Vice President of Culinary, Business Dining

Job Summary:

The VP of Culinary, Managed Services is a senior culinary executive responsible for shaping and elevating the culinary vision across all Managed Services accounts, including corporate dining, executive dining, conference centers, and workplace programs. Reporting to the SVP Culinary, this leader drives menu innovation, culinary standards, brand consistency, and operational excellence tailored to the managed services environment. This role supports nearly 200 accounts (80% of accounts are on the East Coast) and leads a team of 6 Supervising/Regional Chefs and 200 total associates. Candidates must be based in/commutable to New York City. 

Key Responsibilities:

Culinary Vision & Innovation

• Lead development and evolution of culinary direction and menu strategy tailored to corporate and managed services environments
• Identify workplace dining trends and translate them into scalable, client‑centric, profitable offerings
• Drive innovation cycles from ideation to implementation across diverse corporate accounts

Operational Excellence & Standards

• Establish and maintain culinary execution standards and quality assurance protocols
• Ensure best‑in‑class hospitality, food quality, safety, and presentation
• Lead culinary audits and continuous improvement feedback loops
• Oversee waste reporting processes, partnering with operations and analytics to reduce food waste through thoughtful menu engineering, portioning, and sustainability-forward practices
• Ensure accurate and compliant food labeling and nutritional transparency across all restaurants, including alignment with Webtrition and other corporate systems

Financial Leadership

• Optimize food cost, menu mix, and labor models aligned to client budgets and service level agreements
• Partner on purchasing, contracting, sustainability, and responsible sourcing initiatives

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Work cohesively with all Managed Services leadership teams to achieve financial and operational goals
• Partner with operations, marketing, design, wellness, and finance
• Support new account openings, workplace redesigns, and client experience initiatives

New Business Development

• Lead culinary strategy for all new business opportunities, including tastings and presentations
• Partner with Sales, Marketing, and Operations to develop compelling, brand-aligned culinary materials
• Oversee tasting menus, presentation content, and cross-functional coordination for RFPs and client-facing events
• Ensure tastings and presentations highlight menu innovation, scalability, sustainability, and value

 People Leadership

• Lead reporting Supervising & Regional Chefs, holding them accountable to all department key initiatives
• Recruit, mentor, and lead corporate and field culinary teams
• Build a culture of creativity, accountability, and continuous learning

Qualifications:

• Culinary degree required; bachelor’s degree preferred
• 7+ years of culinary management experience, ideally within corporate dining or managed services environments
• Project management skills and ability to execute complex initiatives
• Ability to generate revenue by driving top line initiatives and managing middle‑ and bottom‑line levers
• Experience leading R&D teams or menu innovation processes – a plus
• Success in contract food service and workplace dining across diverse market segments
• Experience with sustainability practices, waste reduction strategies, and nutritional/labeling systems