Head Chef at Upbeat Centre

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

• Manages all activities in the kitchen, including production, stewarding and management of food production staff
• Maximizes guest satisfaction by providing the highest food quality consistent with cost control and profitability margins of the restaurant.
• Oversees all food production related areas
• Co-ordinates activities, times and communicates priorities to ensure correct preparation, and delivery time to provide food for functions.
• Maintains product consistency by conducting inspections of seasonings, portions, and food appearance, and follows-up appropriately
• Oversees inventory disbursement of all food supplies
• Controls and orders all fresh products and dry storage items required by kitchen and related departments to ensure correct quality and par stock
• Monitors and facilitates communication between kitchen production and service staff
• Ensures that proper safety, hygiene, and sanitation practices are followed
• Co-ordinates operation of kitchen with other food and beverage departments
• Works with the sales and marketing team to make suggestions for sales promotions with food and beverage and to increase sales
• Ensures readiness and compliance in case of last-minute changes to reservations
• Ensures that prices and portions are offered in accordance with food and beverage profit objectives
• Utilize leadership skills and motivation to maximize employee productivity and satisfaction
• Challenges employees to achieve optimum quality while minimizing cost
• Monitors department’s overall service, interaction with other departments, and team work daily, and takes actions to improve
• Screens, interviews and selects potential employees
• Identifies training needs, and makes sure staff receives training, including skills training to produce consistent results
• Works closely with the Human Resources Manager on the following Human Resources related tasks:
  • Performance appraisals
  • Coaching
  • Counselling
  • Discipline and grievance

Employee Relations:

• Fosters and develops effective employee relations between kitchen and restaurant staff
• Keeps effective internal communications, including daily meetings with all staff to ensure optimum teamwork and productivity
• Looks for ways to motivate and challenge employees
• Monitors and makes sure staff follows all applicable laws, especially regarding food safety and sanitation

Miscellaneous:

• Develops guest/market-oriented menus, and changes menus regularly to reflect local and seasonal trends.
• Monitors industry trends and recommends appropriate action to maintain the competitive status and profitability
• Recommends better operational practices, procedures and concepts
• Conducts formal tasting as part of new recipe development and product testing regularly
• Prepares reports to develop a more informative database for improved management decision making, and critical evaluation of work activities and preparation techniques
• Devise measures to minimizes spoilage, waste and overproduction
• Assists in the review, selection, determination of specifications and pricing of proposed restaurant menus
• Works pro-actively to minimize complaints from guests
• Follows-up with Restaurant Manager to determine guest satisfaction; measures these results and establishes strategies to improve the food quality
• Prepares the food production department’s business plan
• Assists colleagues to perform similar or related jobs when necessary
• Accepts flexible work schedule necessary for uninterrupted service to hotel guests
• Maintains own working area, materials and company property clean, tidy and in good shape; reports defective materials and equipment to the appropriate individual
• Is well updated on, and possesses solid knowledge of the following:
  • Upbeat fire, bomb and emergency procedures
  • Upbeat health and safety policies and procedures
  • Current licensing relating to own department

Health and Safety:

• Adheres to all health, sanitation and food safety rules and regulations, and makes sure that all staff adheres to these
• Ensures that all potential and real hazards are reported and reduced immediately
• Fully understands the hotel’s fire, emergency, and bomb procedures
• Ensures that emergency procedures are practiced and enforced to provide for the security and safety of guests and employees
• Ensures that employees work in a safe manner that does not harm or injure self or others
• Stimulates and encourages a general awareness of health and safety
• Anticipates possible and probable hazards and conditions and either corrects them or takes action to prevent them from happening
• Ensures that the highest standards of personal hygiene, dress, appropriate uniform, appearance, and conduct is maintained by all employees in the department

Experience and Qualification

• Candidates should possess an HND or Bachelor's Degree
• Minimum of Five (5) year relevant experience.
• Excellent culinary skills, all round knowledge of kitchen and ability to teach others
• Professional cooking/food preparation qualification.