Kitchen Manager
8 days ago
Old Bridge
Job Description Kitchen Manager – The Pickle Pad & Birdie Partee About the Venue The Pickle Pad & Birdie Partee is a family entertainment center in Old Bridge, NJ, featuring indoor pickleball courts, golf simulator bays, and mini-golf attractions. The venue's bar and dining area operates under the Crave Social Eatery concept, serving a full menu and drinks to guests throughout the facility. Position Summary The Kitchen Manager owns all back-of-house operations for the Crave Social Eatery kitchen, reporting directly to the General Manager. This is a ventless kitchen built around TurboChef high-speed ovens rather than a hood, fryers, or open flame, so the role centers on precise execution of pre-prepared/pre-cooked product rather than traditional line cooking. Responsibilities span food quality and consistency, staffing and training, food cost and inventory control, and full health and safety compliance in a high-volume, entertainment-venue environment. Key Responsibilities • Hire, train, schedule, and supervise all kitchen staff (prep, expo, dish/warewash), • Operate and maintain TurboChef high-speed ovens and other rapid-cook equipment; train staff on correct programs/cook times for each menu item, • Own food cost, portioning, and inventory: ordering, receiving, rotating, and storing pre-prepared/frozen product (no on-site frying, grilling, or open-flame cooking), • Enforce food safety and sanitation standards across all NJ health code and ServSafe requirements, including proper thawing, holding, and reheat temperatures, • Maintain recipe consistency, plating standards, and ticket times during service, • Order from and manage relationships with vendors and distributors, • Oversee preventive maintenance and repair of kitchen equipment (TurboChef ovens, warewash, refrigeration, etc.), • Coordinate closely with the bar/FOH team and General Manager on service flow, private events, and league/tournament food service, • Conduct routine line checks, temperature logs, and equipment checklists, • Manage labor costs against sales targets and adjust staffing to volume, • Step in during peak periods and staff call-outs Qualifications & Experience • 2+ years of kitchen management experience, ideally in a high-volume, quick-service, or ventless/assembly-style kitchen (fine dining or fryer/line-cook background not required), • Current ServSafe Food Protection Manager certification (or ability to obtain within 30 days of hire, per NJ food code), • Hands-on experience with TurboChef, Merrychef, or similar rapid-cook/combi ovens strongly preferred, • Proven track record managing food cost percentage, labor cost, and inventory, • Strong leadership and staff development skills; experience hiring and training BOH teams, • Working knowledge of NJ health department regulations and safe food handling/holding temperatures, • Proficiency with POS/inventory systems and basic scheduling software, • Prior experience in an FEC, sports/entertainment venue, or multi-concept dining environment a plus Physical Requirements & Work Environment • Able to stand and move continuously for full shifts (up to 10 hours), • Able to lift and carry up to 50 lbs (cases of frozen/refrigerated product, supplies, equipment), • Comfortable working around hot ovens and warewash equipment; no open-flame or fryer exposure, • Must be available to work nights, weekends, and holidays, aligned with peak FEC traffic (leagues, tournaments, parties, events), • Fast-paced, high-volume environment shared with pickleball, golf simulator, and event operations Compensation, Schedule & Benefits • Full-time, salaried position: $50,000–$60,000 annually, based on experience, • Health insurance provided, • Schedule includes nights, weekends, and holidays as business needs require, typically 45-50 hours/week