Culinary Director

This is a hands-on, cooking-forward leadership role rooted in vibrant food, buzzing kitchens, and spaces that feel alive.

Chef Ayesha Nurdjaja — Executive Chef & Partner of Shuka and Shukette, and a multiple-time James Beard Award finalist — is looking for a Culinary Director to join The Bowery Group who cooks in the kitchen, tastes constantly, and leads by example across multiple kitchens.

This role lives where the food is made: on the line, at the pass, during prep, in tastings, and in real conversations with chefs and cooks. It’s about being present, cooking alongside teams, and helping kitchens get better every day — without losing what makes them joyful, human, and alive.

As the restaurants continue to grow and evolve, this role exists to bring consistency, clarity, and strong leadership to busy, demanding environments — supporting Chef de Cuisines, strengthening systems, and making sure standards stay high even as things move fast. You’ll be trusted to balance creativity with discipline, mentorship with accountability, and big-picture thinking with real, in-the-kitchen execution.

Position Description:  The Culinary Director oversees the culinary teams across all five restaurants that comprise The Bowery Group: Shuka, Shukette, Cookshop, Rosie’s and Vic’s. This role is responsible for mentoring and supervising chef teams; overseeing kitchen operations; monitoring financial performance; ensuring food quality, safety, and consistency; and driving creativity and excellence across all culinary offerings.ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIESCulinary

• Ensure all menus align with our ethos for seasonality and local sourcing.
• Work with vendors to source the highest-quality ingredients and consistent supply
• Monitor vendor pricing, communicate changes to chefs, and manage food cost impacts. Identify alternative sources as needed to meet cost targets.
• Ensure pricing consistency across all restaurants.
• Identify and evaluate new suppliers, presenting recommendations to the Culinary Leads.
• Visit farmers markets weekly to stay current on seasonal availability.
• Proactively inform chefs on upcoming seasonal produce to support early menu development and launches.
• Develop and maintain standardized protocols for launching new menu items, including costing, line training, documentation (photos and recipes), and reporting. Ensure dish costs align with approved budgets.
• Participate in tastings, providing clear and constructive feedback. Evaluate menu balance, execution, and consistency; partner with lead chefs to resolve issues and ensure timely implementation of approved dishes.
• Dine at each restaurant quarterly to assess execution and consistency from a guest perspective and share feedback with kitchen leadership.
• Ensure kitchens are properly equipped to operate efficiently. Monitor equipment and smallwares usage, inventory, and replacement needs, and coordinate resources to resolve issues promptly.

Financial & Operations Management 

• Review weekly restaurant recaps to assess financial performance and trends. Identify issues and partner with chefs to resolve them in a timely manner.
• Meet with chefs bi-monthly to review reports and performance. Report outcomes to the Culinary Leads and identify both restaurant-level and cross-restaurant trends.
• Attend weekly financial meetings and actively participate in issue review, planning, and strategy discussions.
• Ensure all vendor accounts receivables remain current to prevent delivery disruptions and fees.
• Monitor staffing levels and ensure chefs are utilizing available recruiting resources to maintain full staffing.
• Ensure schedules are posted by Thursday each week. Review labor performance to ensure financial targets are met, and work with chefs to manage PTO, minimize overtime, and protect service quality.

Training & Development

• Observe line, prep, and dish shifts at least quarterly to support lead chefs in identifying training and execution gaps. Ensure standards for cooking and sanitation are consistently followed.
• Document training issues, partnering with chefs to develop and implement corrective strategies.
• Organize semi-annual development events for Chefs and Sous Chefs to build skills, knowledge, and camaraderie.
• Identify opportunities for culinary growth and inspiration. Partner with the Training Chef to organize demos, market visits, skills workshops, and similar experiences.
• Collaborate with the Training Chef to assess training needs, refine plans, and submit programs (with budgets and goals) to the Culinary Leads for approval. Oversee implementation and track progress against targets.
• Update, expand, and standardize BOH SOPs across all restaurants.
• Develop programs to train and assess BOH staff on SOP knowledge and execution.
• Enforce standards consistently and take corrective action when necessary.

Human Resources

• Maintain familiarity with the Employee Handbook and all policies governing employee rights, benefits, and responsibilities.
• Provide coaching, evaluation, and support to chefs; serve as a resource for questions and concerns; observe behaviors and guide performance adjustments as needed.
• Partner with HR on disciplinary, performance, and benefits-related matters, ensuring chefs understand processes, resources, and expectations.
• Ensure consistent use and enforcement of the Attendance Tracker. Monitor trends and proactively address issues with chefs.
• Liaise with HR on all Coaching and Counseling (C&C) matters, ensuring timely resolution and documentation.
• Ensure chefs are trained on onboarding, scheduling, and communication tools (Harri and TeamLive), and that all staffing and hiring procedures are followed consistently.

