At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead culinary operations and ensure delicious food reaches customers across multiple sites.
- Company: Fast-growing food brand with a vibrant, creative culture.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, generous holiday, professional development, and a dog-friendly office.
- Why this job: Join a bold team transforming the food industry with real, nourishing meals.
- Qualifications: Experience in multi-site food businesses and a passion for culinary excellence.
- Other info: Dynamic environment with opportunities for personal and professional growth.
The predicted salary is between 36000 - 60000 ÂŁ per year.
Salary: Marketârelated salary, negotiable depending on experience.
About atis: We are a fastâgrowing food brand with big ambitions and bold ideas. Our mission is to bring real, nourishing, vibrant food to people in a way that feels fresh, modern and full of energy. We donât do beige. We do colour, creativity, culture â and weâre building a brand that reflects that. Every day, we make powerful food thatâs full of flavour, full of colour and full of intention. Real food, done really well â all served fast, in vibrant spaces that move with the rhythm of city life. Weâre here to transform peopleâs health and fuel better days. We are building a community that celebrates good food, good people and good energy â unapologetically.
About the role: As Culinary Operations Manager, you will be responsible for translating atisâ food vision into operational reality. This role ensures that product creativity works at scale, tastes as delicious as it did in the concept tasting, is executable across 16+ sites and is delivered consistently â while maintaining exceptional food safety, food quality standards and profitability. You will sit at the intersection of Product, Operations, Commercial and group Kitchen Management, acting as the ambassador for ensuring our food reaches customers smoothly, to exacting food safety standards, and extremely delicious.
Focus: Your focus is on turning great food ideas into flawless, scalable execution across the atis estate. You will ensure that every dish is delicious, consistent, safe and commercially sound. From early concept through to launch and live performance, you will stressâtest, simplify and refine â protecting quality while embedding standards so that what lands in our kitchens works brilliantly in every site.
Typical Work Includes:
- Operationalisation of all new menu items and collaboration launches
- Partnering with Product on development and translating concepts into scalable, siteâready recipes
- Stress testing menus for speed, complexity, waste, margin, and training load
- For every new menu launch running kitchen trials, pilots & preâlaunch validation
- Creating recipe specs, build guides, prep flows, and equipment requirements
- Ensuring flawless menu rollouts across the group
- Being present in the site kitchens during seasonal & core menu launches
- Setting & maintaining culinary standards across the estate
- Running regular audits and taste panels
- Owning corrective actions when standard slips
- Ensuring all recipes, processes and specs are foodâsafe compliant, working closely with Ops on HACCP, allergen controls and EHO readiness
- Embedding food safety as part of great food, not separate from it
- Partnering with Product, Supply and Commercial on ingredients specs, yield optimisation and profitability, without compromising quality
- Uplifting culinary capability across the business
- Working with the L&D team to build and deliver simple but engaging training for the BOH teams
- Coaching kitchen managers and leaders on standards, execution and compliance
Skills/Experience:
- Experience in multiâsite food businesses, ideally 8â30+ sites (QSR, fast casual, casual dining, premium cafe groups)
- Experience working with fresh food, scratchâcooking, short shelf life product
- Handsâon experience across various facets of the business; test kitchen, head office, service
- Team player, used to working closely with Product Development, Ops, Supply Chain, and Commercial
- Excellent palate and understanding of flavour balance
- Strong understanding of all fundamental food safety and health and safety standards
- Has personally delivered or heavily supported menu rollouts and major menu changes at scale
- Has owned or heavily influenced recipe specs, guides, kitchen SOPs, launch playbooks
- Experience opening new sites from a food readiness perspective
- Comfortable working in businesses going through rapid growth
- Understands GP, labour, throughput and waste management
- Deeply qualityâdriven but operationally pragmatic
- High standards, low ego
- Obsessed with making things work, not just designing them
- Experience coaching and upskilling kitchen leaders and teams
Mindset: Youâre obsessed with making things better, not just acceptable. Naturally proactive, you spot issues before they escalate and take full ownership of the process endâtoâend. You are commercially curious, not purely culinary, demonstrating a balanced perspective that marries food excellence with business reality. A pragmatic idealist, you care deeply about food whilst accepting the constraints of what is operationally possible. You value consistency as much as creativity and you thrive at the centre of things â collaborating across teams. You like to be in the middle of things, not operating in a silo.
