East London: Head Chef posted by Profile Personnel

About the Role

The Head Chef position at Profile Personnel is an exciting opportunity to lead a team of culinary professionals and deliver exceptional dining experiences to members, guests, and conferencing attendees. As the Executive Chef, you will be responsible for creating innovative and creative cuisine that meets the highest quality standards, presentation, and flavor.

Key Responsibilities

• Train, develop, and motivate supervisors and culinary staff to meet and exceed established food preparation standards on a consistent basis.
• Teach preparation according to well-defined pre-existing club recipes as well as develop and test new recipes for the club menus.
• Display exceptional leadership by providing a positive work environment, counselling employees as appropriate, and demonstrating a dedicated and professional approach to management.
• Provide direction for all day-to-day operations in the kitchen.
• Understand employee positions well enough to perform duties in employees’ absence or determine appropriate replacement to fill gaps.
• Utilize interpersonal and communication skills to lead, influence, and drive the kitchen staff.
• Advocate sound financial/business decision-making, demonstrating honesty, integrity, and leading by example.
• Provide and support service behaviors that are above and beyond for customer satisfaction and retention.
• Improve service by communicating and assisting individuals to understand guest needs, providing guidance, feedback, and individual coaching when needed.
• Delegate as appropriate to develop supervisors and subordinates to accept responsibility and meet clearly defined goals and objectives.
• Review staffing levels to ensure that guest service, operational needs, and financial objectives are met.
• Actively involved in menu development and maintaining updated and accurate costing of all dishes prepared and sold in the Food and Beverage operation.
• Determine how food should be presented and create decorative food displays.
• Recognize superior quality products, presentations, and flavor.
• Ensure compliance with food handling and sanitation standards.
• Follow proper handling and right temperature of all food products.
• Ensure all equipment in the kitchen is properly maintained and in working order in accordance with local Health department and hotel standards.
• Responsible for the acquisition of needed goods and services.
• Ensure all products are prepared in a consistent manner and meets the club’s quality standards.
• Ensure proper grooming and hygiene standards for all kitchen staffs.
• Ensure proper purchasing, receiving, and food storage standards in the kitchen.
• Interact with guests to obtain feedback on food quality, presentation, and service levels.
• Actively respond to and handle guest problems and complaints.
• Maintain quality levels of receiving, storage, production, and presentation of food.
• Ensure sufficient staffing levels are scheduled to accommodate business demands.
• Follow and enforce all applicable safety procedures specified for kitchen and food servers.
• Discuss daily food cost reports with key kitchen and F&B team members.
• Review weekly and monthly schedules to meet forecast and budget.
• Identify the developmental needs of kitchen staff and provide coaching, mentoring, and helping them to improve their knowledge or skills.
• Train kitchen team on the fundamentals of good cooking and excellent plate presentations. Also interview and hire new applicants for kitchen.
• Frequently review finished products for quality and presentation before orders are sent to guests.
• Able to perform additional duties as requested by the club’s management as and when required.
• Oversee and manage stock on the JONAS system, including inputting and processing stock takes.
• Sourcing goods and services that adhere to the procurement policy and BBBEE requirements of the club.
• Loading and updating recipes onto Jonas, including all relevant data pertaining to pricing and menu options.

Requirements

• Strong culinary skills and experience in a high-volume kitchen environment.
• Proven leadership and management skills with the ability to motivate and develop staff.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work under pressure and maintain a positive attitude in fast-paced environments.
• Strong financial acumen and business decision-making skills.
• Ability to lead by example, demonstrating honesty, integrity, and professionalism.

Qualifications

• Formal education or certification in culinary arts (e.g., Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management).

Salary & Benefits

• Competitive salary commensurate with experience.