Restaurant Consultant jobs in Ontario

Restaurant Kitchen Operations Consultant

LuLu’s Callander Bar & Grill | Callander, Ontario

Position Type: Independent Contract / Short-Term Consulting Engagement
Compensation: Negotiable based on experience and proposed scope of work

Position Overview

LuLu’s Callander Bar & Grill is seeking an experienced Restaurant Kitchen Operations Consultant to evaluate, improve, and modernize our kitchen operations.

We are looking for a knowledgeable hospitality professional who can provide practical, hands-on recommendations to improve food safety, operational efficiency, menu development, food costs, and overall kitchen performance.

The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in restaurant kitchen management, food service operations, menu costing, and staff training, with a strong understanding of Ontario public health requirements.

Our goal is to establish efficient, sustainable systems that improve consistency, reduce waste, support our staff, maintain high food safety standards, and strengthen the restaurant's long-term profitability.

Key Responsibilities

1. Food Safety & Public Health Compliance

• Evaluate current food handling, preparation, storage, sanitation, and cleaning procedures.
• Review kitchen operations against applicable Ontario food premises regulations and local public health requirements.
• Identify potential food safety risks and recommend corrective measures.
• Develop or improve food safety procedures, cleaning schedules, temperature logs, food labelling, and storage systems.
• Review allergen management and cross-contamination prevention practices.
• Recommend practical systems for maintaining ongoing compliance and preparing for public health inspections.

2. Kitchen Workflow & Operational Efficiency

• Assess existing kitchen layout, equipment placement, preparation methods, and service workflow.
• Identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and opportunities to improve communication between kitchen and front-of-house staff.
• Recommend systems to improve food preparation times, ticket management, and service consistency.
• Evaluate preparation schedules, station organization, and staff responsibilities.
• Develop practical opening, closing, preparation, and cleaning checklists.
• Recommend improvements that reduce unnecessary labour, food waste, and operational costs without compromising quality.

3. Menu Evaluation & Development

• Review the existing menu for efficiency, profitability, consistency, and customer appeal.
• Evaluate menu size, ingredient overlap, preparation complexity, and kitchen capacity.
• Recommend additions, modifications, or removal of menu items where appropriate.
• Develop standardized recipes, portion sizes, and plating guidelines.
• Calculate food costs and recommend appropriate menu pricing.
• Identify opportunities to improve ingredient utilization and reduce inventory requirements.
• Assist in developing a menu that balances customer favourites with operational efficiency and profitability.

4. Rotating Specials & Seasonal Offerings

• Develop a practical system for planning and introducing rotating daily, weekly, or seasonal specials.
• Recommend specials that utilize existing ingredients and equipment while minimizing additional preparation requirements.
• Establish pricing and portion standards for specials.
• Create a repeatable process for evaluating the popularity and profitability of specials.
• Provide guidance on promoting specials and coordinating their execution between kitchen and front-of-house staff.

5. Inventory, Purchasing & Cost Control

• Evaluate current food ordering, receiving, storage, and inventory management practices.
• Identify opportunities to reduce spoilage, over-ordering, and unnecessary food costs.
• Review supplier pricing, purchasing practices, and ingredient utilization.
• Recommend inventory tracking, stock rotation, and ordering procedures.
• Develop methods for monitoring food costs, portion control, and waste.
• Identify opportunities to improve profitability while maintaining food quality.

6. Staff Training & Standard Operating Procedures

• Evaluate kitchen staff roles, responsibilities, and existing training practices.
• Develop clear, practical standard operating procedures (SOPs) for essential kitchen activities.
• Recommend training improvements related to food safety, preparation consistency, equipment use, and kitchen organization.
• Provide hands-on coaching or demonstrations where appropriate.
• Establish procedures that can be maintained by existing staff after the consulting engagement concludes.
• Recommend systems for accountability, communication, and ongoing performance improvement.

7. Additional Operational Recommendations

• Identify other areas of restaurant operations that could benefit from improvement.
• Evaluate kitchen equipment utilization and recommend upgrades or maintenance priorities where justified.
• Review kitchen-to-front-of-house communication and service coordination.
• Recommend cost-effective improvements that support both customer satisfaction and staff productivity.
• Advise management on realistic short-term improvements and longer-term operational priorities.

Expected Deliverables

The successful consultant will be expected to provide:

• Initial Kitchen Assessment: A review of current operations identifying strengths, concerns, inefficiencies, and opportunities for improvement.
• Prioritized Improvement Plan: Actionable recommendations organized by urgency, expected benefit, cost, and implementation difficulty.
• Food Safety & Compliance Review: Identification of areas requiring attention, along with recommended procedures and documentation.
• Menu & Pricing Recommendations: An assessment of menu structure, food costs, portioning, and profitability, with proposed improvements.
• Rotating Specials Framework: A practical system for developing, costing, scheduling, and evaluating specials.
• Operational Procedures: Updated or newly developed kitchen checklists, workflow guidelines, and standard operating procedures.
• Staff Training & Implementation: Hands-on support to introduce recommended changes and ensure staff understand new systems.
• Final Recommendations Report: A summary of completed improvements, outstanding priorities, and suggested next steps.

Qualifications & Experience

• Demonstrated experience in restaurant kitchen management, culinary consulting, executive chef responsibilities, or food service operations.
• Strong knowledge of Ontario food safety regulations and public health inspection requirements.
• Experience with menu development, recipe costing, food purchasing, and inventory control.
• Proven ability to identify operational inefficiencies and implement practical improvements.
• Experience developing standard operating procedures and training restaurant staff.
• Strong communication, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively with restaurant ownership, management, and existing staff.
• Experience with independent restaurants, pubs, or casual dining establishments is an asset.
• Relevant culinary training, food safety certification, or hospitality management education is an asset.

Project Expectations

This is a consulting engagement focused on evaluating existing operations, developing improvements, and supporting their implementation.

We are particularly interested in candidates who can provide hands-on, realistic solutions suited to an independently operated restaurant rather than generic recommendations or extensive, unnecessary restructuring.

Candidates should be prepared to discuss their approach, estimated project timeline, consulting fees, and anticipated deliverables.

How to Apply

Interested candidates are invited to submit a résumé or professional background, a brief overview of relevant consulting or restaurant management experience, and an outline of their proposed approach.

Please include your consulting rates or project-based fee structure and availability.

Pay: $27.50-$35.90 per hour

Expected hours: 10.0 – 20.0 per week

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Callander, ON