Job Summary
We are looking for an Executive Chef who will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of our culinary operations, including creating and executing menus, managing kitchen staff, and maintaining high-quality standards of food and service. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in culinery and exceptional leadership skills.
Responsibilities
Pre-Opening & Facility Setup
- Partner with cross-functional teams to design layouts, establish workflows, and define equipment/smallware requirements.
- Support equipment selection, installation, and commissioning to meet targeted production volumes.
- Determine capacity, batch sizes, staffing, initial schedules, and opening inventory par levels.
- Lead supplier trials, ingredient approvals, kitchen testing, food safety licensing, and mock runs before launch.
Culinary Leadership & Product Development
- Oversee culinary standards across bakery, pastry, and hot-kitchen divisions.
- Scale and document master recipes, SOPs, portion sizes, allergens, and photos for brands like Costa and Pickl.
- Lead shelf-life testing, menu engineering, sensory evaluations, and trial runs for new cloud kitchen or B2B opportunities.
- Balance recipe creativity with scalability, cost efficiency, and operational simplicity.
Production Planning & Daily Operations
- Convert store forecasts and demand into efficient daily, weekly, and monthly production schedules.
- Oversee workflow execution to optimize capacity, prevent bottlenecks, and eliminate unnecessary overtime.
- Maintain strict cut-off times, dispatch routines, and replenishment schedules with logistics teams.
- Build contingency procedures for equipment failure, peak demand spikes, or supply shortages.
Food Safety, QA & Compliance
- Design and enforce HACCP-based controls, SOPs, and strict food safety compliance aligned with Bahrain regulations.
- Standardize receiving, storage, temperature tracking, date coding (FIFO/FEFO), batch tracing, and allergen management.
- Direct investigations into non-conformances, quality complaints, or safety incidents to implement preventative fixes.
- Ensure audit readiness for internal, brand, and municipal regulatory inspections.
Cost Control, Yield & Profitability
- Manage full recipe costing to track precise raw material, portion, and packaging expenses.
- Monitor theoretical vs. actual yields and track waste categories to minimize trim loss, spoilage, and overproduction.
- Partner with Finance to manage food cost variances, labor budgets, and pricing structures for internal and B2B orders.
- Optimize productivity and product mix to support overall facility break-even and long-term margins.
Procurement & Inventory Management
- Set strict ingredient/packaging specifications and evaluate suppliers to ensure quality and contingency options.
- Set par levels based on lead times, storage space, and product shelf life while monitoring slow-moving items.
- Coordinate with stores and logistics teams on cold-chain integrity, packing, and dispatch windows.
Team Leadership & Talent Development
- Recruit, train, and mentor supervisors and production staff across all kitchen sections.
- Build shift rosters aligned with demand, track staff performance, and establish cross-training programs.
- Foster a strong culture of ownership, strict food safety, continuous learning, and workplace discipline.
Systems, Documentation & Process Improvement
- Author a central-kitchen operating manual containing master recipes, work instructions, and cleaning schedules.
- Implement tracking systems for production outputs, actual yields, downtime, waste drivers, and labor efficiency.
- Drive process simplification and recommend practical technology or automation to increase throughput.
Commercial Growth & Business Expansion
- Evaluate operational feasibility, costing, and capacity for B2B, HORECA, corporate catering, and private-label ventures.
- Conduct customer tastings and support product readiness for external revenue channels and cloud kitchens.
- Ensure new commercial revenue streams scale safely without impacting core internal brand standards.
Stakeholder & Cross-Functional Management
- Collaborate with brand operations (Costa/Pickl), Finance, HR, Marketing, Procurement, and Maintenance teams.
- Provide clear operational reports, capacity assessments, risk analyses, and performance updates to the General Manager.
Qualifications
- Minimum of 10 years of experience as an Executive Chef.
- Bachelors degree or equivalent experience.
- Strong leadership and management skills.
- Excellent communication and organizational abilities.
- Knowledge of current industry trends and techniques.
- Ability to work in a fast-paced and high-pressure environment.
- Strong understanding of food and labor costs and the ability to manage them effectively.
