KITCHEN MANAGER

Responsibilities

The Kitchen Manager is responsible for all the operations and management of the chapter's kitchen and dining rooms. The Vice President of Finance should supervise him as the Kitchen Manager's work controls a substantial amount of chapter finances and strongly affects the chapter's day-to-day morale. He will obviously work closely with the Director of House Operations if these responsibilities are not already part of that position's duties.

If the chapter is large enough, the best way to develop someone for the position is to also have an Assistant Kitchen Manager who trains for the lead position – managing a kitchen is a technical skill that takes some time to learn. The Assistant Kitchen Manager should first familiarize himself with the kitchen's mechanical instruments, health and fire safety requirements, arrangements for formal dinners, and the responsibilities of the whole kitchen staff. The responsibilities for the Kitchen Manager typically include the following:

Plans meals with the aid of the housemother, cook or someone trained in food
     preparation.

Work closely with the Director of House Operations and the VP Finance to ensure that food
     is supplied at or under budget throughout the year.

The Kitchen Manager is the liaison between the cook and the chapter. Food complaints
     should go through the Kitchen Manager, not directly to the cook. It is the cook's job to satisfy
     the majority of the brothers – certain individual differences should be restricted to the
     Kitchen Manager, so the cook's overall work gets the appreciation it deserves.

The Kitchen Manager may have to make difficult and unpopular choices based on
     managing costs and inventory that needs to be supported by the Director of House
     Operations and Executive Committee.

It is important to manage the paid kitchen staff with respect and efficiently, periodically
     reviewing their performance, and giving them the resources they need to do their jobs well.

Works with the Director of Risk Management to maintain a safe and sanitary conditions in
     the dining areas.

Ensures that house rules are specified in the by-laws and are enforced.

As with any chapter officer position, the Kitchen Manager is a substantial time commitment and provides immeasurable benefits to the member who assumes the position. In particular though, those Kitchen Managers who are Food, Science and Nutrition or Hotel Restaurant management majors will gain an immeasurable amount of knowledge and hands-on experience by essentially serving as a Restaurant/Catering Manager of a dining facility. The vast quantity of food and supplies that the Kitchen Manager will be responsible for will result in the expenditure of thousands of dollars each year and few men of college age are ever given such an enormous responsibility.

Relationship with Other Officers

While the Vice President of Finance has responsibility for all the financial affairs of the Chapter, the largest account in the Chapter is typically the “Kitchen” account. As such, it is important that the Kitchen Manager work closely with the Vice President of Finance to ensure prudence in the maintenance of the budgets. Moreover, the VP - Finance, the Director of House Operations, Kitchen Manager, Housemother and cook should maintain regular communication. Making a mistake in the maintenance of the kitchen budget can have severe effects on the Chapter.