HEAD CHEF – CULINARY DEVELOPMENT and TRAINING

Posted: posted yesterday

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Job Description

DEPARTMENT: Culinary Development & Training

REPORTS TO: Management (with coordination support from the PA / Ops Coordinator team)

MANAGES: Chefs de Partie – CD&T (2), Department Admin (1)

LOCATION: Central Kitchen / Company-wide

ROLE OVERVIEW

The Head Chef – Culinary Development & Training leads the company's menu innovation, recipe development, culinary training, and culinary operations improvement activities. The role owns the recipe pipeline from concept through production-readiness, ensures all new items are properly costed and nutritionally analyzed, trains staff on new and existing menus, and provides advisory input on kitchen design and operations streamlining.

The Head Chef – CD&T is accountable for the quality, readiness, and commercial viability of every recipe handed over to Production for mass execution, and for the effectiveness of culinary training across the company.
 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

MENU DEVELOPMENT & R&D (NON-NEGOTIABLE)

•     Lead menu research and development across all company cuisines, including but not limited to Italian, Healthy, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, American, and Bakery / Pastry.

•     Maintain a visible R&D pipeline covering concept, testing, upscaling, production readiness, and launch.

•     Develop tasting samples for Management review in line with the standard submission pack.

•     Ensure every new recipe meets company standards for taste, presentation, portioning, and cost.
 

RECIPE UPSCALING & PRODUCTION READINESS (NON-NEGOTIABLE)

•    Upscale approved R&D recipes to production batch size.

•    Document yields, portion sizes, ingredients, method, cost per portion, and SOPs.

•    Complete the Hand-Off Gate checklist for every recipe handed to the Production

Head Chef.

•     Secure the Production Head Chef's feasibility confirmation prior to Management sign-off.
 

COSTING & NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

•    Prepare and submit launch-stage costing for all new menu items.

•     Ensure Nutrics entries and nutritional analysis are completed for every new menu item.

•    Maintain the recipe and costing master database in coordination with Cost Control.

 

TRAINING (NON-NEGOTIABLE)

•     Design and deliver culinary (BOH) training on new and existing menus, standards, SOPs, food safety, and hygiene.

•    Maintain the training curriculum, materials, assessments, and certification records.

•    Ensure all training activity is logged centrally, including sessions delivered by Area

Managers and Production chefs.

•    Report training coverage, gaps, and effectiveness to Management.

 

KITCHEN AUDITS & CULINARY OPS ADVISORY

•    Conduct scheduled audits of existing kitchens and report findings to Management.

•    Provide advisory input on new kitchen design, layout, and equipment selection

(advisory only — not ownership).

•    Identify and recommend culinary operations streamlining initiatives. 
 

TEAM LEADERSHIP

•    Lead, manage, and develop the CDPs and Department Admin.

•    Assign duties, set development priorities, and monitor performance.

•     Ensure the department's cuisine coverage is maintained through deliberate hiring and cross-training.

•    Escalate performance or conduct issues to Management in a timely manner.

 

COORDINATION & SIGN-OFF PROCESS

•     Prepare complete submission packs for every new item requiring Management sign-off.

•     Respect Management as the sole sign-off authority for new menu items and launches.

•    Coordinate closely with the Production Head Chef, Operations, Cost Control, and

Supply Chain.

•    Attend the weekly / bi-weekly BD Review with Management

•    Enforce food safety, hygiene, and handling standards in all CD&T activities.

•    Follow and enforce company SOPs and workplace conduct standards.

•    Maintain confidentiality of recipes, costing, and strategic information.

•    Maintain professional communication with Management and cross-functional teams.

ACCOUNTABILITY

The Head Chef – CD&T is accountable for the quality, readiness, cost, and compliance of every recipe developed and handed over to Production; for the effectiveness and coverage of company-wide culinary training; for the accuracy of all records maintained by the department; and for the conduct and performance of the CD&T team.