Vice President of Culinary - Remote

Job Summary:

As a working Vice President of Culinary Services, you will ensure the highest level of culinary standards are maintained within the Defense Sector. You will do this by managing culinary leaders and holding them accountable to corporate and sector standards.  This role is responsible for maintaining all assigned sector responsibilities including hiring and training of executive chefs, menu creation, cost reduction, establishing and maintaining culinary standards and more. The role is “physically hands on" in support of all chefs with culinary development, opening support, new and rebid sales, catering events, and standards implementation and adherence for all defense sector accounts.

Beyond culinary leadership, this role requires a deeply rooted hospitality-driven mindset. This position is not solely about feeding large populations, it is about delivering true hospitality through food: care, dignity, consistency, and pride in service. As the leader of culinary operations that nourishes our nation’s Army, this role sets the tone for how food supports morale, readiness, and well-being. A genuine passion for hospitality, service to others, and respect for those being served is essential to leading teams who understand the impact their work has on the lives and mission of our service members.

Key Responsibilities:

• Developing long-term culinary innovation strategy and culinary standards that balance consumer expectations with corporate financial goals
• Serve as the primary culinary subject matter authority within the Defense Sector  
• Communicate, train and educate team members on the latest trends within the industry
• Provide overall mentorship, inspiration, direction & training for all culinary team members 
• Build strategic alliances and partnerships within the organization to collaboratively implement business strategies 
• Maintain ongoing knowledge of Defense Sector key culinary needs and take appropriate actions 
• Develop team members through appropriate training, coaching and mentoring to ensure strong culinary expertise and performance
• Partner with purchasing and supply chain to facilitate ingredient selection, maintenance of managed order guides and supplier optimization
• Support business development process in collaboration with sector specific partners
• Lead design, development and maintenance of standardized recipes for various applications
• Serve as the primary culinary subject matter expert within company and communicate and educate on latest trends within the Defense industry
• Develop long-term culinary strategy that balances consumer expectations with corporate financial goals/budgets
• Maintain strategic accountability for overall menu/product offerings including food cost controls, core recipe standardization, portion standards, inventory management, prep standards, and waste/cost control programs
• Travel is 50% or more
• Perform other duties as assigned

Qualifications:

• ACF certification OR equivalent certification OR Culinary Degree required, Bachelor’s degree preferred
• 10+ years of culinary management experience with at least 3 years multi-location experience across a wide geographical span
• Project management skills - experience with construction and design projects - a plus
• Experienced in leading others/teams
• Ability to generate revenue by building top-line driven initiatives, understanding the importance of middle and bottom-line tactics
• Strong strategic and analytic thinking
• Proven track record in managing and leading an R&D team and/or menu innovation process across multiple units - a plus
• Demonstrated experience across restaurant/casual dining and contract food service environments, with proven success leading large-scale, high-volume culinary operations and driving growth across diverse market segments; experience in mass production and fast-paced settings - strongly desired