Kitchen Manager

Role summary

The Kitchen Manager oversees the daily kitchen operation, ensuring meals are prepared and served to the required quality, safety, and health standards. This role also involves leading kitchen staff, keeping records accurate, and making sure all food service processes follow company, district, and regulatory requirements.

About the employer

Opaa! Food Management, Inc. operates across 8 Midwestern states. Pay varies by state and position, and salary details will be discussed with a Hiring Manager during the hiring process.

Core responsibilities

• Keep a close watch on food handling and meal preparation so that quality, presentation, and sanitation expectations are consistently met.
• Address customer complaints related to food quality or service and work to resolve them promptly.
• Arrange the preparation and daily delivery of meals to satellite buildings when that is part of the site setup.
• Lead daily safety and production check-ins with kitchen staff.
• Model and reinforce the organization’s core values, and escalate concerns to the DNS immediately.
• Direct kitchen personnel across all production areas, assign work, and notify DNS right away of any staff-related issues.
• Train team members across kitchen stations, cross-train them as needed, certify job stations, and remain ready to cover any kitchen task.
• Keep the kitchen and storage spaces clean, orderly, and well maintained.
• Ensure recipes and menu plans are followed exactly, and secure DNS approval at least 24 hours before any menu change.
• Follow the company timekeeping policy carefully and report discrepancies without delay.
• Record hours worked properly in ADP or submit an edit sheet for any missed time entries.
• Comply with all HACCP processes and procedures.
• Follow HHFKA and CACFP meal pattern requirements.
• Adhere to all company safety procedures as well as worker, health, state, and local health department regulations, and report hazards or incidents on time.
• Place and submit food and supply orders through Boss.
• Complete daily production records accurately for each student grade group.
• Take inventory of commercial and commodity items, enter counts into Boss, and maintain FIFO storage practices.
• Check incoming product carefully, note any invoice discrepancies on receiving documents, and ensure invoices are approved the same day they are received.
• Enter participation counts into Boss every day.
• Complete all required logs accurately and on time.
• Count trays daily and reconcile them against the district report so all meals remain reimbursable.
• Maintain regular communication with the building principal and hold a weekly update meeting.
• Conduct Daily Dish meetings and use the production board to organize and monitor service flow.
• Attend and actively contribute to weekly Kitchen Manager meetings with DNS.
• Handle any additional duties assigned by Opaa! Food Management.

Working environment and physical demands

• The role may involve both indoor and outdoor work.
• The employee may frequently work near moving mechanical parts and in wet, humid, or very hot conditions.
• Occasional exposure to toxic or caustic chemicals and very cold conditions may occur.
• The workplace is usually loud.
• Typical duties require standing, walking, sitting, squatting, climbing, balancing, kneeling, crawling, pushing, pulling, grasping, reaching, and using the hands and arms.
• The job may require exerting more than 60 pounds of force occasionally and frequently moving objects up to 25 pounds by lifting, carrying, pushing, or pulling.
• Required visual capabilities include sustained attention, depth perception, the ability to focus sharply, and color vision.

Qualifications

A High School Diploma, GED, or relevant experience is required. Candidates should be able to read and understand simple instructions, short messages, and memos, write simple correspondence, and communicate information clearly to individuals or small groups. The role also calls for basic arithmetic, percent/rate/ratio calculations, and the ability to interpret bar graphs. Reasoning ability should include applying common sense to written or spoken instructions and solving routine problems in standardized situations.

Tools, systems, and equipment

This role may use dishwashers, steamers/kettles, mixers, ovens, stoves, fryers, slicers, thermometers, gauges, knives, box cutters, meal-counting software, desktop computers, calculators, telephones, fax machines, scanners, copiers, and printers.

Certification

A ServSafe certification is required. Additional credentials may depend on the state.

Equal opportunity statement

Opaa! is committed to a diverse workplace and is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified candidates are considered without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.