Food & Beverage Director - Meadowood

For over 40 years, Meadowood has served as the gathering place for social, cultural, and viticultural life in the Napa Valley and as the ultimate destination for those seeking insider’s access to Napa Valley.

Napa Valley is admired the world over for a lifestyle grounded in agriculture, viticulture, cuisine and the art of hospitality. The mild climate and natural beauty of our region make it a desirable place to be all year round. Each season brings new opportunities to plant, grow and reap a harvest, whether grapes, produce or flowers. No matter the season, the bounty harvested from our vineyards, orchards and gardens is cause of celebration, preferably in the form of a meal with family, friends, and guests that will become friends.

Food and Beverage at Meadowood is the heart and soul of the guest experience and are the benchmarks of the quality for our property. Leaders of the Food & Beverage team are consummate professionals in all areas of service and experts in the areas of wine and the art of hospitality. They are superior teachers and role models. Meadowood cuisine is created to showcase Napa Valley wines. It is fresh, beautiful, healthy and delicious and inspired by the bounty of estate-grown and regional ingredients.

All members of the Food & Beverage staff at Meadowood are professionals in their specific area of service, students of wine and the art of hospitality and are passionate about learning. They come to Meadowood to work in their profession at the highest level for which they are trained and to continue their evolution as culinary and wine service professionals.

The Food and Beverage Director must want to be at the heart of this experience and further, have a passion for the product, service and the warmth of genuine hospitality that governs and permeates all actions, program, hiring and training efforts. Meadowood’s Food and Beverage Director is a leader who gives the most competent Food and Beverage staff members the sense that they have room to grow yet simultaneously coaches and encourages those with promise who are only just beginning a career.

As important as it is for this person to lead the Food and Beverage team, it is of equal importance that they be a contributing, creative member of the Executive team, expanding outside of their discipline to aid in the Meadowood Mission to always provide memorable experiences for our guests and members, thereby creating long term, loyal customers; to bring pleasure to our guests by delighting them in the moment, enhancing and inspiring their lives. The Food and Beverage Director is responsible for directing, implementing, and maintaining a service and management philosophy which serves as a guide to respective staff. Areas of responsibility include all F&B staff and venues including Forum, the Pool Terrace Café, Private Dining, Catering & Banquets, Staff Cafeteria, and associated storerooms, kitchens, administrative offices, both on and off property.

Guest Satisfaction

• Ensure guest satisfaction through continual monitoring and maintaining highest level of service and wine & cuisine offerings across all venues of the F&B division
• Monitor guest reactions, conferring frequently with staff to ensure guest satisfaction
• Correspond directly with guests and Service Director having negative experiences with division
• Ensure individualized attention to all guests by keeping current of daily house counts, arrivals/departures, VIPs and in-house group activities, locations and times.
• Facilitate individualized attention to all guests by maintenance of guest history in the PMS database ensuring that F&B staff log individual guest preferences into guest records and utilize this information when interacting with guests
• Ensure the highest scores in Revinate, Open table reviews, Tripadvisor and other online reputation review system and coach and consul the FB team to maximizing guest satisfaction.

Financial

• Oversee the development of annual F&B budget including average checks (food, liquor/beer and wine) and cover counts by outlet and meal period, labor (staffing guide) by department, cost of sale, percentages and other related expenses
• Oversee the Marketing and special events creation for the outlets and the property working with the Director of Sales and Marketing, Membership Director and General Manager to create one of a kind Meadowood level culinary and beverage events throughout the calendar year.
• Work with the Marketing team for photoshoots and coordinating the clear messaging for the Food and Beverage department.
• Oversee all aspects of the division’s financial standing on a month-to-date, year-to-date standing
• Review monthly financial information explaining variances between P&L, budget and historical performance
• Review F&B sales daily, resolving discrepancies with accounting
• Maintain labor and associated costs within budgeted parameters
• Manage payroll through strict review of F&B manager and staff schedules on a weekly basis to ensure that they are in accordance with anticipated business demands
• Review regularly and establish all pricing including such items as rental fees, corkage charges, etc.
• Ensure the correct catering and banquet billing happens at the end of the event.

