Kitchen Manager

Job Details: Job Location: CRANES MILL RETIREMENT COMMUNITY - West Caldwell, NJ, Salary Range: $61000.00 - $68500.00Salary/year, Seeking a highly organized Kitchen / Food Production Manager to oversee back-of-house culinary operations within a busy Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC). This position is responsible for the day-to-day management of food production, kitchen staff, purchasing, receiving, inventory, sanitation, and operational execution across multiple levels of care.

The ideal candidate is a strong hands-on leader who understands high-volume food production and can effectively balance quality, consistency, efficiency, food safety, and resident satisfaction.

Our dining operation supports residents throughout the continuum of care, including Independent Living, Assisted Living, Memory Care, and Skilled Nursing.

Key Responsibilities

Kitchen & Food Production Operations

Direct and coordinate daily food production and back-of-house kitchen operations.
Ensure meals are prepared according to established menus, standardized recipes, production schedules, portion standards, and presentation expectations.
Coordinate production to support multiple dining venues and levels of care, including Independent Living, Assisted Living, Memory Care, and Skilled Nursing.
Monitor production quantities to ensure adequate food availability while minimizing overproduction and waste.
Ensure food is prepared, held, transported, and served at appropriate temperatures and according to established food safety standards.
Work closely with culinary and food service leadership to ensure smooth execution of daily meal periods, special events, catering functions, and resident programs.
Maintain consistent food quality, taste, appearance, and portion control.

Staff Leadership & Scheduling

Provide direct supervision and leadership to back-of-house employees, including cooks, prep cooks, utility/dishroom employees, and other assigned kitchen staff.
Develop and maintain employee schedules based on operational needs, census, meal volumes, events, and approved labor budgets.
Manage daily staffing needs, call-outs, shift coverage, assignments, breaks, and overtime.
Train, coach, and develop employees in proper production techniques, standardized recipes, sanitation, safety, and department procedures.
Monitor employee performance and productivity and address performance or attendance concerns appropriately.
Foster a professional, respectful, team-oriented kitchen environment.

Purchasing, Receiving & Inventory

Manage food and supply ordering based on menus, production needs, inventory levels, census, and anticipated volume.
Maintain appropriate par levels while controlling excess inventory and unnecessary purchases.
Oversee receiving procedures to ensure products meet established specifications for quality, quantity, temperature, and condition.
Verify deliveries and resolve shortages, substitutions, damages, or other vendor issues.
Ensure proper storage, labeling, dating, rotation, and organization of food and supplies using FIFO principles.
Conduct and accurately document monthly physical inventories.
Monitor food costs, inventory levels, purchasing trends, waste, and other key operational indicators.
Identify opportunities to improve purchasing practices, reduce waste, and control costs without compromising quality.

Food Safety, Sanitation & Regulatory Compliance

Maintain high standards of sanitation, cleanliness, organization, and food safety throughout all kitchen, storage, receiving, and production areas.
Ensure compliance with HACCP principles, local and state health regulations, company policies, and applicable healthcare food service requirements.
Ensure proper documentation of food temperatures, equipment temperatures, cooling procedures, sanitation activities, and other required records.
Conduct routine inspections of kitchen and storage areas and immediately address deficiencies.
Ensure employees follow proper handwashing, glove use, food handling, chemical safety, and infection prevention practices.
Maintain readiness for health department, regulatory, client, and internal inspections.

Healthcare & Resident Dining Support

Work collaboratively with culinary leadership, dining services, clinical nutrition staff, nursing, and other departments to support resident needs.
Ensure proper production and handling of regular and modified-texture foods, therapeutic diets, and other specialized meal requirements as directed by the clinical nutrition team.
Maintain appropriate procedures to prevent cross-contamination and ensure accuracy of specialized food production.
Support resident-centered dining and recognize the importance that food quality, consistency, and service have on the overall resident experience.
Respond promptly and professionally to operational concerns involving food quality, availability, production, or service.

Qualifications: Qualifications

Minimum 3–5 years of progressive kitchen, culinary, or food production management experience preferred.
Experience managing a high-volume food production operation strongly preferred.
Senior living, CCRC, healthcare, hospital, skilled nursing, or similar institutional food service experience highly desirable.
Demonstrated experience supervising and scheduling kitchen employees.
Strong knowledge of food purchasing, receiving, inventory control, production planning, portion control, and food cost management.
Working knowledge of standardized recipes and high-volume production systems.
Strong understanding of food safety, sanitation, HACCP principles, and regulatory requirements.
ServSafe Manager certification preferred or required within an established period following hire.
Ability to effectively manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
Strong organizational, communication, problem-solving, and leadership skills.
Comfortable using computer-based scheduling, purchasing, inventory, and food production systems.
Ability to work a flexible schedule based on operational needs, including occasional weekends, holidays, and evenings.

What We Are Looking For

We are looking for a manager who is visible, engaged, organized, and willing to be hands-on. This role requires someone who can walk into a busy kitchen, understand what needs to happen, organize the team, and ensure the operation delivers.

The successful candidate will understand that senior living food service is about more than producing meals. Our residents dine with us every day, making quality, consistency, hospitality, and attention to detail essential.

If you are a strong kitchen leader who enjoys developing employees, organizing complex food production, controlling costs, and delivering a consistently high-quality dining experience, we would like to hear from you.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and value a diverse and inclusive workplace.