MightyRecruiterA kitchen manager is often the head chef of a kitchen, so many job postings read something like, “Kitchen Manager/Chef” at the top. In any case, the posting should clarify if you want a manager who also works as a chef or if you want someone to focus 100 percent on managing. Along these lines, some kitchen managers also manage the restaurant as a whole. Kitchen-specific managers tend to train and develop kitchen staff, coordinate kitchen activities and cook.
Your kitchen manager job description should specify how much, if any, chef experience is necessary and detail specialties, such as a background in Mexican cuisine, for example. You may want experience with certain cooking techniques as well. Managerial experience is often required.
Soft skills for kitchen managers tend to include communication, collaboration, improvisation and reliability. Going over the kitchen manager job description below should lend you some insight.
Kitchen Manager Job Summary
Hola! If you’re an expert at managing and at whipping up mouth-watering Mexican cuisine, we want to hear from you. Since many of our restaurant’s employees and customers speak Spanish, we need someone who is bilingual. Your life here will be fast-paced, even stressful, but the great co-workers and supportive atmosphere are hard to beat. As kitchen manager, you function as head chef and kitchen supervisor. Inventory, hiring, training and cooking methods are all areas under your purview. We’re keeping the hours for this position flexible, so let us know what works best for you. We do ask for a general five-days-a-week, eight-hours-per-day schedule.
Job Responsibilities
- Develop recipes for Mexican appetizers, desserts and main dishes such as tacos, quesadillas, burritos, rice, carnitas and guacamole, train staff on how to cook them and hold ongoing evaluations of staff’s cooking quality and adherence
- Create guidelines for portion sizes, food presentation and food preparation, and work with designer and photographer to develop new print and online menus
- Monitor inventory and food levels, ordering replacement items when necessary
- Oversee kitchen staff of 10-15, resolving conflicts among staff and setting staff schedules and doing hiring, training and, if necessary, firing
- Perform head chef duties about half of the time during your hours, although this ratio is flexible
- Work with customers to resolve complaints about food quality or other food-related issues
- Ensure that all managerial moves are on track with budgetary demands and limitations
- Manage time and staff schedules so that labor and resources are allocated wisely during peak times and slow times
Job Skills & Qualifications
Reqiured:
- At least two years of experience in cooking Mexican cuisine
- One year of experience as a head or assistant chef
- Proficiency in English and Spanish
- Creative, patient, good communicator and quick thinker
Preferred:
- ServSafe certification
- Management experience
Kitchen Manager Job Responsibilities
The goal of your kitchen manager job description is to find the most qualified applicant. To do this, you must write the kitchen manager job responsibilities section carefully. This is the meatiest section of the description because it explains the day-to-day duties of the position. It gives details about responsibilities and essential job tasks to paint a nice picture of what to expect when working as a kitchen manager. It must be informative and exact.
To ensure your point gets across clearly, use specific language and plenty of details. Create this section of the kitchen manager job description in a list format. Only include 6-8 items, though, so as not to overwhelm jobseekers. Keep it focused on the most important aspects of the job. A well-written list communicates clearly the expectations for this position so you only get applicants prepared to do the job right.
Here’s an example of this section:
- Maintain, manage and order inventory
- Interview, hire and train staff members
- Create work schedules and oversee scheduling conflicts and issues
- Assist with menu changes and the creation of policies and procedures
- Handle personnel issues, including firing staff if needed
- Act as the face of the kitchen, answering questions from customers
Kitchen Manager Job Specifications
To find the right candidate to fill your open kitchen manager position, you need to ensure applicants have the right qualifications. This is where the job qualifications and skills section of your kitchen manager job description comes into play. This section must detail the skills, education, training and experience an applicant needs to have. It should provide kitchen manager job specifications to allow a jobseeker to easily know if he or she fits your needs.
As you work on this section, draw attention to the most important qualifications first. Also, distinguish between preferred and required items. Try to give exact information, such as degree names and exact numbers for experience requirements. If the list is long, you can break it up into preferred and required lists. Have your current kitchen manager or the head chef review the list to ensure you included all the important qualifications.
The following is an example of the qualification and skills section you might include in your kitchen manager job description:
- Excellent customer service skills
- 5 years of experience working in a kitchen environment
- 3 years of experience supervising employees in a food service setting
- Solid attention to detail
- Knowledge of food safety guidelines
- Exceptional management skills
