Culinary Manager for

ABOUT MAMAHUHU

Mamahuhu is a San Francisco–based restaurant company founded by Anmao Sun, Ben Moore, and Brandon Jew — the James Beard Award–winning chef and owner of the Michelin-star Chinese-American restaurant Mister Jiu's.

We're built around the idea that food brings people, communities, and cultures together through the joy of shared tradition. Our food centers around creative twists on Chinese-American classics with thoughtfully sourced ingredients.

We launched our first fast-casual restaurant in the Inner Richmond in 2020. Since then, we've expanded to several Bay Area locations from the Peninsula up to Marin County.

If you're a passionate culinary leader who loves Chinese-American food and wants to help build a category-changing brand: we'd love to chat

We are seeking a highly skilled and collaborative Culinary Director to lead Mamahuhu's culinary vision across all restaurants. This role is responsible for maintaining culinary excellence in all facets of our operation, including key aspects such as quality assurance, food safety and sanitation programs, kitchen leadership development, management of kitchen operational systems and driving product consistency across all locations.

You will work closely with ownership, Operations, Training, and GMs to ensure our food remains delicious, consistent, and reflective of Mamahuhu's mission and values.

This is a full-time role based in the San Francisco Bay Area. We offer a supportive culture, strong cross-department partnership, and an opportunity to shape the future of a growing brand.

Quality Assurance

• Maintain Quality & Consistency Across all Locations

Conduct regular in-store visits to evaluate food quality, recipe adherence, prep execution, speed, portioning, and consistency. Efficiently troubleshoot issues that arise and devise/implement systems to address core issues.

Operations Support

• Work Inside the Restaurants to Support Operations

Support line service, production, and peak operations as needed to uphold food quality and safety. Spend time in our kitchens, side-by-side with our team, to support service, manage systems and develop talent as needed.

Training & Leadership Development

• Train & Develop Kitchen Leaders

Provide hands-on coaching for Kitchen Team Leads and GMs to ensure consistent execution of recipes, techniques, stations, and standards.

• Build Kitchen Training Programs & Tools

Create and maintain training materials using Mamahuhu's training tools and software. Take a multi-media and multi-tool approach to training systems that best support learning and development. Includes elements such as training modules, recipe videos, SOPs, station guides, prep systems, etc.

Food Safety, Sanitation & Compliance

• Develop and Lead Cleanliness & Safety Programs

Establish, implement, and maintain sanitation, cleanliness, and food-safety systems that meet or exceed state and local regulations.

• Ensure All Locations Maintain Passing Health Scores

Partner with GMs to prepare for inspections and monitor ongoing compliance.

Menu Rollouts & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Oversee Rollout of All New Menu Items and Recipe Updates

Manage timelines, communication, training, and operational readiness for all new food and beverage items.

• Partner with Operations, Training & Marketing

Collaborate cross-functionally to ensure new initiatives are aligned, communicated clearly, and executed consistently across all restaurants.

• Support New Store Openings

Assist with hiring, onboarding, training, kitchen setup, recipe consistency, and operational execution for all new Mamahuhu locations.

• Located in the San Francisco Bay Area
• 3–5+ years culinary leadership experience (multi-unit experience strongly preferred)
• Strong background in fast-casual, full-service, or high-volume kitchens
• Demonstrated ability to build, train, and develop kitchen teams
• Comfortable working a flexible schedule, including mornings, evenings, weekends, and holidays
• Strong understanding of food costing, menu engineering, and kitchen financial management
• Expertise in food-safety regulations and sanitation systems
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to work across diverse teams
• California Food Manager Certification required (or obtained upon hire)

WHO YOU ARE

You're a culinary leader who loves great food and understands what it takes to scale quality across multiple locations. You are:

• Passionate about food — especially Chinese-American cuisine and cultural storytelling through food
• A strong trainer and coach who elevates others through clarity, consistency, and hands-on leadership
• Quality-driven with a deep commitment to recipe accuracy, consistency, and excellence
• Calm under pressure, able to guide teams through busy shifts and high-volume environments
• Collaborative and thrives in a cross-functional, "we over me" culture
• Organized & detail-oriented, with strong systems thinking and follow-through
• Curious, always learning, exploring trends, and pushing culinary creativity
• Accountable & reliable, setting high standards for yourself and the teams you lead

LOCATION

This is a full-time position located in the San Francisco Bay Area. You should be able to commute to multiple Mamahuhu locations and attend on-site development sessions, tastings, and training meetings.

SCHEDULE

This role will require a flexible schedule and time spent across multiple restaurants weekly. Hours will vary based on operational needs, menu development cycles, and new restaurant openings.

SALARY & BENEFITS

The starting salary for this role is $100,000 annually. Mamahuhu also offers a competitive benefits package, including:

• Medical insurance with 75% of the premium covered by the company
• Annual wellness stipend
• Three weeks of paid time off (PTO)
• Eligibility for our quarterly bonus program