Staff Management & Development

• Foster and promote a cooperative working climate, maximizing productivity and staff morale
• Oversee hiring of F&B staff, interviewing all candidates being considered for hire to ensure cultural and experiential fit into division
• Directly supervise F&B managers of Forum, The Pool Terrace Café, Catering and Banquets; Executive Chef; F&B Division staff.
• Ascertain position specific training needs of F&B staff with support of the Service Director and implement training as appropriate.
• Develop and implement cross-training such that staff are knowledgeable, experienced and interchangeable across F&B venues
• Develop and implement incentive programs that motivate managers to perform at an exceptional level
• Prioritize, organize and delegate work assignments for direct reports, following up as appropriate to achieve desired results
• Manage performance of direct reports with consistent coaching, training and performance reviews
• Implement professional development plans for F&B staff
• Conduct weekly F&B manager meeting
• Handle disciplinary situations and counsel staff members according to Meadowood standards as established through Human Resources

Standards Development & Maintenance

• Collaborate with Executive Chef on development, presentation, pricing, pre-implementation, internal tasting and tastings for Mr. Harlan and implementation of all menus to ensure adherence to the high, consistent standards.
• Create distinct one-of-a-kind food and beverage activations. Lead wine and bar teams to have attractive and world leading programs for wines and bar offerings.
• Manage and maintain and create original mini bar offerings for food amenities as well as beverage offerings.
• Collaborate with the Service Director on uniform presentations, menu cover development, WOW factors and Meadowood classics continuations. 
• Maintain complete knowledge and strictly abide by local, state and federal liquor regulations, particularly those prohibiting service to minors, intoxicated persons and drunk driving
• Collaborate with the Service Director to monitor F&B staff performance in all phases of service standards and job functions, ensuring that all procedures are carried out to establish standards
• Inspect all aspects of the F&B environment ensuring compliance with standards of cleanliness and   order, directly respective personnel to rectify deficiencies as appropriate
• Ensure all staff grooming and attire standards are always adhered to.
• Follow and teach all Meadowood and Forbes Standards, with support of the Service Director.

Purchasing & Receiving

• Approve all F&B related invoices (food, beverage, non-food, non-beverage) ensuring that invoices are coded correctly and forwarded to accounting in a timely manner
• Ensure that all expenditures are within budgeted parameters
• Ensure that scheduled inventories for food, beverage, China, glass, silver and linen are performed consistently and accurately
• Set and maintain pars for China, glass, silver and linen for all outlets as appropriate

General

• Serve as active member of Executive Committee
• Maintain current knowledge of industry trends and competition
• Be familiar with all aspects of Meadowood services and features
• Maintain all policies and procedures as detailed in the Staff Handbook
• Ensure that all F&B staff have updated Food Handlers Permits and TIPs training.
• Track F&B trends and new concepts throughout Napa Valley.

Experience/Knowledge Required

• Minimum of ten years’ experience in Food and Beverage management
• Two years’ experience as a Food and Beverage Director, preferably at a Relais & Chateaux (or equivalent) hotel, i.e., AMAN, Oetker, Airelles, Oo, Palaces.
• Food service experience, front and back of house.
• Strong knowledge of wines, with focus on Napa Valley and California wineries
• Familiarity with food, beverage and labor cost controls
• Working knowledge of local, state and federal liquor regulations.
• Working knowledge of State of California Wage and Hour laws.
• Working knowledge of Forbes Travel Guide and their standards.

Education, Certification, Licenses, Registrations Required

Bachelor’s degree in Hotel Management or Business Management, highly desirable

Formal culinary training, highly desirable

Certification in alcohol awareness program, i.e. TIPS

Special Skills & Abilities

Computer Skills/Program Knowledge

Fully functional with Windows including use of MS Word, Teams, Outlook, Excel

Communication Skills (verbal/written)

Ability to speak standard English in a clear, coherent, highly professional manner

Ability to speak basic Spanish highly desirable

Ability to actively listen

Ability to write clearly and concisely in standard written English

Mathematical/Analytical Skills

Ability to perform basic mathematical skills (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) including fractions and percentages for all operations

Ability to forecast and create a budget and to analyze the results of current operations against the budget

Reasoning Ability

Ability to think clearly, logically, yet creatively

Ability to analyze and resolve problems exercising sound judgment

Physical Requirements

Able to work in a variety of locations including sitting in office environment, standing in restaurant environment, walking in catering environment

Able to endure abundant physical movements in carrying out job duties of all functions in division

Able to exert physical effort in transporting equipment and wares

Able to ascend and descent stairs

Working Conditions

Variety of locations including office, restaurant and outdoor environments

Grooming:  All employees must maintain a neat, clean, polished, and professional appearance at all times in accordance with Meadowood’s grooming standards. Employees are expected to consistently present themselves in a manner that reflects the highest level of luxury hospitality and must adhere to Meadowood’s Standards of Appearance at all times.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.