At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead culinary operations and ensure delicious food is served consistently across multiple sites.
- Company: Join a vibrant food brand that celebrates creativity and community.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, generous holiday, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in a fast-growing company with bold food ideas.
- Qualifications: Experience in multi-site food businesses and a passion for quality food.
- Other info: Dynamic work environment with a focus on collaboration and innovation.
The predicted salary is between 36000 - 60000 £ per year.
Salary: Market-related salary, negotiable depending on experience
About atis: We’re a fast-growing 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 don’t do beige. We do colour, creativity, culture – and we’re building a brand that reflects that. Every day, we make powerful food that’s full of flavour, full of colour and full of intention. Real food, done really well – all served fast, in vibrant spaces that move with the rhythm of city life. We’re here to transform people’s health and fuel better days. We are building a community that celebrates good food, good people and good energy – unapologetically.
About the role: As Culinary Operations Manager, you will be responsible for translating atis’ 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 - 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 stress-test, simplify and refine – 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, site-ready recipes
- Stress testing menus for speed, complexity, waste, margin, and training load
- For every new menu launch running kitchen trials, pilots & pre-launch 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 food-safe 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 multi-site food businesses, ideally 8-30+ sites (QSR, fast casual, casual dining, premium cafe groups)
- Experience working with fresh food, scratch-cooking, short shelf life product
- Hands-on 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 quality-driven 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: You’re obsessed with making things better, not just acceptable. Naturally proactive, you spot issues before they escalate and take full ownership of the process end-to-end. 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 - collaborating across teams. You like to be in the middle of things, not operating in a silo.
Why atis: We’re building a bold, flavour-first brand that is shaking things up in the food space. You’ll 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
- Dog-friendly office
- Weekly travel card Zones 1-2
- Annual salary reviews
- 25 paid holiday days + 8 days bank holidays
- Paid day of community/charity work – 1 day per year
- Working From Away (WFA) - 1 week per year working from away after a minimum tenure of 1 year service
- Sabbatical - 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 company-wide
- Free atis for lunch or dinner
- Discount codes for friends and family
- Free atis merchandise (cap; tee; tote)
- High-performing, focused, caring office working environment with promise for growth professionally and personally
- Investment in professional training and development
- iMac Desktop or laptop for field-based roles
Culinary Operations Manager employer: Atisfood
Contact Detail:
Atisfood Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Culinary Operations Manager
✨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 be looking for a Culinary Operations Manager or who can put in a good word for you.
✨Tip Number 2
Show off your skills! If you’ve got a killer dish or a unique recipe, don’t hesitate to share it on social media or food blogs. This not only showcases your creativity but also gets you noticed by potential employers who value innovation.
✨Tip Number 3
Be proactive! Reach out directly to companies you admire, like atis. Express your passion for their mission and how you can contribute to their culinary vision. A personal touch can make all the difference!
✨Tip Number 4
Keep learning! Stay updated on the latest food trends and culinary techniques. Consider taking short courses or certifications that can enhance your skills. This shows potential employers that you’re committed to growth and excellence in the culinary field.
We think you need these skills to ace Culinary Operations Manager
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Your Passion for Food: When you're writing your application, let your love for food shine through! We want to see how your culinary creativity aligns with our vibrant brand. Share your experiences and what excites you about transforming food into something extraordinary.
Be Specific About Your Experience: We’re looking for someone who knows their way around multi-site operations. So, don’t just say you’ve worked in food businesses; tell us about the specific roles you've had, the challenges you faced, and how you made a difference. Numbers and examples go a long way!
Tailor Your Application: Make sure your application speaks directly to the role of Culinary Operations Manager. Highlight your skills in operationalising menu items and ensuring food safety. We want to know how you can help us deliver delicious food consistently across all our sites.
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way for us to receive your application and ensures you’re considered for this exciting opportunity. Plus, it shows you’re keen on joining our atis family!
How to prepare for a job interview at Atisfood
✨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 delicious, scalable recipes.
✨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. This will demonstrate your hands-on experience and ability to manage operations effectively.
✨Emphasise Collaboration
This role requires working closely with various teams like Product Development and Ops. Be prepared to share examples of how you've collaborated with different departments in the past. Show that you value teamwork and can navigate the complexities of a fast-paced environment.
✨Be Proactive and Solution-Oriented
The ideal candidate is someone who spots issues before they escalate. During the interview, discuss times when you've taken ownership of a problem and implemented solutions. This will showcase your proactive mindset and commitment to maintaining high culinary standards while being operationally pragmatic.