Job Summary:
At Stong’s, we have a strong sense of community and are committed to the personal and professional development of our people. Our vision is to transform Stong's into a destination for premium, ready-to-eat meals that deliver on taste, quality, and variety and you will be instrumental in making this vision a reality. This is a fantastic opportunity to create a culinary experience that aligns with Stong's legacy of excellence while opening new revenue streams and enhancing our competitive edge.
Why work for us:
- We offer competitive wages, hands-on training, extended health benefits, annual performance reviews, and internal growth opportunities to our 400+ staff.
- Staff discount on groceries is one of our most popular perks!
- Full-time, consistent schedule: Monday to Friday days, with flexibility required outside of regular hours based on operational needs.
Our Goals:
To increase prepared foods sales and profitability by exploring opportunities in:
- A potential commissary operation
- Expanding our prepared foods offering
- Menu item design
- Recipe development
- Labour cost reductions
- Purchasing practices
- Waste reduction systems
- Food costing systems
- Pricing systems
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
(Other duties may be assigned as required)
Food
- Design menus and develop recipes that deliver convenient, premium-quality, and nutritious meal solutions tailored to our target audience.
- Transform creative ideas into reality by leveraging customer feedback and success metrics to refine offerings.
- Use a process-driven approach to develop new products that meet customer satisfaction, performance, cost, and complexity objectives.
- Coordinate food for events and catering, developing specialized menus when needed.
Systems
- Implement kitchen systems that manage food cost, pricing, waste reduction, labour controls, and cleanliness.
- Negotiate purchasing contracts for ingredients, ensuring cost efficiency and quality.
- Manage inventory and labour, applying financial reporting analysis to enhance results.
- Maintain sanitation standards across all kitchen areas to comply with provincial regulations.
- Ensure compliance with government regulations, policies, employment laws, food safety, security, and operational guidelines.
Leadership
- Lead and motivate culinary teams, ensuring the consistent delivery of the highest-quality food and a remarkable culinary experience.
- Take a hands-on role in managing culinary staff and maintaining product quality standards in production environments. As the in-house culinary expert, you’ll be responsible for establishing what ‘great’ looks like and effectively communicating those standards internally and externally.
- Collaborate with teams to identify operational challenges and lead culinary-related continuous improvement initiatives to enhance product quality over time.
- Support the recruitment, selection, and retention of top culinary talent.
- Engage with guests and team members to ensure exceptional hospitality.
- Mentor and develop culinary team members daily, fostering growth and continuous improvement.
- Assist with other related duties and responsibilities as assigned.
Required Skills and Abilities:
- Inspirational, kind, and hardworking, with a passion for excellence.
- Highly organized and detail-oriented, with a proven track record of turning ideas into reality, meeting deadlines, and ensuring all details are considered.
- A process leader capable of developing processes where they are lacking and iterating continuously for improved results.
- Knowledgeable about local and Canadian taste profiles, culinary trends, and popular dietary lifestyles such as ketogenic, low-carb, vegan, and vegetarian diets.
- Passionate about staying informed on the latest nutrition science and trends.
- Entrepreneurial with an ownership mindset, comfortable working in small teams and taking full responsibility for assigned tasks.
- Innovative and creative, always looking for ways to improve existing systems and processes.
- Customer-centric, understanding how decisions impact both internal and external customers.
- Experienced in inventory/cost control, food costing, menu development, and other business principles relevant to the culinary field.
- Committed to upholding a premium level of quality in all aspects of the foodservice operation.
- Skilled at creating culinary experiences that drive customer satisfaction, loyalty, and brand strength.
Required Education and Experience:
- Degree or diploma in Culinary Arts, Culinary Science, or a similar field.
- 10+ years of experience in various culinary environments such as premium restaurants, banquet/catering businesses, corporate food R&D programs, or food production commissaries.
- Strong computer proficiency in relevant systems and software used in culinary operations.
About Us
Stong’s Market is a locally owned, community focused grocery store. We offer a wide variety of local and boutique products at our Vancouver, North Vancouver and Squamish locations. Our new STEMS By STONG’S store will feature a vibrant selection of fresh flowers, ready-made bouquets, and custom arrangements for events like weddings and more. Our Stong’s Market Express Department are experts at home delivery straight to your front door. The Stong’s name has a rich history with over 85 years of grocery experience and we are committed to a unique and family friendly grocery shopping experience.
Our Commitment
Stong’s Market is an Equal Opportunity employer committed to diversity in the workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, gender identity or any other factor protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws.
Stong’s Market is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals during the recruitment process. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please notify the hiring manager when contacted for an interview.
How to Apply
Interested candidates are invited to apply online at stongs.com/careers/.
