Head Chef

About the role

The Head Chef oversees and coordinates the planning, organisation, training and leadership of all back-of-house operations at the restaurant. The role suits a motivated, confident industry professional who can manage and inspire staff, understands restaurant operations and brings creative solutions to the table, while helping maintain an exciting, inviting and progressive environment and sourcing ingredients consciously for the highest quality results.

Key responsibilities

• Ensure consistent food preparation and presentation, communicate with kitchen staff and create, implement and maintain department objectives.
• Develop and recommend recipes, ensure correct scales and measurements, and order inventory to avoid shortages and minimise stock.
• Maintain cleanliness and hygiene in kitchen areas, rotate stock for freshness and limit wastage to meet COG targets.
• Seek ways to increase food revenue, reduce kitchen expenses and maximise productivity without compromising client satisfaction.
• Uphold a safe working environment, follow health and safety procedures, and submit and follow up maintenance requests, incident reports and investigations.
• Liaise with the Maintenance Department to plan a kitchen maintenance programme.
• Plan and run Food and Beverage promotions, prepare monthly outlook/forecast reports, and schedule work and annual leave within budget and legal guidelines.
• Conduct development and performance reviews, plan BOH staffing needs, interview and hire candidates, and implement training systems.
• Coach and mentor new staff, maintain morale, enforce grooming and uniform standards, and create food concept menus with the direction of the Brand Director.

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree preferred; minimum Diploma in Culinary Arts.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in a supervisory position in a full-service, high-volume, casual dining restaurant or similar establishment.
• Experience running a kitchen with 30 BOH staff, handling multiple kitchen and menu projects, and dealing with consumer food tasting and feedback.
• Experience across many cuisines, such as Arabic, American, Mediterranean, Mexican and Italian.

Required skills

• Excellent people management, conflict resolution, coaching and performance management skills.
• Ability to handle pressure, think creatively, manage multiple tasks and read and act on P&L and other financial data.
• Expertise in waste management and cost reduction, supplier negotiation and market research.
• Organisational and planning skills.