency and accuracy in meeting targeted goals and deadlines for the shift.
• Organizing the staging area with the correct components and materials via requisitions
• Understanding and communicating which meal SKU the line will be working on and addressing any major allergies, meal specifics, and/or other pertinent information
• Ensure that sanitation buckets, cleaning solutions, and materials are on the line prior to culinary production, and make sure all GMPs are followed.
• Understand the targeted weight volume needed to fulfill meals and anticipate early enough to provide the Kitchen ample time to supplement the short called-out
• Ensure all documentation, Quality Control, and Quality Assurance are conducted, completed, and submitted after the end of the shift.
• Communicating break and lunchtime allotted and expectations of when to return to the kitchen floor or dish pit. Ensuring that all associates returning are on time and are accounted for.
• Updating and utilizing digital tools such as OKRA, Galley, Culinary Production Schedule, and other digital tools needed with accurate weights binned, times on projects, progression of numbers in real-time.
• Submit all Documentation to the Quality Control office daily. Ensure that Meal Components are properly labeled with the correct amount, date, meal code, & Allergy stickers.
• Identify and communicate all shorts, including, but not limited to, bin weights, components, meal count shorts, etc.
• Proper updates and communication are needed on Slack, face to face between all departments, emails and/or other necessary methods, such as the call-out line, phone, meetings, etc.
• Report all broken equipment, broken smallwares, and maintenance repair needs to the Supervisor or the Manager
• Understanding and communicating which meal the team will be working on and address any major allergies, meal specifics and/or other pertinent information
• Properly store all ingredients, separate different allergens from each other and from non-allergens. 
• Assist with the culinary department on cleaning and sanitizing all working areas within the kitchen department. 
• Additional duties that may be assigned

SAFETY & OSHA COMPLIANCE:

• Attend consistent safety meetings once per week, keeping track of policy changes and rollouts
• Support Kitchen  leadership in ensuring OSHA compliance standards are adhered to at all times by staff
• Support Kitchen  leadership with internal QA audit initiatives.
• Respond to Safety hazards and report to Kitchen leadership
• Understanding of how to safely use cleaning agents and disposing them properly. 
• Apply safety procedures and practices when working in the facilities.
• Apply Fire Prevention procedures.
• Apply proper lifting techniques.
• Knowing work area hazards.

What you’ll bring:

• Master in executing food prep production tasks with minimal / no supervision and guidance
• Master in reading and executing recipes accurately
• Highly proficient in executing all four (4) culinary competencies without supervision: Prep, Hotline, blixer, and Staging.
• Strong proficiency in operating all commercial/manufacturing cooking equipment
• Highly proficient in understanding and updating all Culinary Dashboards
• Comprehensive ability to pull and print Kitchen Printouts and recipes from digital sources.
• Ability to properly label, tag, and verify materials accordingly with minimal supervision
• Ability to communicate Culinary needs and challenges to the appropriate stakeholders with minimal supervisor and guidance
• Strong leadership skills in managing associates on the floor to hit throughput targets and efficiency goals in a supportive and encouraging environment.
• Strong communication skills that put compliance first
• Ability to balance empathetic and direct feedback in order to both support and advocate for the team and maintain consistent standards of performance.
• Able to escalate Employee-related concerns and/or issues to the appropriate parties with clear documentation and follow through
• Ability to form effective working relationships with a cross-functional team
• Ability to adhere to company SOPs and implement new initiatives as needed
• High proficiency in knowing different types of allergens
• Master in knife skills, flavor profiles, some nutritional knowledge, and product knowledge. 
• Understanding simple math equations.

Physical Requirements:

• Prolonged periods of standing, bending, and walking throughout the facility
• Ability to consistently life up to 25 pounds, and occasionally lift up to 50 pounds