Global Culinary Director

Role summary

F1 Arcade is looking for a Global Culinary Director to steer the company’s food direction, set culinary standards, and oversee kitchen operations across venues in the US and UK, while also supporting franchise partners. This position owns the full lifecycle of the food offer, from shaping the concept and building menus through to rollout, training, supplier coordination, and continuous improvement.

The role requires a commercially minded culinary leader who can balance creativity, operational practicality, brand consistency, and guest experience across company-run and franchised sites. The right person will bring strong multi-site experience, an understanding of hospitality economics, and the ability to adapt menus for different markets.

Reporting line and location

This position reports to the Chief Executive Officer / Managing Director. It is a remote role, but the successful candidate must live within 25 miles of a venue.

Culinary strategy and brand development

• Set and champion the culinary direction for the US and UK businesses so the food offer supports the brand, guest expectations, and commercial targets.
• Create menus that are innovative, premium, and practical to operate, while fitting daypart, event, and group dining occasions.
• Build a food strategy that can scale across corporate and franchise venues with room for local adaptation where needed.
• Work with senior leaders to evolve the food proposition in step with growth plans, customer trends, and brand development.

Menu development and innovation

• Lead the creation, testing, pricing, launch, and seasonal refresh of menus across the business.
• Design dishes that look strong, taste excellent, remain profitable, and can be executed reliably in a high-volume environment.
• Adjust menus for US and UK markets while accounting for local preferences, ingredient access, pricing, regulations, and operations.
• Put in place menu engineering processes that improve mix, margin, labour efficiency, and overall guest satisfaction.
• Own recipe development, portion control, plating standards, allergen details, and specification documentation.

Multi-site operational excellence

• Set clear culinary standards across all venues for food quality, presentation, preparation, and kitchen discipline.
• Carry out regular site visits, kitchen audits, and performance reviews to spot improvement opportunities and confirm brand compliance.
• Partner with operations teams so kitchen workflows, prep models, service processes, and labour deployment are efficient and effective.
• Solve issues linked to equipment, production flow, staffing capability, and product quality.

Franchise partner support

• Act as the main culinary point of contact for franchise partners, helping with openings, menu delivery, and ongoing operational support.
• Support partners with menu innovation and implementation.
• Develop franchise-ready playbooks, systems, and training tools that help ensure consistent delivery across different markets.
• Advise on kitchen layout, equipment choices, supplier standards, product specs, and readiness for new openings.
• Help franchisees troubleshoot issues, improve performance, and adapt menus within approved brand limits.
• Work with franchise and international teams so partners deliver the intended F1 Arcade food experience.

Training and capability building

• Work with the L&D team to design and deliver culinary training for chefs, kitchen managers, and operations teams across corporate and franchise sites.
• Build SOPs, recipe manuals, onboarding tools, and other training materials that support consistent execution.
• Coach venue leaders to lift quality, capability, and operational confidence.

Supplier and commercial management

• Partner with procurement and supply chain teams to source products that meet quality, availability, and cost needs in both the US and UK.
• Support supplier selection, product trials, and specification development.
• Track food cost performance and identify margin improvements without sacrificing food quality or guest experience.
• Ensure menus and recipes are designed with supply resilience, scalability, and operational simplicity in mind.

Compliance and food safety

• Make sure all culinary standards, recipes, and operating procedures meet applicable food safety, allergen, and regulatory requirements in the US and UK.
• Work with operations and compliance teams to maintain strong food safety practices across all venues.
• Support audit readiness and ensure franchise partners understand and follow required standards.

Cross-functional collaboration

• Partner closely with Operations, Beverage, Training, Procurement, Finance, Marketing, and Franchise teams to deliver a joined-up guest experience.
• Work with marketing on menu launches, promotional activity, and storytelling around the food offer.
• Contribute to new venue openings, feasibility reviews, and long-term growth planning across domestic and international markets.

Experience and capability

• Extensive senior culinary leadership background in a multi-site hospitality, restaurant, or entertainment-led business.
• Proven exposure to multi-region or international culinary operations, ideally including both the US and UK.
• Experience supporting franchise, licensed, or partner-operated models is strongly preferred.
• Strong expertise in menu development, recipe standardisation, kitchen operations, and cost control.
• Demonstrated ability to build food concepts that are both brand-led and operationally workable.
• Solid understanding of food safety, allergen management, and regulatory compliance in complex environments.
• Experience with new venue openings and culinary launch support is highly desirable.
• Commercial awareness, including menu costing, margin management, and labour-conscious operating decisions.

Skills and working style

• Strategic thinker with a strong commercial mindset and the ability to connect culinary decisions to business results.
• Hands-on approach with a strong eye for standards, quality, and detail.
• Confident leader who can influence cross-functional teams and franchise stakeholders.
• Strong coaching, training, and communication skills.
• Organised, adaptable, and comfortable in a fast-moving growth environment.
• Practical problem solver with a solution-oriented mindset.
• Able to balance global brand consistency with local market needs.

Success measures

• Consistent food quality and presentation across US, UK, and franchise locations.
• Successful rollout of menu updates and new culinary initiatives.
• Improved food cost performance and stronger menu margins.
• High compliance with culinary and food safety standards.
• Effective execution and support from franchise partners.
• Positive guest feedback and stronger food-related performance metrics.
• Reliable culinary support for new venue openings and market expansion.

Travel and working pattern

The role requires travel globally for up to 70% of the time. The position also requires a minimum commitment of 40 hours per week, with flexibility needed to support a global business operating across multiple time zones.

Core values

The successful candidate will be expected to consistently demonstrate F1 Arcade’s core values: Pursuit of Excellence, Positive Energy, Integrity, and Team Spirit.

Basic physical requirements

When working in a venue, the team member must be able to carry out the duties required by that environment. This includes regularly sitting for short periods, communicating often by video conferencing and phone, and frequently handling objects. The role also requires lifting up to 10 pounds regularly and up to 50 pounds as needed, lifting from floor to shoulder frequently and overhead occasionally, twisting and reaching often, and gripping objects continuously. The work environment may involve extended periods in both hot and cold conditions, standing and walking for long periods, frequent hand washing and sanitation, and the use of knives, slicing tools, and other food preparation equipment. The team member must also be able to communicate with guests and colleagues and use handheld and desktop devices.

Equal opportunity

F1 Arcade is an equal opportunity employer. All candidates will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or disability status.