Job Summary
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
- Passion for Guest Obsessed service, Exceptional Food, and Cultivating a Better World.
· Dynamic culinary leader with strong critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration skills.
· 7+ years of progressive culinary experience, including 2+ years supporting international markets.
· Experience leading culinary initiatives within multi-unit restaurant operations, with a preference for supervisory experience.
· Culinary Arts degree or certification required; bachelor's degree preferred.
· Strong understanding of food science, food safety, quality assurance, and regulatory standards.
· Ability to develop training programs, analyze operational performance, and drive continuous improvement across diverse markets.
· Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to influence stakeholders at all levels and adapt to varying cultural and regional needs.
· Experience with product commercialization, benchmarking, gap analysis, and bringing culinary concepts to scale preferred.
· Willingness to travel 40-60% domestically and internationally and work primarily onsite in the Newport Beach/Irvine offices when not traveling.
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 had over 3,400 restaurants as of December 31, 2023, 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. Chipotle is ranked on the Fortune 500 and is recognized on Fortune's Most Admired Companies 2024 list and Time Magazine's Most Influential Companies. With over 115,000 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.
PAY TRANSPARENCY
A reasonable estimate of the current base salary range for this position is $114,000 - $161,000. 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 https://jobs.chipotle.com/benefits
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.
