Culinary Director

Overview

1.Culinary Leadership & Operations

• Lead and oversee all culinary operations across 2 main Restaurants, Pastry production, Events & Catering
• Collaborations & expansions (Pop-ups, Concept Stalls, product development)
• Ensure consistency in quality, presentation, and guest experience across all outlets
• Drive menu development, seasonality, and innovation across concepts
• Maintain strong operational discipline and execution standards

2.Organizational Leadership & Reporting Lines

• Direct management and oversight of:
• Executive Chef
• Head Chef

• Executive Pastry Chef

• Executive Sous Chef – Events & Catering
• Executive Chef – Events & Development
• 3.Define clear KPIs, performance standards, and development plans
• Conduct regular performance reviews and coaching sessions
• Ensure alignment and collaboration across all culinary divisions

4.Events, Catering & External Activations

• Oversee execution of all catering, high-profile events, and external activations
• Ensure culinary excellence in events aligned with brand positioning
• Support commercial growth through scalable catering and event concepts
• Collaborate closely with operations and commercial teams for revenue optimization

5.Collaborations, Projects & Product Development

• Lead culinary direction for:
• Partners Chef’s initiatives
• Stalls concepts and activations
• Extensions & pop-ups
• Product development and retail opportunities
• Develop new revenue streams through partnerships and culinary innovation
• Ensure all collaborations align with company’s brand and quality standards

6. Hygiene, Food Safety & Compliance

• Ensure full compliance with all local regulations and internal standards in collaboration with the Hygiene Manager.
• Lead implementation of HACCP and food safety protocols across all kitchens.
• Conduct regular audits and enforce corrective actions
• Maintain highest standards of cleanliness, hygiene, and food handling

7.Procurement & Cost Control

• Oversee culinary procurement strategy across all outlets and functions
• Ensure cost efficiency, supplier quality, and consistency
• Work closely with procurement and finance teams on:
• Food cost management
• Supplier negotiations
• Inventory control
• Drive continuous optimization of Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)

8.Financial & Commercial Performance

• Accountable for:
• Food cost targets
• Labor efficiency (kitchen staffing)
• Contribution to overall outlet profitability
• Support revenue growth through menu engineering and pricing strategies
• Collaborate with Finance on budgeting, forecasting, and performance tracking

9.Stakeholder Management

• Act as the key culinary liaison with:
• Internal leadership (GM Hospitality, Operations, Finance)
• External partners and collaborators
• Ensure clear communication and alignment across all stakeholders

Key Competencies

• Strong leadership and team development capabilities
• High-end culinary expertise (fine dining & large-scale operations)
• Commercial and financial acumen
• Strong organizational and structuring skills
• Ability to manage multiple concepts and stakeholders simultaneously
• High attention to detail and quality standards

Experience & Qualifications

• Minimum 10–15 years in senior culinary leadership roles
• Proven experience managing multi-outlet or complex culinary operations in the Middle East/ Europe and Asia preferred
• Experience in luxury hospitality / fine dining (Michelin) preferred
• Strong background in events and large-scale catering
• Solid understanding of procurement, cost control, and food safety systems
• Culturally versatile

Success Metrics (Kpis)

• Food Cost % vs target
• Consistency & quality scores across outlets
• Hygiene audit results
• Event execution quality & profitability
• Team retention and performance
• Revenue contribution from new initiatives