Culinary Manager Jobs

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

At Beyond Meat, we started with simple questions. Why do you need an animal to create meat? Why can’t you build meat directly from plants? Thus, we make plant-based meats that allow families to eat more, not less, of the traditional dishes they love while feeling great about the health, sustainability, and animal welfare benefits of plant protein. Our goal is to bring exciting change to the plate—and Beyond.

Beyond Meat is focused on raising the bar on talent and dedicated to shaping an inclusive culture that drives excellence, innovation, and results, engagement, and employee experience. The R&D team is a matrix organization within Beyond Meat that is dedicated to creating plant-based protein products that are leading the gold standard globally. We are looking for an outstanding individual to join the Culinary Team located in El Segundo, CA as a Culinary Manager.

The Culinary Manager will report to the Executive Chef/Sr Culinary Manager and have a collaborative, cross-functional role within the Beyond Meat organizational matrix. This manager will work closely with R&D, Food Service (FS), Retail Sales (RS), Marketing, and PR to develop Beyond Meat products that meet market trends, consumer preferences, and quality standards. They will combine their culinary expertise with market insights in the development of innovative food products which meet business objectives, developing and creating new recipes showcasing Beyond’s plant-based proteins, establish cooking processes in the kitchen, and provide culinary creativity in the field of plant-based foods.

OVERALL TASKS, DUTIES, & GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Support with knowledge, understanding, and experience in all nutritional aspects of food
• Work with FS sales team to validate and provide guidance on optimal cooking methods
• Organize multiple projects under extreme deadlines within specific parameters
• Ensure that all Beyond products created in the kitchen meet quality standards, food safety regulations, and industry certifications
• Collaborate with Marketing to develop, test, edit & publish new branded recipes that fit required targets for all BM Social Media platforms Advise on new foods as targets of research and development efforts
• Test and evaluate different plant-based prototypes, including different cooking methods, hold-time, and yield studies & support with artwork approvals
• Travel, prepare, and present recipes & samples for meetings and presentations Stay updated and informed on culinary, nutritional, and plant-based trends in the food industry
• Collaborate with Food Service customers to understand needs and develop new menu items
• Autonomously generate different builds/presentations of the Beyond Meat products with a focus on aesthetics and the eating experience for all departments within the company
• Support Sr. Culinary Manager with responsibilities in all departments
• Develop and tailor new products and applications of plant-based food through creative culinary work

R&D: TASKS, DUTIES, & GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Design menus & execute VIP tastings on and offsite for stakeholders and VIP visitors
• Responsible for coordinating and supervising high level cook tests on all pertinent Sensory, DOD, ETP alongside lead scientists and project manager
• Collaborate with the R&D team to improve and provide input on all aspects of plant-based foods
• Execute final cook tests for artwork on core BM products with lead Project Manager & Scientists
• Support product development as needed from a flavor & culinary perspective alongside scientists
• Monitor & track all Culinary Request Forms & Offsite Travel Requests
• Manage and monitor daily kitchen operations around safety, orders, inventory, equipment, and sanitation

Food Service & Retail Sales: TASKS, DUTIES, & GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Supervise accurate product and supply ordering, packing, shipping for off site sales & media presentations
• Develop menus & strategize with Executive Chef on product demos for offsite culinary presentations and demonstrations for FS & Retail Sales as needed. Field pertinent product and cooking questions with buyers and stakeholders
• Support FS Sales customers with needed menu ideas & cooking methods that fall within the parameters and scope of their business
• Support all needed cooking/recipe processes based on FS & Retail customer feedback from post-launch cooking to increase product sales
• Collaborate and strategize with Executive Chef, Executive FS & Retail Sales teams to develop food menus and recipe builds for current and potential food service and retail partners
• Provide cook demonstrations to new FS Team members & videos for internal training purposes

Marketing & PR: TASKS, DUTIES, & GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Coordinate with the Executive Chef on photo shoots & YouTube videos for the Brand food stylist team. Supervise and advise filming for branded accuracies on BM products in Culinary recipes
• Collaborate with Brand on the development of creative & innovative quarterly SM recipes that target the appropriate BM demographic
• Collaborate & support PR/Communication requests for travel, menu design, cooking demonstrations, and nutritional discussions
• Compose menu, prep, & demo for Trade Shows & Marketing Events. Travel, set up, manage events, & support as needed. Support with setup and menu design for Talent and Brand Ambassador visits and tastings

Supervisory Duties

• Conduct quarterly and yearly performance reviews of direct reports
• Accountable for developing talent through on-going performance feedback and career management coaching
• Manage Culinary Specialists & Assistants
• Provide mentorship and training to Culinary team members

QUALIFICATIONS & REQUIREMENTS

• Excellent communication, leadership, presentation, and teaching skills
• Must be able to work in a team environment
• 7+ years of Executive Chef and Management experience as a proven leader of multiple direct and indirect reports
• Ability to identify and resolve problems efficiently
• Provides regular updates to senior management on project status, challenges, and opportunities
• Diverse international and regional cuisine cooking techniques are required
• Knowledge of cooking trends and current best practices
• 10+ years of overall Culinary experience
• 5+ years Chef/Culinary experience in a CPG company, preferred
• Bachelor’s degree

WORK ENVIRONMENT

• Travel up to 30% of time
• Position located in a mix of laboratory, culinary kitchen, and office environments, and requires a tolerance for high worker traffic, noise, odors,, and varying room temperatures and lighting
• Position requires the ability to stand or sit for prolonged periods, climb, kneel, bend, and occasionally lift up to 25 lbs.

$95,000 - $115,000 a year

The starting annual base pay for this On-site role is between USD $95,000 and $115,000. The actual base is dependent upon many factors, such as: training, transferable skills, work experience, business needs, and market demands. The base pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future. The role may also be eligible for bonus, equity, and benefits.

Beyond Meat is an equal employment opportunity employer. Candidates are considered for employment without regard to race, creed, color, national origin, age, sex, religion, ancestry, veteran status, marital status, gender identify, sexual orientation, national origin, liability for military service, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. If you are interested in learning the status of your application, please note you will be contacted directly by the appropriate human resources contact person if you are selected for further consideration. Beyond Meat reserves the right to defer or close a vacancy at any time.