Why atis: Weâre building a bold, flavourâfirst brand that is shaking things up in the food space. Youâll have creative freedom and real ownership of your work. Work with a growing, ambitious team that cares deeply about food and people. We move quickly, trust generously and love big ideas. Lots of real, bold food to fuel your ideas.
What we offer you:
- Prime central London office location
- Dogâfriendly office
- Weekly travel card Zones 1â2
- Annual salary reviews
- 25 paid holiday days + 8 days bank holidays
- Paid day of community/charity work â 1 day per year
- Working From Away (WFA) â 1 week per year working from away after a minimum tenure of 1 year service
- Sabbatical â a sabbatical of 4 weeks after 3 years of service
- Cycle to Work scheme
- Employee Assistance Program
- Pension scheme (3% employer contribution + 5% employee contribution)
- Frequent social events, head office and companyâwide
- Free atis for lunch or dinner
- Discount codes for friends and family
- Free atis merchandise (cap; tee; tote)
- Highâperforming, focused, caring office working environment with promise for growth professionally and personally
- Investment in professional training and development
- iMac Desktop or laptop for fieldâbased roles
Culinary Operations Manager in London employer: atis
Contact Detail:
atis Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice đ¤Ť
We think this is how you could land Culinary Operations Manager in London
â¨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Get out there and connect with people in the culinary world. Attend food events, workshops, or even local markets. You never know who might have the inside scoop on job openings or can put in a good word for you.
â¨Tip Number 2
Show off your skills! If you can, create a portfolio showcasing your culinary creations or any successful menu rollouts you've been part of. This will give potential employers a taste of what you can bring to the table.
â¨Tip Number 3
Be proactive! Donât just wait for job postings to pop up. Reach out directly to companies you admire, like atis, and express your interest. A well-timed email can make all the difference and show your enthusiasm.
â¨Tip Number 4
Prepare for interviews by knowing the company inside out. Research atisâ mission, values, and recent projects. This will help you tailor your answers and demonstrate that you're not just another candidate, but someone who truly aligns with their vision.
We think you need these skills to ace Culinary Operations Manager in London
Some tips for your application đŤĄ
Show Your Passion for Food: When you're writing your application, let your love for food shine through! Share your experiences and what excites you about culinary operations. We want to see that you're not just looking for a job, but that you're genuinely passionate about bringing vibrant food to life.
Tailor Your Application: Make sure to customise your application to reflect the specific skills and experiences mentioned in the job description. Highlight your multi-site experience and any hands-on roles you've had in food businesses. We appreciate when candidates take the time to connect their background with our mission!
Be Clear and Concise: Keep your application straightforward and to the point. Use clear language to describe your achievements and how they relate to the role of Culinary Operations Manager. We love a well-structured application that makes it easy for us to see why youâd be a great fit!
Apply Through Our Website: Donât forget to submit your application through our website! Itâs the best way for us to receive your details and ensures youâre considered for the role. Plus, it shows us that youâre keen on being part of the atis community right from the start!
How to prepare for a job interview at atis
â¨Know Your Flavours
As a Culinary Operations Manager, you need to have a strong understanding of flavour balance. Before the interview, brush up on your knowledge of different cuisines and ingredients. Be ready to discuss how you would translate atis' vibrant food vision into operational reality.
â¨Showcase Your Experience
Highlight your experience in multi-site food businesses, especially if you've worked with fresh food and scratch cooking. Prepare specific examples of how you've successfully rolled out menus or improved culinary standards across multiple locations.
â¨Demonstrate Your Team Spirit
This role requires collaboration with various teams. Be prepared to share examples of how you've worked closely with Product Development, Ops, and Supply Chain. Show that you're a team player who thrives in a dynamic environment.
â¨Emphasise Food Safety
Food safety is crucial in this role. Familiarise yourself with HACCP and allergen controls, and be ready to discuss how you've ensured compliance in previous positions. This will show that you take food safety seriously and can maintain high standards.