The roles and responsibilities of a Kitchen Manager

What does a Kitchen Manager do? It's all in the name, right? They bring structure and leadership to the kitchen. Well, there's a lot more under the surface. You'll play a hands-on role in training, motivating and inspiring your team. Working together with your General Manager, you'll smash those targets, help your team bring their A-game and serve up one delicious meal after the next.

So, if you're thinking about a long-term kitchen career or even just about your next step, let us break down the roles and responsibilities of a Kitchen Manager for you.

Get the best out of your team

You can have a team full of superstars, but unless you create an environment where everyone can bring their best selves, you're wasting potential. What does this look like?

• Keeping track of performance, on an individual level and a group level

• Recognising what every person contributes to the team

• Being a cheerleader and rewarding great performance

Boosting your kitchen's financial performance

Taking on more responsibilities in the kitchen comes with added pressures. But if that very thought fires you up, you could have what it takes to make it as a Kitchen Manager and beyond. Your [Area Manager] will set financial targets for your kitchen and help you figure out how you can hit them. This might involve:

• Reviewing your stock management system to make sure your GP is ship shape

• Perfecting all the final flourishes on your dishes to delight our guests even further

• Training staff in effective stock ordering and waste management

• Investing in team development and pushing your teams to achieve their potential

At M&B, we recognise the hard work that our Kitchen Managers put in to hit their targets. And we believe they should be rewarded for this. To say thank you, many of our roles offer bonuses as well as other financial benefits.

Training and development

We might have touched on team performance already, but it deserves another mention. Did you know that 9 in 10 people believe that employers must offer consistent training? So, as a Kitchen Manager, it's down to you to make sure that every person in your team is given the opportunity to hone their skills, whether that's culinary, leadership or organisation.

Another role of yours will be to look out for the future Kitchen Managers in your team. They're likely to be the people who show initiative, know how to handle the heat in the kitchen, and rally people together. 

For us, there are few things more rewarding than seeing team members, like Ben, progress from an Apprentice to Kitchen Manager.

Keep the kitchen running smoothly

We weren't kidding when we said there's a lot more to the role under the surface. You'll need to keep an eye on every area of the kitchen. Things are going to go wrong from time to time. What's important is how you handle the challenges. There will be occasions when your team loses steam on an exceptionally busy shift, and you’ll need to find ways to motivate them. 

Problem-solving is a part of the job, and it can also be an enjoyable one. So even though there will be some hurdles, we have no doubt you'll have a lot of fun along the way - that's just one of the reasons to bring your Kitchen Manager career to M&B.

Find out what it's like to be a part of an M&B kitchen

Ready to make your next career move? Wherever you are in your kitchen career, whether that's a kitchen team leader, deputy kitchen manager, head chef or sous chef, there's a place for you in one of our teams. We have people spread across 1,600 locations in the UK, so you're bound to be closer to an M&B business than you might think.

To find out more about working in our kitchens, take a look at M&B kitchen jobs. Or, you can register to receive job alerts so you never miss out on our latest opportunities.