Kitchen Manager

Description

Overview

Butterfield Kitchen is a high-volume commissary kitchen producing over 400 SKUs daily for our retail markets, café, and catering departments. Our kitchen team of 80 employees produces prepared foods, salads, sandwiches, baked goods, pressed juices, catering items, and grab-and-go

offerings.

We operate in a fast-paced production environment focused on creating fresh, high-quality food with consistency and excellence. Our markets strive to be the premier food destination in New York City, and our kitchen is the engine that drives that success. The Executive Sous Chef is responsible for leading kitchen operations during evening shifts and serving as the primary leader when the Executive Chef is not on site.

Responsibilities

Production & Evening Operations

• Lead evening kitchen operations and provide hands-on support to production teams
• Oversee prepared foods, pastry, juices, packaging, and other production areas
• Review daily production needs and ensure all goals are completed on time
• Maintain consistency in food quality, presentation, packaging, labeling, and execution
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, workflow, and production standards

Scheduling & Team Leadership

• Help oversee scheduling for evening production teams
• Ensure proper staffing based on production needs
• Monitor breaks, shift timing, and overtime to maintain labor efficiency
• Help create a positive, accountable, and team-oriented work environment
• Support training, coaching, and development of kitchen team members

Food Safety & Kitchen Standards

• Enforce all food safety, sanitation, and hygiene standards
• Ensure proper labeling, storage, temperature control, and product rotation
• Maintain a clean, organized, and efficient kitchen environment

Communication & Operations

• Serve as the go-to leader for operational and production questions during the shift
• Communicate effectively with the Executive Chef and kitchen management team
• Ensure smooth handoff between daytime and evening production teams

Requirements

Required Strengths & Qualifications

• Minimum 7 years of experience in high-volume food production, preferably in prepared foods or commissary kitchen operations
• Proven experience leading large production teams in fast-paced environments
• Strong scheduling and labor management skills
• Excellent leadership, communication, and team-building abilities
• Strong organizational skills with attention to detail and follow-through
• Food Handler Certification required
• Bilingual in English and Spanish required
• Open availability, with primary responsibility for evening and night operations (approximately 2:00 PM – 12:00 AM)

Preferred Experience

• Specialty food markets
• Grocery prepared foods operations
• Commissary kitchens
• Multi-unit food production environments
• Large-scale grab-and-go meal production
• Fresh food retail operation