Culinary Specialist

O

Orbital Kitchens

Culinary Specialist

New York, NY
Full Time
Paid
  • Responsibilities

    Position Summary

    The Culinary Excellence Specialist ensures that every dish produced across all Orbital Kitchens meets the company's gold standard for flavor, consistency, and execution.

    This role bridges culinary artistry with operational precision — auditing kitchen performance, coaching teams, and maintaining consistency across multiple cuisines and production sites. The ideal candidate has strong technical cooking skills, leadership experience, and proficiency in Asian and fusion cuisines (including sushi, wok, plancha, and fry production).

    This position requires frequent travel between kitchen locations to conduct audits, deliver training, and support new kitchen launches. The Specialist reports to the Head of Culinary Excellence and is critical in maintaining high customer satisfaction across all brands and kitchens.

    Key Responsibilities

    Culinary Quality & Auditing

    • Conduct quality assurance checks and audits across multiple kitchens to ensure consistency with company culinary standards.
    • Perform on-site walkthroughs to verify food quality, station setup, execution, and adherence to operational procedures.
    • Collaborate with the Lead Auditor on culinary audit reports, compliance documentation, and performance tracking.
    • Maintain expert-level knowledge of all menu items, prep methods, and brand execution standards.
    • Review customer feedback and data to identify trends, quality gaps, and improvement opportunities.

    Training & Development

    • Following the Culinary Excellence Playbook, deliver hands-on training for key stations (plancha, fry, poke, ramen, and expo).
    • Support new hire onboarding, recipe rollouts, and continuous skill-building initiatives.
    • Develop targeted training plans for specific kitchens based on quality audit results and customer feedback.
    • Conduct refresher training and skills assessments to ensure long-term consistency.
    • Prepare weekly culinary training briefs for the management team.

    Operational Support & Launches

    • Support new kitchen openings, including setup, equipment checks, and training during launch.
    • Assist in maintaining and updating recipe documentation and the video training library.
    • Partner with operations and culinary leadership to ensure kitchens are equipped, trained, and operating efficiently.

    Qualifications

    • Minimum 5 years of professional kitchen experience.
    • At least 2 years in a Sous Chef or equivalent leadership/training role.
    • Proven experience managing or training teams of 5+ staff.
    • Strong technical proficiency in plancha and fry station operations.
    • Working knowledge of wok and sushi preparation.
    • Expertise in American–Asian fusion cuisines (e.g., Thai, Chinese, Poke, Sushi, Mexican); deep proficiency in at least two strongly preferred.
    • Strong organizational, communication, and leadership skills.
    • Proficiency in Google Workspace, Microsoft Office, and Slack.
    • Fluent in English; Spanish proficiency strongly preferred.
    • Excellent attention to detail and ability to lead with professionalism and confidence.
    • Passion for food, learning, and culinary innovation.
    • Willingness and ability to travel frequently between sites (personal vehicle preferred).

    Job Type: Full-time

    Shift availability:

    • Day Shift (Preferred)
    • Night Shift (Preferred)
    • Overnight Shift (Preferred)

    Ability to Commute:

    • New York, NY 10011 (Required)

    Ability to Relocate:

    • New York, NY 10011: Relocate before starting work (Required)

    Work Location: In person