Safety

• Maintain the highest standards of food safety, sanitation, and regulatory compliance through consistent oversight and quality control.
• Review monthly mock inspection reports and partner with chefs to resolve violations.
• Conduct regular kitchen walk-throughs, observe practices and ensure standards
• Review DOH inspection reports and work with chefs to remediate issues promptly and thoroughly.

Equipment Maintenance

• Stay informed of equipment issues through direct observation and regular communication with chefs. Engage available resources to ensure timely resolution.
• Partner with Culinary Leads and ownership to plan and schedule equipment replacements, managing logistics to minimize service disruption.
• Ensure BOH staff are trained on proper equipment use and maintenance.
• Evaluate and manage maintenance contracts, including kitchen, refrigeration, HVAC, hood cleaning, and fire suppression services.
• Verify billing accuracy, review quotes, and assess service quality against expectations.
• Oversee parts procurement, tracking status, sourcing, delivery timelines, and resolving delays as needed.

FOH Relationships

• Work closely with chefs to reinforce the importance of clear communication and collaboration with FOH teams.
• Attend pre-pre-shift and pre-shift meetings to ensure chefs are using these forums effectively.
• Coach chefs on presenting dishes to FOH teams, emphasizing storytelling, sales impact, ingredients, and allergen communication.
• Observe service to ensure SOPs are followed and recommend improvements related to VIP handling, chits, menu counts, and service flow.
• Partner with the Director of Operations to resolve cross-functional issues and improve processes.
• Participate in bi-weekly meetings to review goals, progress, and action items, and report updates to leadership.
• With the Director of Operations, standardize and maintain the Allergy Matrix. Ensure accessibility, accuracy, and regular training on allergen procedures and ticketing SOPs.

Leadership

• Serve as the operational leader for all BOH teams, fully understanding our ethos and strategic goals.
• Maintain strong familiarity with BOH teams and operations through regular restaurant visits and hands-on observation.
• Mentor and manage the BOH leadership team, including the Assistant Culinary Director and Training Chef, providing coaching and tracking progress toward goals.
• Oversee training and professional development for all chefs.
• Review annual chef plans, including development objectives and personal goals, and evaluate progress quarterly.
• Ensure chefs are contributing effectively, cross-trained appropriately, and supported in meeting performance expectations.
• Recruit, onboard, train, and mentor new chefs; oversee training programs; monitor progress; and report outcomes to the Culinary Leads.
• Pursue continuous self-improvement in leadership, business acumen, culinary innovation, and technical skill. Stay current with industry trends and sources of inspiration.
• Develop and lead quarterly continuous improvement programming for chefs.
• Maintain hands-on technical capability and step in to lead operations as needed due to staffing gaps, emergencies, or planned absences.

Reporting

• Prepare daily reports for the Culinary Leads outlining completed work and key observations.
• Produce monthly restaurant reports detailing issues, actions taken, and outcomes.
• Submit quarterly reports summarizing cross-restaurant opportunities and recommendations.
• Complete ad hoc reporting as required to support the responsibilities of the role.
• Develop, implement, and refine standardized BOH reporting tools at both restaurant and multi-restaurant levels (e.g., prep sheets, inventories, recipe documentation).

KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS REQUIRED

• Proven experience as a Chef or Culinary Director in a high-volume, multi-unit restaurant group.
• Deep knowledge of culinary techniques, ingredients, and cuisines, with a track record of creating memorable dishes.
• Strong leadership and interpersonal skills, with the ability to develop and motivate diverse teams.
• Excellent organizational and multitasking abilities, with strong attention to detail.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with comfort interacting with guests, staff, and vendors.
• A creative mindset and passion for delivering outstanding culinary experience
• Food Handler’s Certification or the ability to obtain within 30 days of employment 
• Able to work a flexible schedule in order to accommodate business levels (weekend, nights, and holiday availability required). 
• Familiarity with restaurant management software including POS systems, reservations management, inventory management and Google Workspace. 
• Working understanding of human resource principles, practices, and procedures.

• Paid Time Off
• Transit Benefits
• Dining Discounts
• Shared Medical Plan
• Citi Bike Membership
• Professional Career Development

This position requires daytime hours, evening hours and weekends with FULL TIME AVAILABILITY.

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Shukette and The Bowery Group provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.