Culinary Innovation Chef
Mexican, Mediterranean, or Asian Fusion Cuisine
Location: New York, NY
Employment Type: Full-time (occasional travel required)
About the Role
We’re a growing, flavor-forward fast-casual brand on a mission to make bold, ingredient-forward cuisine crave-able at scale. We’re seeking an innovative, hands-on Chef to join our Research & Development (R&D) team and help shape the future of our menu. This role is central to crafting new menu items, refining existing recipes, and keeping our offerings ahead of evolving culinary trends — all while balancing bold flavor with consistency, speed, and cost-effectiveness across a growing multi-unit operation.
If you’ve built menus in a high-growth, multi-unit fast-casual environment and love the challenge of making a dish taste just as exceptional at the hundredth location as it does at the first, we want to hear from you.
Key Responsibilities
• Develop and test new menu items built on fresh, high-quality, sustainably sourced ingredients — with a focus on bold, ingredient-forward flavors.
• Engineer recipes for consistency and reproducibility across hundreds of locations, optimizing for commissary/central-production workflows and assembly-line service models.
• Design menu items that fit build-your-own bowl, or similar customizable formats, including grain bowls, dips, spreads, and protein-forward offerings.
• Manage LTO (Limited Time Offer) development cycles and seasonal menu rotations from concept to launch.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (Operations, Marketing, Supply Chain) to ensure recipes meet standards for flavor, quality, speed of service, and cost-effectiveness.
• Conduct market research and track emerging food trends to drive menu innovation.
• Maintain and update the recipe database for accuracy and consistency across all units.
• Identify and resolve food safety and quality issues related to new menu items.
• Partner with the sourcing team to identify new ingredients and suppliers at scale.
• Lead product demonstrations and presentations for internal teams and external partners.
• Continuously refine existing menu items based on customer preferences and store-level performance data.
• Train and mentor junior R&D team members.
• Ensure compliance with nutrition, sanitation, and food safety standards.
Qualifications
• Proven experience as a professional chef, with deep expertise in Mexican cuisine (Mediterranean or Asian Fusion experience a strong plus).
• Experience developing menus in a high-growth, multi-unit fast-casual environment is strongly preferred — ideally for brands operating 100+ locations.
• Hands-on experience with build-your-own bowl or similar customizable, assembly-line service formats.
• Familiarity with commissary kitchens, central production, and prep-forward store operations.
• Track record of scaling recipes across multiple locations while maintaining flavor and quality — menus that don’t compromise on craft as the brand grows.
• Experience managing LTO development cycles and seasonal menu rotations.
• Strong command of kitchen operations and menu development.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and oversee recipe testing and execution.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
• In-depth knowledge of current culinary trends and kitchen optimization techniques.
• Food safety and sanitation certifications highly desirable.
• Degree in Culinary Arts or related certification preferred.
• Based in the New York, NY area; able to travel occasionally as needed.
How to Apply
If you’re interested, please send your resume and the materials below to [diaoxy@haidilao.com]. To help us evaluate your fit for this role, please include the following with your application:
• A short portfolio of 3–5 signature dishes you’ve developed or led on the line — photos plus a brief description of each dish, the ingredients, and the technique. We’re especially interested in seeing your work in Mexican cuisine (and/or Mediterranean or Asian Fusion).
• In your resume, clearly indicate for each past role: (a) the type of restaurant (independent, fast-casual chain, multi-unit group, etc.), (b) the approximate number of locations the brand operated during your tenure, and (c) your specific role in menu development or R&D.
Applications without relevant experience details or examples may not be prioritized.
Why Join Us?
Join a growing brand where your work directly shapes what guests experience every day, at hundreds of locations. You’ll have real ownership over menu innovation, a collaborative team that values bold ideas, and the chance to make a lasting impact on a brand on the rise.
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to an inclusive, diverse workplace. We value all employees regardless of race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, veteran status, or disability.
If you’re a passionate, innovative chef eager to shape the future of modern fast-casual cuisine, we encourage you to apply!
Benefits
- Flexible schedule
- Paid time off
- Health insurance
- Dental insurance
- Vision insurance
- Life insurance
- Disability insurance
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Employee discount
- Other
- Mileage reimbursement