Culinary Director - FIFA World Cup 26™

Who We Are:

On Location is a premium experience provider, offering world class hospitality, ticketing, curated guest experiences, live event production, and travel management across sports, entertainment, and fashion. From unrivaled access for corporate clients to guests looking for fully immersive experiences at marquee events, On Location is the premier and official service provider to over 150 iconic rights holders, such as the IOC (Paris 2024, Milano Cortina 2026, LA 2028), NFL, NCAA, UFC and PGA of America, and numerous musical artists and festivals. The company also owns and operates a number of unique and exclusive experiences, transforming the most dynamic live events into a lifetime of memories. On Location is a subsidiary of Endeavor, a global sports and entertainment company.

Endeavor is a global sports and entertainment company, home to many of the world’s most dynamic and engaging storytellers, brands, live events, and experiences. The Endeavor network specializes in talent representation through entertainment agency WME; sports operations and advisory, event management, media production and distribution, and brand licensing through IMG; live event experiences and hospitality through On Location; full-service marketing through global cultural marketing agency 160over90; and sports data and technology through IMG ARENA and OpenBet. Endeavor is also the majority owner of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO), a premium sports and entertainment company comprising UFC and WWE.

The Role and What You’ll Do

We are searching for a passionate, creative, and highly experienced Culinary Director to join our team in crafting and delivering an exceptional culinary experience for FIFA World Cup 2026™. The Culinary Director will play a pivotal role in designing the culinary framework across all hospitality experiences, aligning with FIFA’s commitment to excellence, cultural diversity, and inclusivity.

Key responsibilities include:

• Culinary Experience Design: Develop a comprehensive, culturally relevant menu structure that celebrates host cities and participating countries. Each hospitality experience should reflect dietary considerations, regional culinary highlights, and the unique flavor profiles of each match and event.

• Catering Partner Management: Collaborate with and elevate catering partners across all 16 tournament venues. Drive excellence by conducting tastings, co-designing menu concepts, and providing on-site coaching.

• Hospitality & Event Integration: Ensure a seamless culinary experience across V/VIP, Affiliate hospitality, and public venues, enhancing guest experiences through quality, consistency, and innovation.

• Stakeholder Engagement: Engage with local chefs, restaurateurs, and caterers to leverage regional expertise. Cultivate a network of top culinary talent across host cities to deliver authentic, memorable food experiences.

• Operations and Logistics: Oversee menu development, sourcing, and logistical planning to ensure smooth operations at scale. Address the unique culinary and operational needs of each venue, ensuring quality and consistency across all food service points.

• Culinary Strategy & Execution: Set and implement culinary standards that align with FIFA’s hospitality values, focusing on high-quality execution and guest satisfaction across all food and beverage offerings.

• Financial Oversight: Manage budgets and financial performance across culinary operations, ensuring cost-effective solutions without compromising on quality.

You Have These

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Culinary Arts, Restaurant/Hospitality Management, or a related field.

• Experience: 10+ years in culinary or food and beverage management, ideally within large-scale, high-profile events. A proven track record in designing and scaling exceptional culinary experiences is essential.

• Skills: Exceptional organizational and leadership skills, with the ability to multi-task and perform under pressure. Strong negotiation, communication, and conflict resolution abilities.

• Knowledge & Network: In-depth knowledge of international cuisine, dietary preferences, and cultural culinary practices. A robust network of chefs and catering professionals across FIFA26 host cities is highly preferred.

• Technology Proficiency: Familiar with tools such as Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Acrobat, Zoom, and other relevant software.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in a leadership role at large sporting or entertainment events.

• Ability to adapt to long hours, including nights, weekends, and holidays, as needed.

• Availability to travel (up to 30-40%) to support culinary operations across tournament locations.

How we work:  

Endeavor is at the center of sports, media, entertainment, and fashion and is a largely relationship-based business. To foster an environment of collaboration, develop our future talent, and build on relationships across leadership, peers, and teams, we work from the office 4 days per week. We see immeasurable value internally and throughout the core of the businesses we support.  

Don’t meet every single requirement? We are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.  

#LI-LL1

Endeavor unites and brings people together in our love of sport, culture, and entertainment. We understand this can only be accomplished when we lead with a lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion in everything we do. As a global company that drives culture, we strive to reflect the world’s diverse voices.  

Endeavor is an equal opportunities employer and encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, or religion or belief.

Per local requirements and in the interest of transparency, the range shown below reflects the prevalent current hiring range for this position. Hiring pay rates are based on a number of factors, including location and may vary depending on job-related qualifications, knowledge, skills and experience.  Endeavor strives to provide locally competitive rewards packages, which include base rate along with, as applicable, short- and long-term incentives, growth and developmental opportunities, and robust benefits, such as health care, retirement, vacation and other paid time off, and additional offerings.

Hiring Range Minimum:

$105,000 annually

Hiring Range Maximum:

$140,000 annually