Culinary Director
Kinney Lane | Stamford, CT
Kinney Lane is a chef-driven prepared meal company serving Fairfield County and Westchester, building a model for how people eat today—bridging the gap between takeout and grocery.
What began as a local delivery service has grown into a high-volume operation with a loyal customer base. We’re now entering our next phase of growth—expanding into a larger production facility, grab-and-go retail, and packaged products.
Role Overview
The Culinary Director is a senior leadership role responsible for both the culinary direction and the day-to-day production execution of the business.
This role sits at the intersection of food and operations. It requires someone who can take an established culinary vision and translate it into a system that runs efficiently, consistently, and at scale—week in and week out.
This is a hands-on role for someone who can step into an existing system, understand it deeply, and make it better—more refined, more efficient, and built for growth.
Key Responsibilities
Culinary + Menu Ownership
- Own and execute weekly menu development within an established structure—ensuring menus are cohesive, seasonal, and operationally efficient
- Maintain a high bar for quality, consistency, and presentation across all offerings
- Refine recipes and builds to support consistency, speed, and scalability
Operations + Production Leadership
- Own kitchen operations and weekly production output, ensuring the team executes accurately, efficiently, and on schedule
- Design and refine production systems, workflows, and labor models to support growth
- Drive continuous improvement in kitchen efficiency, throughput, and organization
- Partner with fulfillment and logistics to ensure seamless execution from kitchen to delivery
Financial + Performance Management
- Set and manage weekly pricing with a strong understanding of food cost, margins, and overall business performance
- Track and respond to key metrics including sales, food cost, waste, and labor
- Make decisions that balance quality with profitability and scalability
Team Leadership
- Lead and manage the culinary team, including scheduling, performance, and accountability
- Build a strong, high-functioning kitchen culture grounded in consistency, ownership, and teamwork
Growth + Innovation
- Lead and support new product development, including sauces and packaged goods
- Support expansion into retail/grab-and-go and future production scaling initiatives
Qualifications
- 7+ years of culinary experience, with a strong background in production, prepared foods, or food manufacturing
- Experience operating in a high-volume environment where consistency and efficiency are critical
- Strong understanding of food costing, pricing strategy, and margin management
- Proven ability to build and refine systems, SOPs, and workflows for scale
- Hands-on leadership style with the ability to step into the kitchen and support execution
- Highly organized with strong attention to detail and follow-through
- Collaborative, low ego, and aligned with a team-first culture
- Interest in CPG, retail, and scaling food operations is a strong plus
What We’re Looking For
A positive, solution-oriented operator with experience in a growing business—someone who loves food and knows how to improve systems, lead a team, and get things done.
