Executive Chef / Culinary Systems Manager
2 days ago
Denver
Company: Baba & Co Location: Denver, Colorado Employment Type: Full-Time Compensation: $80,000 to $100,000 annually Benefits: PTO, Insurance - Dental, Vision, Medical Application Deadline: June 1, 2026 Baba & Co’s mission is serving dignity on every plate. We serve organizations that change lives. Our job is to handle the operational complexity of feeding vulnerable communities daily so our partners can focus on their mission. That includes reliable production, dietary accommodations, allergen protocols, USDA compliance, temperature logging, food safety, and consistent execution. At Baba & Co, reliability is a form of care. A missed meal, a mislabeled allergen, a late delivery, or a broken kitchen system does not just create inconvenience. It affects people and programs that depend on us. We are looking for someone who is mission-aligned and understands that high-volume food service can still be dignified, thoughtful, organized, and human. Baba is also building something the institutional food industry hasn't seen before. We are designing kitchen operations that run on systems and technology rather than on layered middle management. We are building kitchens that operate with a tight execution team and a software layer that handles coordination, compliance, and continuity. This person joins us at the inflection point of that build. About the Role Baba & Co is hiring an Executive Chef / Culinary Systems Manager to lead the people, systems, standards, purchasing, menus, and daily execution of our kitchen. This is a systems-and-people leadership role inside a high-volume kitchen. Culinary knowledge is required, but this role is primarily about management, organization, accountability, SOP creation, purchasing, production planning, staff leadership, and standards enforcement. This person will own the daily kitchen operating system. They will ensure the kitchen is stocked, organized, staffed, trained, clean, food-safe, and ready to execute multiple menus at the same time. This is not a fine-dining role. This is not a creative chef role first. This is a leadership, systems, and high-volume execution role. We are building a layered operating system where routine coordination is handled by software, freeing the kitchen lead to focus on the work that genuinely requires human expertise. The Executive Chef will be both the daily operator of this system and a key voice in shaping what it becomes. Mission Fit The right person for this role cares about the people being served, not just the food being produced. This role supports shelter programs and mission-driven partners. The work requires consistency, humility, urgency, and respect. We need someone who understands that operational excellence is part of the mission. Mission fit in this role means: • Taking reliability seriously because people are depending on the meal., • Treating food as dignity, not just calories., • Building systems that protect quality, safety, and consistency., • Caring about dietary needs, allergens, special accommodations, and food safety., • Understanding that behind every count, label, temp log, and menu is a person being served., • Leading the kitchen with respect for both the team and the communities we feed., • Staying focused when the work is repetitive, high-volume, or difficult. We are not looking for someone who sees this as just another kitchen job. We are looking for someone who wants their work to matter. Responsibilities Purchasing and Inventory Management • Own kitchen purchasing and vendor follow-up., • Create and maintain order guides and par levels., • Manage inventory and prevent shortages., • Communicate shortages, vendor issues, and purchasing risks early. Production Planning and Execution • Lead high-volume food production., • Create prep lists, production sheets, batch plans, and execution timelines., • Manage multiple menu tracks at the same time., • Ensure meals are produced on time, at volume, and to standard., • Protect the dignity, safety, and consistency of every meal served. Menu Planning and Menu Matrix Management • Create menus using Baba & Co’s existing menu matrix., • Add new menu items to the menu matrix., • Create one-off menus for smaller sites and special requests., • Create, train, maintain, and enforce kitchen SOPs., • Build systems that reduce chaos and ownership involvement in daily kitchen operations., • Standardize how the kitchen handles purchasing, prep, production, labeling, packing, cleaning, and quality control. Staff Leadership and Accountability • Lead, train, coach, and hold kitchen staff accountable., • Assign clear ownership for daily kitchen tasks., • Support staff development and help build stronger kitchen leads., • Maintain a calm, practical, drama-free leadership presence. Standards, Food Safety, and Organization • Enforce recipe, portion, sanitation, labeling, dating, storage, and food safety standards., • Maintain clean, organized, inspection-ready kitchen spaces., • Conduct regular quality checks. We are hiring for judgment and disposition over title and tenure. If you have run kitchens or kitchen systems with less authority than the work required, and you're ready for the seat where you actually get to lead, this is that seat. • High-volume cooking and/or events background required., • Kitchen leadership experience required., • Purchasing and inventory experience required., • Strong organizational skills required., • Experience with production planning, batching, prep lists, and timelines., • Ability to manage multiple menus at once., • Ability to create, train, and enforce SOPs., • Strong food safety knowledge., • Ability to lead and hold staff accountable., • Clear communication under pressure., • Mission alignment with Baba & Co’s work serving shelters and community-focused programs., • Demonstrated ability to write things down. SOPs, training materials, decision trees, escalation guides, clearly enough that someone else can execute from them Prefered • Catering, commissary, banquet, event, shelter, nonprofit, institutional, school, healthcare, or large-scale meal production experience., • Experience with USDA compliance, allergen protocols, dietary accommodations, or temperature logging., • Experience creating menus within a matrix or structured menu system., • Experience building SOPs from scratch., • ServSafe Manager certification or willingness to obtain., • Experience developing kitchen leads or managers. Not Required • Fine dining background., • Culinary degree., • High-end plating experience., • Positive Innovation: Find solutions and stay flexible under pressure., • Agents of Accountability: Own outcomes, follow through, and hold high standards., • Adults in the Room: Stay focused, practical, mature, and drama-free., • What high-volume kitchen or event production environment have you led?, • What kitchen system, SOP, or purchasing process have you built or improved?, • How do you hold kitchen staff accountable without creating drama?, • What does “serving dignity on every plate” mean to you in a high-volume kitchen?