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What you'll be doing:
The Director, Culinary – North Asia is responsible for providing strategic, operational, and creative leadership across all culinary functions in North Asia (Mainland China, Japan, Taiwan, Macau and some potential markets).
This role oversees culinary vision, standards, performance, innovation, compliance, and people development, ensuring alignment with global culinary strategy while respecting regional culinary identity and commercial objectives. The position plays a critical leadership role in new business development, lounge openings, central kitchen strategy, cost governance, brand positioning, and stakeholder engagement across the region.
The Director, Culinary – North Asia provides end-to-end leadership of the regional culinary ecosystem, ensuring guest satisfaction, operational excellence, financial discipline, and brand consistency across all lounges, hotels, and production kitchens.
Culinary Strategy & Governance
- Define and execute the North Asia culinary strategy aligned with global direction and business goals.
- Establish and enforce regional culinary standards, SOPs, menu matrices, and brand guidelines.
- Lead culinary governance across lounges, central kitchens, and external catering partners.
- Drive sense-of-place culinary storytelling while maintaining global brand consistency.
Operations & Performance
- Oversee all regional culinary operations including pre-openings, openings, refurbishments, and post-opening stabilization.
- Lead budgeting, forecasting, CAPEX planning, labor optimization, food cost control, and waste reduction.
- Ensure operational performance against KPIs: guest satisfaction, cost per pax, hygiene scores, audit results, and sustainability metrics.
- Provide senior-level troubleshooting and on-site operational support when required.
Menu Development & Innovation
- Lead menu design, recipe development, and seasonal rotations across North Asia (e.g., cherry blossom season, Lunar New Year, Chuseok).
- Champion health & wellness, sustainability, food seasonality, and CSR initiatives.
- Collaborate with HQ on new concepts, activations, Chef Series programs, and brand campaigns.
- Drive innovation through technology, equipment optimization, and modern production techniques relevant to high-volume airport environments.
New Business, RFPs & Stakeholder Engagement
- Act as culinary lead for RFPs, tenders, and commercial presentations for North Asian airport hubs
- Support Sales, Operations, and Business Development teams with culinary input and costing strategy.
- Engage with airport authorities, airline partners (e.g., ANA, JAL, Cathay Pacific, China Eastern, Korean Air), landlords, and owners as senior culinary representative.
- Design and scale large-format culinary operations including lounges and central kitchens.
Food Safety, Quality & Compliance
- Own regional food safety governance, HACCP (or local equivalents such as China's GB standards or Japan's Food Sanitation Law) implementation, and audit readiness.
- Ensure compliance with local regulations, global standards, and company policies.
- Lead food safety inspections, corrective actions, and continuous improvement initiatives.
People Leadership & Development
- Lead, mentor, and develop Regional Executive Chefs and country culinary leadership
- Chair and guide the North Asia Culinary Council.
- Establish regional training frameworks, talent pipelines, succession planning, and performance reviews.
- Drive a culture of engagement, accountability, innovation, and professional growth.
Efficiency, Productivity & Financial Discipline
- Optimize central kitchen strategy, procurement models, logistics, and supplier partnerships across North Asia (including cross-border dry goods sourcing).
- Partner with Finance, Procurement, Marketing, and Operations to maximize profitability.
- Recommend improvements to organization structure, productivity, and equipment utilization.
- Analyze guest feedback and operational data to identify trends, risks, and best practices.
About you:
- 18+ years of senior culinary leadership experience in multi-unit, multi-country operations with proven regional leadership experience specifically in North Asia
- Strong background in hotels, premium hospitality, or airport/airline catering.
- Deep understanding of North Asian cuisines and international luxury culinary trends.
- Expertise in large-scale operations, central kitchens, and high-volume environments.
- Strong commercial acumen with experience managing budgets, CAPEX, and P&L drivers.
- Excellent presentation, stakeholder management, and communication skills.
- Advanced proficiency in Excel, PowerPoint, and data-driven reporting.
- Willingness to travel extensively across North Asia
- Language requirement: Fluency in English and Mandarin or Cantonese required; Japanese or Korean highly advantageous.
