Chef, International Culinary Manager

Chef, International Culinary Manager

Cultivate a better world. Food served fast does not have to be a typical fast-food experience. Chipotle has always done things differently, both in and out of our restaurants. We are changing the face of fast food, starting conversations, and directly supporting efforts to shift the future of farming and food. We hope you will join us as we continue to learn, evolve, and shape what comes next on our mission to make better food accessible to everyone.

The Opportunity

As the Chef for International Culinary, you will oversee Chipotle Culinary and its alignment with our Global Culinary Standards in our international partnership markets. You will partner closely with our International Partnerships team and our California based Restaurant Support Center (RSC) teams to deliver a consistent Chipotle experience. This is a culinary specific role requiring fluency in Chipotle's BOH culinary, Chipotle's 53 Ingredients, Chipotle's Food with Integrity (FWI) ethos, executing food tastings, calibrating recipes, product benchmarking, monitoring regional culinary quality, and supporting new supplier commercialization of Chipotle ingredients in local markets. This role will be embedded with the International Partnerships team to ensure we are championing Chipotle's Food with Integrity (FWI) mission across the globe in partnership markets.

What You'll Do

• Maintain Global Culinary Standards: Execute Chipotle's Culinary Standards aligned with Chipotle's Strategy of delivering a consistent global culinary experience. The strategy will include a comprehensive process including new market entry, localization efforts, and scale up which calibrate with the Chipotle Core Menu standards. This includes the review, approval, and organization of regional menu adjustments to support local and regional preferences, cultural nuances, and legislation. The role requires fluency and managing the culinary content and updates of the Chipotle Playbook, ensuring it remains relevant and effective. This role will be the Culinary Subject Matter Expert (SME) to facilitate communication between the RSC and international partners.
• Strategic Local Partnerships: Support and address regional specific culinary, supply, and multi-faceted culinary impacted challenges while optimizing tools and processes for improved efficiency. This will include partnering with regional/local Brand partners, suppliers, operations, marketing, food safety, and quality assurance stakeholders. The role will also support commercialization and localization efforts for partnerships and new ventures as needed.
• Teach & Taste Chipotle: As the Chef for International Culinary, you will be an expert in Chipotle's FWI mission, our Real food proposition and our back of house culinary execution. Our value of Teaching and Tasting is critical and is supported with restaurant visits, food demonstrations, delivering strategic feedback, shoulder to shoulder training, and providing support to enhance the FWI ethos, skills, knowledge, and performance of restaurant culinary to regional teams.
• Culinary Operations: Facilitate the successful overall culinary operations and taste of food in new regions, ensuring adherence to Chipotle brand standards. Coordinate with other departments to support the successful launch and operation of new locations and menu items in partnership markets.
• Culinary Training: Develop and deliver culturally tailored culinary training programs for partner staff and management teams. Includes conducting training sessions, both in-person and remotely, to uphold brand standards and support corrective calibrations.
• Monitor Regional Culinary Performance: Monitor and evaluate culinary performance in international markets, while working with relevant cross functional teams to make necessary adjustments to improve product quality, culinary operations, and customer satisfaction. Ensure partner operational KPIs meet or exceed US standards, focusing on taste of food and customer satisfaction. Implement, upgrade, and assess quality control measures to maintain consistency in service and product delivery across all locations.

What You'll Bring To The Table

• A passion for being guest obsessed, exceptional food, and cultivating a better world
• Dynamic team player and culinarian with proven track record of critical thinking and problem-solving skills
• High level of commitment to maintaining established Gold Standards of service and product quality while fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, and results
• Culinary Arts Degree/Certification required
• 4-year bachelors degree preferred
• Language skills - proficient in English, with additional languages preferred
• 7+ years of progressive culinary experience, including 2+ years of international exposure
• 2+ years supervisory experience preferred
• Experience in multi-unit operations in international markets
• Strong leadership skills with a proven ability to develop and implement training programs
• Ability to analyze operational performance metrics and implement improvements
• Cultural sensitivity and adaptability to tailor training materials to specific regional needs
• Proficiency in utilizing technology for remote monitoring and quality assurance
• Strong problem-solving skills to address culinary challenges effectively
• Limited experience in large scale production and commercialization, core product benchmarking, gap analysis, critical action planning, and reverse engineering of products
• Firm understanding of food science, food safety, regulations and quality assurance standards
• Highly articulate and able to present to diverse audiences including leadership with proficiency in food tastings, PowerPoint, and other impactful presentation formats
• Travel subject to business needs. Approximately 40-60% travel domestic and international

Pay Transparency

A reasonable estimate of the current base pay range for this position is $113,000.00$158,000.00. You are also eligible for annual cash bonuses and equity awards based upon performance and other factors. Actual compensation offered may vary depending on skill level, experience, and/or education. Chipotle offers a competitive total rewards package, which includes medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401k, sick leave, vacation time, and much more. Visit www.chipotle.com/benefits for more details.

Who We Are

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) is cultivating a better world by serving responsibly sourced, classically cooked, real food with wholesome ingredients without artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. Chipotle has restaurants in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Germany and is the only restaurant company of its size that owns and operates all its restaurants in North America and Europe. With employees passionate about providing a great guest experience, Chipotle is a longtime leader and innovator in the food industry. Chipotle is committed to making its food more accessible to everyone while continuing to be a brand with a demonstrated purpose as it leads the way in digital, technology and sustainable business practices. For more information or to place an order online, visit www.chipotle.com.

Chipotle Mexican Grill is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity at all levels. As a people-first company rooted in values, our purpose extends beyond serving nutritious food using real ingredients. It means hiring world-class individuals and fostering a culture that champions diversity, ensures equity, and celebrates inclusion. All qualified applicants, regardless of personal characteristics, are encouraged to apply. Qualified applicants with disabilities may be entitled to reasonable accommodation under the terms of the Americans with Disabilities Act and/or certain state or local laws. Please contact ADAaccommodations@chipotle.com if you need an accommodation due to a disability to complete an application, job interview, and/or to otherwise participate in the hiring process. This email does not respond to non-accommodations related requests.