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C
Confidential
Kitchen Manager
Career Insights for Restaurant / Food Service Manager
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Scorecard
Based on Virginia data
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What they do
A Restaurant or Food Service Manager oversees daily operations at a restaurant or an institution that serves meals such as a college or hospital. Hires, trains and supervises food service workers, manages meal and work schedules, supervises supply orders, food preparation and the quality of food and service, and monitors compliance with health regulations.
$59,536 / year median in Virginia
+8% projected growth
Job Description
Position Summary The Kitchen Manager owns everything that happens in the back of house: food quality, food cost, labor, sanitation, and the people who make it all run. This is a hands-on leadership role in a scratch kitchen that features a diverse menu. The Kitchen Manager is a full member of the management team and is accountable for hitting financial targets, not just running shifts. Core Responsibilities Food Cost & Financial Management Maintain complete, current food costing on every menu item; provide updated cost analyses to ownership when ingredient prices shift and recommend menu price adjustments Manage food cost to target through disciplined purchasing, portioning, and prep Contribute to the restaurant's overall prime cost goal through disciplined purchasing and labor control Plan and execute weekly ordering against budget by category Track and minimize waste with documented reasons for all recorded waste Inventory & Purchasing Conduct weekly inventory counts (beginning/ending) for food, non-food, and bar non-food categories Maintain the actual vs. theoretical inventory system and investigate discrepancies Manage vendor relationships; document and resolve vendor/supply issues Labor & Scheduling Build BOH schedules that match projected volume; adjust staffing immediately when volume drops to protect labor cost Staff major events to standard Track BOH labor cost against target and scheduling accuracy Team Leadership & Training Train the kitchen team on new menu items and recipes before launch Cross-train staff across stations and document training needs by individual Complete quarterly performance evaluations for all BOH staff on the company evaluation schedule Address staff performance issues promptly and document them Food Safety & Facility Maintain health department readiness at all times; own inspection outcomes Enforce daily cleaning checklists and weekly deep cleaning schedules Ensure food temperature compliance and proper storage/labeling practices Monitor equipment condition, schedule preventive maintenance, and minimize downtime Menu & Culinary Execute the full menu to spec with consistent quality, presentation, and ticket times Develop and cost new menu items and specials; input new recipes into the POS/recipe system Support special culinary programming Report on menu items performing well or poorly and recommend changes Qualifications 5+ years kitchen management experience in a full-service restaurant Demonstrated ability to manage food cost, complete plate costing, and run inventory systems Experience scheduling and managing a BOH team ServSafe Manager certification Open availability Physical Requirements Stand and walk for extended periods Lift and carry heavy items regularly Work in hot, fast-paced kitchen conditions Safely operate commercial kitchen equipment