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Lindblad Expeditions, a pioneer in expedition travel since 1966, is seeking a Manager of Culinary Operations to oversee exceptional culinary experiences across its fleet of 20 ships. This role reports to the Director of Culinary Operations and is central to ensuring consistent quality, innovation, and operational excellence in food service across the company's global expedition itineraries.
Key responsibilities include developing season-specific menu matrices incorporating regional culinary trends; creating strategic ordering and provisioning plans aligned with vessel storage capacity and itinerary requirements; monitoring voyage food costs by vessel against established targets; reviewing and approving culinary food orders within budget; developing recipe costing and standardized recipes; and ensuring compliance with United States Public Health (USPH) standards across all vessels.
The role involves significant collaboration with the culinary trainer, purchasing team, onboard culinary staff, and hotel leadership. You will support professional development of galley staff through performance evaluations, individual development plans, and participation in culinary candidate interviews. You will also collaborate on training materials and programs, provide operational guidance during training sessions and transitions, and contribute to hotel leadership initiatives that strengthen creativity and innovation.
Additional duties include serving as a temporary or relief chef when needed, participating in interviews for culinary candidates, and supporting other culinary positions as operational needs require. The position requires the ability to travel and support vessels as needed.
The hybrid work schedule requires in-office presence Tuesday through Thursday at the Seattle office, with flexibility to work remotely Monday and Friday. Candidates must reside within reasonable commuting distance.
REQUIREMENTS:
- Degree in Culinary Arts or equivalent combination of culinary education and professional experience
- 5+ years of progressive culinary leadership experience (Executive Chef, Corporate Chef, Culinary Manager, or similar)
- Demonstrated experience developing menus, recipe costing, food ordering, inventory planning, and provisioning
- Experience managing culinary budgets, food cost targets, and operational performance metrics
- Experience leading, coaching, and developing culinary teams
- Experience implementing food safety programs, HACCP, and USPH standards
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly Excel
- Strong knowledge of culinary operations, provisioning, menu engineering, and inventory management
- Excellent financial acumen with experience managing food costs, recipe costing, forecasting, and budget performance
- Ability to analyze operational data and make recommendations to improve quality, efficiency, and profitability
- Strong organizational and project management skills with ability to manage multiple initiatives simultaneously
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with ability to influence and collaborate across shipboard and shoreside teams
- Ability to travel and support vessels as operational needs require
Preferred: Experience in cruise, maritime, luxury hospitality, resort, or large-scale food service operations; experience supporting large, geographically dispersed or multi-unit culinary operations.
