Culinary Lead

About the Role:  

Reporting to the Culinary Supervisor, the Culinary Lead is responsible for leading a team of Culinary Associates on the production floor.  Culinary Leads ensure the production function is performed satisfactorily on the Kitchen floor in collaboration with leadership. 

• Support Culinary Leadership in overseeing the production process on the kitchen floor, including, but not limited to, production execution, Quality Control/Quality Assurance, and time tracking
• Ensure employees follow GMPs, ensuring that products are consistently produced and controlled according to policy
• Maintain working knowledge of and assist with implementation of new and existing SOPs and policies across production teams; ensure processes and policies are adhered to at all times
• Ensure that Meal Components are properly labeled with the correct amount, date, and meal code
• Identify and communicate all shorts including, but not limited to, bin weights, components, meal count shorts, etc.
• Properly update and communicate on Slack and other necessary methods such as the call-out line, phones, meetings, etc.

• Attend consistent safety meetings, keeping track of policy changes and rollouts
• Support leadership in ensuring OSHA compliance standards are adhered to at all times by staff
• Support leadership with internal QA Audits initiatives

• High school diploma required
• 2+ years experience in a large-scale, high-volume kitchen required 
• Food safety and sanitation experience highly preferred
• Relevant food manufacturing and production experience preferred
• Valid CA Food Handlers Certification(must be obtained within 30 days of hire)
• Master in executing food prep production tasks with minimal / no supervision and guidance
• Master in reading and executing recipes accurately
• Strong proficiency in operating all commercial cooking equipment
• Strong leadership skills in leading team members on the floor to hit throughput targets and efficiency goals
• Strong communication skills that put compliance first

• Prolonged periods of standing, bending, and walking throughout the facility
• Ability to consistently life up to 25 pounds, and occasionally lift up to 50 pounds

Get to Know Thistle

Thistle was founded in 2013 with a mission to make it easy to get and stay healthy while improving the sustainability of our food system. We deliver delicious, ready-to-eat plant-forward meals, snacks, and cold press juices to our customers’ doorsteps to empower our customers to improve personal and planetary health by eating more plants. To date we’ve delivered over 20 million nourishing meals to customers across the West and East Coast and we’re just getting started! The San Francisco Business Times named us one of the Top 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies in the Bay Area in 2023. Inc. awarded us Best in Business in 2022 among companies that “go above and beyond” in both food and sustainability sectors, and recognized us in the 2024 Inc. Regionals list of the fastest-growing companies in America by region.

We are mission-driven and share a growth mindset. Our values guide our approach to crafting our healthy products, solving problems, and working collaboratively. As a Thistler, you'll help transform the health of people and the planet by living our core values every day.

Be Human: We’re always willing to learn and aim to empower the people around us. 

Think Bigger: We’re here to do more today than we did yesterday, and we figure it out together. 

Build the Future: We tackle every day with the positive attitude of someone who can see the future and knows how bright it is. 

Make a Lot with a Little: We get creative and look for ways our resources can take us as far as possible.

Lead with Purpose: Our mission guides our decisions and gives our work meaning.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential values at Thistle. We know we do our best and most impactful work when we feel we are represented and belong. We're proud to actively recruit and hire talented people from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.