Culinary Director

We have this listed position as a 'Chef De Cuisine' or a 'culinary director' role on Culinary agents because they don't offer flexible titles, but we are looking for someone who would be excited creating and iterating exceptional, 'hero' food that is clean, craveable and accessible while leading culinary development and operations. Read the job description below carefully and please send us a note if you are interested
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Senior Restaurant and Culinary Operations Lead

Firenze Italian Street Food | Chicago | Full-Time

Firenze is a growing restaurant company built around a simple belief:
great food, done consistently, with the right execution behind it, can scale without losing its soul.

We're hiring a Senior Restaurant and Culinary Operations Lead — a hands-on, execution-first operator who lives in kitchens, iterates constantly, and helps define what the Firenze food and experience truly are as we grow.

The core mandate of this role is simple: live inside our kitchens, iterate relentlessly, and help us discover and lock the food and execution standards that define Firenze before we scale.

This role is deeply embedded in real service and real food development. You'll work closely with our leadership to improve, optimize, and build new food items, translate ideas into reality, and help turn what works into standards that last — while also contributing meaningfully to how Firenze shows up through brand, social, and content.

This role is measured by speed to clarity, not volume of ideas.

This is not a consulting role and not a remote strategy seat.
It's for someone who loves being close to the work and shaping a concept through execution.

What You'll Own

Food Development & Daily Iteration (Core of the Role)

• Own day-to-day culinary execution in partnership with the Head of Operations
• Consistently improve and optimize existing menu items for taste, texture, speed, yield, and consistency
• Develop, test, and refine new food items across breakfast, lunch, and dinner
• Identify what breaks under pressure and fix it before rollout
• Ensure food improves week over week, not just during launches

Menu Development & R&D Translation

• Work hands-on alongside consultant chefs and internal stakeholders to develop new dishes
• Pressure-test items for volume, labor, holding, and execution risk
• Translate R&D into clear recipes, specs, prep methods, and training materials
• Ensure nothing launches without surviving real service first
• Help determine which items scale — and which should never leave test mode
• Help source and evaluate new suppliers or ingredients when it improves food quality or execution

Other Secondary work will include:
(The responsibilities below support the core mandate but are not how success in this role is primarily evaluated)

Buildouts & New Store Support

• Support new store buildouts with a strong operator's lens
• Pressure-test kitchen layout, flow, and equipment decisions
• Help prevent expensive mistakes before they're locked in and support opening readiness and early service stabilization

Brand, Marketing & Content Collaboration

(This role contributes meaningfully to brand and content but does not own posting cadence, paid media, or channel management)

• Bring a food-first, operator's POV to brand, marketing, and content
• Assist with content ideation, food presentation, and storytelling for social media
• Ensure what we promote matches what guests actually experience, with a focus on authentic, execution-backed content.

Execution, Flow & Operational Partnerships

• Teach by doing — raising standards through presence, repetition, and example
• Partner closely with the Head of Operations to translate food and execution standards into day-to-day operations
• Support launches, buildouts, and other new priority initiatives specifically where food quality, durability, or execution are at risk
• Provide operational inputs that improve execution, including recipe yields, unit conversions, prep data, and food costing
• Surface gaps between theoretical food cost and real kitchen behavior, helping design food and flow so labor becomes easier, not harder

What Success Looks Like

• Food gets better every week — not just seasonally
• New dishes survive real service before becoming standards
• Existing menu items are continually refined and optimized
• Fewer surprises during busy service
• Clear translation from idea → execution → training
• Firenze's brand and content feel authentic, food-led, and earned

Who This Role Is For

• 8–12+ years in restaurants, kitchens, or multi-unit operations
• Deep BOH experience with strong food instincts
• Proven ability to develop, test, and refine food in live environments
• Comfortable collaborating with marketing and brand teams
• Loves being close to the work — not managing from afar
• Low ego, high standards, calm under pressure
• Proud of execution more than titles
• Excited to help shape a concept before it scales

This role is ideal for someone who prefers impact over optics, craft over decks, and presence over abstraction.

The Details

• Full-time, W-2 role
• Salary range: $85,000 – $110,000, commensurate with experience
• Chicago-based, with regular time in kitchens and stores
• High-integrity, hard-working, low-politics culture
• Significant influence on food, execution, and brand authenticity
• Must have a vehicle to drive for business as needed