The Manager, Culinary Programs - Kitchen Operations is responsible for strengthening and standardizing CEFA’s nutrition program across the network by leading menu development, procurement strategy, vendor alignment, food-cost optimization, kitchen training, equipment standards, and execution consistency across all schools.

Reporting to the Senior Director of Operations, this role supports schools by improving purchasing efficiency, reducing waste, standardizing kitchen setup expectations, and delivering measurable operational savings while maintaining CEFA’s premium brand standards and licensing compliance requirements.

• Develop seasonal rotating menus aligned with CEFA program expectations
• Ensure meals support early childhood nutrition standards
• Maintain allergy-safe substitutions and protocols
• Support culturally inclusive menu planning
• Align menus with regional availability and pricing realities
• Strengthen consistency across all centres
• Support positioning of nutrition as part of CEFA’s premium program delivery

• Develop national ingredient standards
• Create preferred product lists by category
• Identify supplier alignment opportunities across regions
• Support group purchasing efficiencies
• Monitor ingredient price fluctuations and recommend substitutions
• Establish cost-per-child meal benchmarks
• Support franchise partners with kitchen budget management tools
• Identify measurable cost-reduction opportunities

• Build and maintain relationships with national and regional suppliers
• Evaluate vendor pricing, service reliability, and product consistency
• Support preferred vendor agreements where appropriate
• Identify opportunities for volume-based savings across school locations
• Assist franchise partners with supplier challenges
• Standardize approved ingredient and product specifications
• Support evaluation and onboarding of new vendor partners

• Develop standardized recipe costing templates
• Track kitchen spend patterns across locations
• Monitor cost-per-child meal metrics
• Identify waste trends and operational inefficiencies
• Provide quarterly savings reports to Operations
• Support evidence-based menu adjustments
• Analyze procurement performance across regions

• Deliver onboarding training for new school chefs
• Support principals in supervising kitchen operations
• Provide coaching and execution guidance to existing kitchen teams
• Develop chef training materials and execution guides
• Provide kitchen readiness support during school openings

• Develop standardized kitchen operating procedures
• Create ordering templates and inventory tracking tools
• Implement portion control standards
• Support waste-reduction practices
• Align preparation expectations with licensing requirements
• Support audit readiness across school locations

• Support standardized kitchen layout expectations for new schools
• Improve workflow efficiency within CEFA kitchen environments
• Ensure layouts support licensing compliance
• Reduce unnecessary movement and duplication in prep processes
• Collaborate with Operations and Business Development on kitchen readiness

• Develop a CEFA-approved smallwares list
• Define essential vs optional startup equipment
• Reduce purchasing variation across school locations
• Support lifecycle planning for kitchen tools
• Create standardized opening-school kitchen kits