Head of Culinary Innovation

OVERVIEW

Founders Table Restaurant Group, owner of Chopt Creative Salad Co. and Dos Toros Taqueria, is a market-leader in the fast casual space with 100+ restaurants across the East Coast.

We are crazy about finding the highest quality ingredients, curating diverse flavors, and assembling a talented, passionate team that shares our vision and will help us in our mission to build healthy futures in communities all over.

We are looking for a creative and innovative Culinary Director with a proven track record of success in the QSR / Fast Casual space.

In this role you will be responsible for menu and recipe development for both brands. You will manage the end-to-end development of products including recipes, testing, and post-launch improvements that leverage customer feedback and performance.

You will be responsible for developing craveable, category leading food offerings that drive traffic, guest loyalty and repeat sales.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Product development will need to achieve several criteria across strategic parameters - brand (fit, positioning), strategy (customer needs, daypart strategy, category strategy), financial (price, targeted cost, margin, volume expectations), operational (prep labor, production labor, waste, packaging, etc.
• Develop and conduct systematic R&D tests to evaluate the feasibility, scalability, and commercial viability of new culinary concepts, products, and equipment.
• Drive consistent execution of culinary standards through routine quality control processes and tastings. Partner with the Training team to ensure compliance with culinary standards in our restaurants.
• Partner with the Training team on the development of standardized recipes and food related training materials. Collaborate on field cascade training for all new product and menu implementations.

Partner with the Procurement and Supply team to drive and improve the quality of our products and identify the best vendors to meet our business objectives.

Ensure that products are successfully manufactured meeting our safety and quality standards. Review and approve new ingredients and any substitute ingredients

• Partner with the Marketing team on product positioning, naming, photography, menu collaborations, consumer research and events
• As the culinary subject matter expert, you will stay ahead of culinary trends and foster an environment that inspires innovation and consistent execution

QUALIFICATIONS

• BA, Culinary Arts and or BS / MS Food (or equivalent experience)
• 7 plus years’ experience in a multi unit restaurant environment
• Must be passionate about product innovation. Bring a valuable perspective from prior experience
• Attention to detail with a strategic, big picture mindset
• Strong Communication and Cross-Functional Collaboration Skills : Teamwork and communication are highly valued here
• Strong financial & operations mindset
• Well organized, detail-oriented, and able to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Ability to deal with ambiguity and quickly changing priorities in a tight target timeframe in a fast- moving environment

Culture - We have an AMAZING Culture! Our four core values lead and guide our behavior in the following ways :

• Be Generous We incorporate the spirit of generosity into everything we do
• Innovate We embrace change and look for new and better ways to execute and deliver
• Serve with Urgency We pay attention and enthusiastically take action when needed
• Better tastes Better We hold ourselves to high standards and strive to continuously up our game in our food and actions

OTHER PERKS

• Generous paid time off (PTO) in addition to the 12 bank holidays!
• Healthcare, including vision and dental
• Fully paid Maternity Leave
• 3 Weeks of Paid Bonding Time for fathers and adoptive parents
• Pre-tax Flexible Spending, Commuter and Dependent Care benefits
• Corporate wellness plan with ClassPass
• 100% company-paid Short Term and Long Term Disability
• Accident and Critical Illness coverage
• Pet Insurance
• Subsidized identity theft coverage
• An engaging and supportive environment

Here at Founders Table (CHOPT and Dos Toros), we strongly encourage people of color, LGBTQA+, non-binary people, veterans, parents, and differently-abled individuals to apply.

We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome everyone to our team.