Job Description

Job Details

Chama Mama | New York City

About Chama Mama

At Chama Mama, we do more than serve food—we preserve culture, create memorable experiences, and bring people together through genuine hospitality.

Inspired by the rich traditions of Georgia, Chama Mama brings authentic Georgian cuisine to New York City with a modern approach while honoring centuries-old recipes, culinary craftsmanship, traditional baking techniques, and Georgian hospitality. Every guest experience reflects our commitment to quality, authenticity, and the Georgian belief that "A Guest Is a Gift from God."

Today, Chama Mama continues to grow across New York City through multiple restaurant locations, a centralized Culinary Lab, bakery operations, and catering services. As we expand, we are looking for experienced culinary leaders who can strengthen our operations, develop exceptional baked goods and pastries, build talented teams, and help shape the future of the Chama Mama brand.

Who You Are

As the Head of Baked Goods & Pastry , you are more than an experienced baker or pastry chef—you are a culinary leader, creator, mentor, and ambassador of Chama Mama's culinary identity.

You are passionate about creating exceptional baked goods, breads, pastries, and desserts, combining traditional Georgian craftsmanship with creativity, consistency, and modern techniques.

You understand how to transform recipes and ideas into consistent, scalable production while maintaining exceptional quality across multiple restaurant locations and business channels. You balance creativity with strong operational leadership and are equally comfortable developing a new product, leading production, managing food costs, improving systems, and coaching your team.

You lead by example and create a culture where craftsmanship, quality, consistency, accountability, creativity, and continuous improvement are part of everyday operations.

What You'll DoCreate Exceptional Baked Goods & Pastries

• Develop exceptional baked goods, breads, pastries, desserts, and seasonal offerings that reflect Chama Mama's culinary identity and Georgian heritage.

• Create and introduce new products while continuing to elevate existing bakery and pastry offerings.

• Develop, test, document, and standardize recipes for consistent execution across the company.

• Lead product research and development from initial concept through testing, costing, training, and final implementation.

• Maintain exceptional standards for taste, texture, appearance, presentation, and consistency.

• Preserve traditional Georgian baking techniques while identifying opportunities for thoughtful innovation.

• Partner with culinary leadership on menu development, seasonal offerings, and new product launches.

• Continuously evaluate products and identify opportunities to improve quality, presentation, and guest experience.

Lead Baked Goods & Pastry Operations

• Lead and oversee all baked goods and pastry operations across Chama Mama.

• Establish and maintain consistent production and quality standards across all locations.

• Manage daily and weekly production schedules to support restaurant service, catering, retail, and centralized production.

• Ensure operations are organized, efficient, scalable, and prepared to support future company growth.

• Develop operational priorities and production strategies based on business needs.

• Maintain strong communication between production teams, restaurant teams, and culinary leadership.

Drive Production & Operational Excellence

• Oversee production planning and ensure all baked goods and pastry products are produced accurately and on schedule.

• Develop and maintain production systems, pars, recipes, checklists, and operational workflows.

• Establish and implement SOPs to improve consistency, efficiency, and scalability.

• Monitor production capacity and adjust workflows based on restaurant, catering, retail, and seasonal needs.

• Ensure proper organization, labeling, storage, rotation, and handling of ingredients and finished products.

• Identify production and operational challenges and proactively implement solutions.

• Ensure production deadlines and companywide operational needs are consistently met.

Manage Costs, Inventory & Waste

• Oversee inventory, ordering, product usage, and production levels.

• Maintain appropriate inventory and par levels while preventing unnecessary overproduction.

• Monitor ingredient costs, yields, portions, and overall product costs.

• Establish effective waste-control procedures and identify opportunities to improve efficiency.

• Maintain accurate recipe costing and production standards.

• Work with culinary and operational leadership to support company food-cost goals.

• Balance cost control and operational efficiency without compromising product quality.

Build & Develop a Strong Team

• Recruit, train, coach, and develop baked goods and pastry team members.

• Build a culture centered around craftsmanship, accountability, teamwork, creativity, and continuous improvement.

• Establish clear expectations and performance standards for the team.

• Provide ongoing coaching, feedback, and professional development.

• Identify high-potential employees and create opportunities for growth.

• Ensure team members are properly trained on recipes, baking techniques, production systems, equipment, sanitation, and safety.

• Lead by example and maintain professionalism, consistency, and accountability throughout the department.

Champion Quality, Safety & Compliance

• Maintain rigorous quality-control standards throughout production.

• Ensure recipe consistency, portion standards, and presentation requirements are followed.

• Maintain a clean, organized, safe, and professional production environment.

• Ensure compliance with all Department of Health requirements, food-safety regulations, and company sanitation standards.

• Establish and maintain appropriate cleaning, maintenance, and food-safety procedures.

• Monitor equipment and coordinate necessary maintenance and repairs.

• Ensure all team members consistently follow company policies and safety procedures.

Partner Across the Business

• Collaborate closely with the Executive Chef, restaurant leadership, and Executive Leadership.

• Support catering operations by developing production plans and ensuring timely execution of baked goods, pastry, and dessert orders.

• Partner with restaurant teams to ensure products consistently meet operational and guest expectations.

• Support retail and future bakery business opportunities as Chama Mama continues to grow.

• Participate in strategic culinary initiatives, product launches, and companywide projects.

• Perform additional responsibilities and strategic initiatives as assigned by Executive Leadership.

What You'll Receive

At Chama Mama, we believe exceptional culinary programs are built by exceptional people. We invest in leaders who combine creativity and craftsmanship with operational excellence and a commitment to developing their teams.

As Head of Baked Goods & Pastry, you'll enjoy:

• Competitive compensation.

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.

• 401(k) with company matching.

• Paid Time Off.

• Employee dining discounts.

• Structured training and professional development.

• Leadership development and opportunities for career advancement.

• Creative ownership and opportunities for new product development and innovation.

• The opportunity to lead and shape Chama Mama's growing baked goods and pastry program.

• Opportunities for career growth within our expanding restaurant group.

• The opportunity to preserve, develop, and share Georgian baking traditions and culinary culture.

Our Leadership Principles

At Chama Mama, every team member lives by a few simple beliefs:

• A Guest Is a Gift from God.

• Hospitality Begins with Genuine Care.

• Quality Is Never an Accident.

• Respect Every Team Member.

• Learn Something Every Day.

• Lead by Example, Regardless of Your Position.

Why Chama Mama?

Joining Chama Mama means becoming part of a growing hospitality company with a clear vision for the future. We are building more than restaurants—we are building careers, developing future leaders, preserving Georgian culture, and creating unforgettable guest experiences every day.

As the Head of Baked Goods & Pastry, you will have the opportunity to shape an important part of Chama Mama's culinary identity. From traditional Georgian breads and baked goods to pastries, desserts, seasonal creations, and future retail opportunities, your leadership and creativity will help define how this program evolves as the company grows.

This is an opportunity for a culinary leader who wants both creative influence and operational ownership—someone who can create exceptional products, develop talented people, build scalable production systems, and maintain the craftsmanship and authenticity at the heart of Chama Mama.

If you're passionate about baked goods and pastries, product development, culinary craftsmanship, and team leadership, we'd love to meet you.

Grow with Chama Mama. Create with Purpose. Inspire Through Craftsmanship.

Chama Mama is an Equal Opportunity Employer

We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone has the opportunity to grow and succeed. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other protected characteristic under applicable federal, state, or local law.

Job Tags

Full time, Seasonal work, Local area

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