Director of Culinary Operations & Food Systems

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Director of Culinary Operations & Food Systems based in India. This is a senior culinary leadership role focused on building the systems that make food quality, safety, and consistency scalable across multiple locations. You will assess culinary operations, identify urgent product and quality issues, and establish practical standards that can withstand growth and team turnover. The role combines culinary expertise with operational discipline, covering recipes, specifications, food safety, menu performance, training, suppliers, and food economics. Rather than managing daily kitchen execution, you will provide remote leadership through on-site culinary leaders and location teams. You will use data and modern technology to diagnose problems, improve processes, and make informed decisions about products and menus. Success will require balancing exacting culinary standards with commercial realities such as food cost, waste, labor, and margin. This is an opportunity to build durable culinary infrastructure and develop leaders across a distributed operation. Assess the current state of products, menus, recipes, processes, and suppliers using operational data, reports, and remote evidence to identify quality, consistency, and efficiency gaps. Diagnose taste, consistency, product, and food-safety issues and direct corrective actions through on-site Head Chefs and location teams. Develop controlled recipes, specifications, preparation standards, and operating procedures with clear tolerances, documentation, and version control. Lead menu engineering initiatives by analyzing product performance and determining which offerings should be improved, repositioned, or discontinued. Establish robust food-safety, quality assurance, and traceability controls, including root-cause analysis and corrective actions when failures occur. Recruit, train, coach, and develop culinary leaders across multiple locations, creating consistent standards and strengthening leadership capabilities remotely. Establish systems that allow culinary quality to remain consistent despite team turnover, geographic distance, and operational growth. Own the culinary drivers of food cost, yield, waste, labor efficiency, and margin, identifying opportunities to improve commercial performance without compromising quality. Use AI, data, and other technology tools to support culinary analysis, operational decision-making, documentation, training, and continuous improvement. Partner with on-site culinary leadership to translate strategic standards into practical execution and ensure accountability across locations. Requirements Significant senior-level culinary leadership experience within complex, multi-location food service, restaurant, hospitality, or related environments. Demonstrated ability to diagnose product and quality problems, restore consistency, and build repeatable culinary systems rather than relying solely on individual expertise. Experience leading and directing kitchen execution remotely through on-site culinary leaders and distributed teams. Strong understanding of food cost, yield management, waste reduction, labor economics, and the relationship between culinary decisions and profitability. Proven experience with food safety, quality assurance, traceability, and root-cause analysis. Strong practical knowledge of recipe development, food specifications, menu engineering, culinary standards, and process documentation. Advanced, practical use of AI and data tools to support culinary management, operational analysis, and decision-making. Strong leadership and communication skills, with the ability to influence teams and maintain high standards without being physically present. Ability to balance culinary excellence with commercial judgment, operational realities, and business objectives. Experience managing multiple concepts, cuisines,