Executive. Chief Experience from 14 to 16 Years
Lead and manage all kitchen operations, ensuring consistent food quality, presentation, taste, andservice standards.• Develop, review, and continuously improve Shelter’s menu in line with the restaurant’s concept,target customers, and market trends.• Create and maintain standardized recipes, preparation methods, portion sizes, plating guidelines, andrecipe costing.• Monitor and control food costs, wastage, inventory, purchasing, and kitchen operating expenseswhile maintaining quality standards.• Establish appropriate food-cost targets and regularly analyze actual versus theoretical food costs.• Manage food preparation and production to ensure consistency across every shift and service period.• Recruit, train, supervise, schedule, and evaluate kitchen team members.• Build a disciplined, professional kitchen culture focused on teamwork, cleanliness, efficiency, andaccountability.• Establish kitchen SOPs covering preparation, storage, production, hygiene, opening/closingprocedures, and quality control.• Ensure full compliance with food safety, hygiene, sanitation, HACCP principles, and applicablelocal regulations.• Manage suppliers in coordination with management, including product specifications, qualityassessment, pricing, and alternative sourcing.• Monitor inventory levels and establish effective ordering, receiving, storage, stock rotation, andwaste-control procedures.• Conduct regular quality checks on ingredients, prepared items, finished dishes, and presentation.• Develop seasonal dishes, promotions, signature items, and new menu concepts that strengthenShelter’s market positioning.• Work closely with restaurant management, operations, marketing, and front-of-house teams toimprove the overall guest experience.• Analyze guest feedback, sales performance, menu popularity, and profitability to recommend menuimprovements.• Ensure kitchen readiness during peak periods and maintain appropriate production planning andstaffing levels.• Prepare regular reports covering food cost, wastage, inventory, kitchen performance, staffing,quality issues, and corrective actions.• Take full ownership of the kitchen’s operational performance and contribute to Shelter’s overallprofitability and brand development.
Job Qualifications• Proven experience as an Executive Chef, Head Chef, or Senior Sous Chef, preferably within areputable casual-dining or upscale casual-dining restaurant.• Strong experience with international cuisine and contemporary casual-dining concepts.• Demonstrated ability to develop and improve menus rather than only execute an existing menu.• Strong knowledge of recipe development, recipe costing, portion control, yield management, andfood-cost optimization.• Solid understanding of kitchen operations, inventory management, purchasing, suppliermanagement, and waste reduction.• Proven experience leading, training, and developing kitchen teams.• Strong knowledge of food safety, hygiene standards, HACCP principles, and professional kitchenpractices.• Ability to maintain consistent food quality and presentation during high-volume operations.• Commercial understanding of the relationship between menu design, pricing, food cost, sales mix,and restaurant profitability.• Ability to use operational reports, inventory data, and sales information to make informed decisions.• Strong communication and coordination skills with management, front-of-house teams, suppliers,and kitchen staff.• Culinary education or professional culinary certification is preferred.• Previous experience in Egypt’s restaurant market is an advantage.• Experience in restaurant openings, repositioning, menu transformation, or concept development ishighly desirable.Competencies RequiredCulinary Leadership: Strong culinary knowledge combined with the ability to establish clear standards and lead the kitchen by example. Menu Development & Creativity: Ability to create commercially attractive dishes that fit Shelter’s identity while balancing innovation, customer preferences, operational practicality, and profitability. Food-Cost Management: Strong understanding of recipe costing, purchasing, yields, portions, waste, inventory, and gross-margin management. Quality & Consistency: Ability to ensure that every dish maintains the required taste, portion, temperature, presentation, and overall standard regardless of shift or kitchen team. Kitchen Leadership & Team Development: Ability to recruit, organize, train, motivate, evaluate, and retain a productive kitchen team.Operational Discipline: Strong planning, organization, preparation, scheduling, stock management, and service-execution capabilities.Commercial Awareness: Understands that an Executive Chef is responsible not only for excellent food but also for supporting restaurant revenue, profitability, customer satisfaction, and repeat business. Problem Solving & Decision Making: Able to respond quickly and professionally to service issues,
staffing shortages, supplier problems, quality concerns, and unexpected operational challenges.Customer Orientation: Understands Shelter’s target audience and translates customer expectations and feedback into improvements in food, presentation, and menu offering.Innovation & Market Awareness: Keeps up with food trends, competitor offerings, ingredients, presentation techniques, and changing customer preferences.Communication & Collaboration: Works effectively with restaurant management, front-of-house, purchasing, marketing, finance, and other stakeholders.Ownership & Accountability: Takes responsibility for kitchen results, including food quality, food cost, wastage, hygiene, staffing, productivity, and overall kitchen performance.Attention to Detail: Maintains high standards across ingredients, preparation, plating, cleanliness, storage, recipes, and kitchen organization.Performance Orientation: Works against measurable targets and continuously looks for opportunities to improve quality, efficiency, guest satisfaction, and profitability.
