Chef De Cuisine (Western Cuisine)

This position is responsible for managing daily kitchen operations, driving culinary innovation, and maintaining strict food cost controls. It oversees the culinary team to ensure exceptional food quality and consistent service execution, while strictly adhering to SFA hygiene, safety, and operational standards to drive restaurant profitability.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Culinary Leadership & Service Execution

•Quality & Consistency Control: Supervise daily shift operations, ensuring that food preparation, handling, and plating standards meet exact specifications every single time.

•Service Management: Manage the kitchen line during high-pressure peak periods (lunch/dinner rushes), troubleshooting any bottlenecks and maintaining smooth synchronization with Front-of-House (FOH).

•Mise-en-Place Oversight: Set and verify daily prep requirements for each section to prevent food shortages or excessive overnight waste.

2. Menu Engineering & R&D

•Menu & Recipe Development: Design new dishes, seasonal menus, festive specials (e.g., CNY, Christmas), or set menus tailored to the restaurant’s core concept.

•Recipe Standardization: Document precise recipes, preparation steps, and visual plating guides to maintain continuity regardless of which line cook is on shift.

•Procurement & Sourcing: Evaluate the quality of raw ingredients from suppliers, sample new products, and adapt the menu based on the seasonal availability and market price of ingredients.

3. Kitchen Financials & Food Costing

•Food Cost Management: Work out accurate recipe costing and yield analysis to hit targeted Gross Profit (GP) margins.

•Inventory Control: Oversee strict stocktaking routines, minimize spoilage, and implement controls to reduce shrinkage and food waste.

•Labor & Operating Budgeting: Manage daily kitchen labour costs by optimizing rosters, controlling overtime, and overseeing the general maintenance/repair budgets for kitchen assets and hardware.

4. Team Management, Training & Culture

•Manpower & Rostering: Oversee kitchen manpower scheduling, aligning roster planning with forecasted sales peaks while tracking local statutory leave and rest day requirements.

•Talent Development & Cross-Training: Onboard new kitchen staff and run structured training programs to cross-train line cooks across various stations (e.g., larder, wok, grill) to maximize operational flexibility.

•Retention & Engagement: Cultivate mutual trust and open communication within the team to reduce high industry turnover rates, identifying high-potential talent for internal progression.

5. Food Safety, Compliance & Governance

•SFA & Hygiene Standards: Maintain a pristine kitchen environment. Ensure the team strictly adheres to food safety regulations, temperature log tracking, and proper raw/cooked segregation to pass points-based SFA inspections smoothly.

•Workplace Safety & Health (WSH): Implement risk management frameworks to prevent slips, trips, burns, and cuts. Ensure the kitchen team is trained on proper chemical handling and emergency protocols.

REQUIREMENTS

•Preferably with Food Safety Level 3 Certification

•8 years of culinary experience, with at least 3-4 years in a supervisory role (such as Sous Chef).

•Proven expertise in menu engineering, recipe standardization, and precise food costing to maintain target gross profit (GP) margins.

•Proficient in inventory management, stock control, and utilizing modern kitchen ERP/POS systems.

•Strong track record of leading, mentoring, and rostering kitchen teams to foster a collaborative, high-retention back-of-house culture.