Culinary Director

Culinary Director | Growing Contemporary Chinese Concept | CT + NY Suburbs

Confidential search | $120,000–$140,000 + performance bonus

We’re representing a growing contemporary Chinese restaurant group building a second location and looking for a hands-on Culinary Director to own kitchen execution, systems, and team development across both sites.

This is not a single-unit chef title with a new name. The work is multi-unit from day one: protect consistency at the flagship, stand up the second kitchen, and build the SOPs, training, and cost discipline that let the brand scale without losing the food.

The concept

Modern pan-Chinese cooking — Cantonese, Sichuan, and Chinese-American — shareable plates, high volume, and a guest experience that has to look and taste the same on both sides of the state line. One location is open and busy. The second is in opening mode. You will live in both kitchens.

What you’ll own

• All BOH operations across two locations in Fairfield County, CT and Westchester County, NY
• Food quality, presentation, and plate consistency
• Menu execution, recipe standardization, plating standards, and seasonal development
• Scalable kitchen SOPs: prep systems, pars, inventory, and ordering guides
• Recruiting, training, and mentoring sous chefs, kitchen managers, and line cooks
• BOH onboarding and a simple leadership path for kitchen managers
• Food cost, labor, vendor relationships, and kitchen profitability
• Weekly P&L and BOH metric reviews with ownership
• Culinary systems and training for the second-unit opening

What they’re looking for

• 3+ years as Executive Chef, Culinary Director, or multi-unit kitchen leader
• Proven work across more than one restaurant, not just a strong single kitchen
• Real systems, training, and SOP experience — not “we cook it the way I cook it”
• Comfort with food cost, labor, and kitchen P&Ls
• Ability to work on-site across both CT and NY locations
• Preferred: 2+ years in Chinese cuisine; Spanish a plus

The package

$120,000–$140,000 base + performance bonus

PTO and relocation assistance

In-person role. Reports to the Founder / Director of Operations.

If you’ve run multiple kitchens, can write a prep list that actually gets followed, and want to build the culinary backbone of a small, growing Chinese concept rather than inherit a finished machine, send a resume and a short note on the last kitchen you professionalized.

Pay: $120,000.00 - $140,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Employee discount
• Flexible schedule
• Paid orientation
• Paid time off
• Relocation assistance

Work Location: In person