Executive chef consultant

Executive Chef / Culinary Director (Cloud Kitchen & Concept Development) We are looking for a highly experienced Executive Chef / Culinary Director to lead the development of our food concept, menu engineering, and production systems for a fast-growing premium café brand with expansion plans into cloud kitchen operations. This role is not only about cooking, it is about building a scalable culinary system. About the Project: We are developing a modern, health-focused F&B concept centered around matcha, functional beverages, and clean, high-quality food. The next stage includes structured menu optimization, launch of a cloud kitchen, and daily production capacity of 100–150+ meals with standardization for future multi-location expansion. Key Responsibilities: Menu Engineering & Concept Development: Design and refine a cohesive, scalable menu aligned with brand philosophy clean, aesthetic, functional, high-quality. Develop breakfast items, light meals, healthy bowls, snacks and desserts integrated with the matcha concept. Ensure balance between food cost, preparation time and customer appeal. Production System & Process Design: Build a full kitchen workflow system including preparation stages, cooking procedures, assembly and plating standards. Create detailed SOPs and process charts for every item with step-by-step preparation, timing and required equipment. Optimize for speed, consistency and minimal waste. Cloud Kitchen Setup: Design a delivery-first kitchen model including zoning (prep, cooking, packing), equipment selection and staff workflow. Ensure operations can support 100–150+ daily orders with scalability. Cost Control & Unit Economics: Calculate food cost per item, maintain target margins, optimize supplier selection and reduce waste while maintaining quality. Team Training & Standards: Train kitchen staff on SOPs, presentation and hygiene, implement systems for quality control and consistency across shifts. Scalability & Replication: Build a system that can be replicated across multiple locations and transferred to new teams, including full documentation for expansion and franchising. Ideal Candidate Profile: Proven experience as Executive Chef, Head Chef or Culinary Consultant with strong background in cloud kitchens or high-volume production. Experience in system-driven kitchens, not only service-based operations. Strong understanding of healthy, modern cuisine, kitchen workflow optimization and food cost management. Ability to combine creative concept thinking with structured operational execution. What We Value: System thinking over chaos, simplicity over complexity, consistency over chef ego, business mindset over pure culinary art. Scope & Format: Project-based or long-term collaboration with initial focus on menu and system setup, with potential to grow into a Group Culinary Director role. Goal: To build not just a menu, but a repeatable and scalable culinary system that supports rapid growth and delivers consistent quality across all locations.

Contract length: 3 months