Head Chef / Culinary Manager, East London

Head Chef / Culinary Manager required for a remote reserve based near Gqeberha

The Head Chef / Culinary Manager leads all culinary operations and front-of-house restaurant service, ensuring exceptional food quality, innovative menus, and high standards of food and beverage delivery.

The role oversees culinary direction, quality, and consistency across kitchen and service teams, curates menus aligned with a luxury lodge offering, ensures food safety compliance, and delivers memorable guest dining experiences with local, international, and healthy influences.

This position requires a strategic, hands-on leader who manages luxury eco-lodge operations while training and developing teams to meet international standards.

Key Responsibilities

• Ensure adherence to brand standards and culinary philosophy in all culinary operations.

• Oversee and implement kitchen and restaurant setup plans, including equipment installation, supplier sourcing, menu testing, and team training to ensure readiness for opening.

• Lead all culinary operations across the lodges, ensuring consistent food quality, presentation, and innovation.

• Design and periodically refresh menus that reflect brand standards, guest preferences, seasonality, and local produce and ingredients.

• Ensure smooth execution of daily meals, private dining, and special occasions.

• Manage portion control, plating, kitchen organization, and equipment upkeep.

• Coordinate with the service team on the creation and delivery of all F&B-related in-room amenities.

• Collaborate with the Food & Beverage Manager to align food service standards.

• Conduct regular kitchen audits and spot checks in all kitchens.

• Monitor food safety, health requirements, hygiene practices, safe storage, HACCP, and local regulations across all F&B outlets and kitchens.

• Manage food budgets, cost control, inventory, and procurement processes.

• Optimize and promote sustainable practices in sourcing, purchasing, waste management, and energy use while maintaining profitability.

• Build relationships with local farmers and suppliers to support community development.

• Work closely with procurement and external suppliers to ensure timely delivery of quality ingredients.

• Create standard operating procedures (SOPs) to ensure consistency.

• Oversee and coordinate recruitment and onboarding of culinary and service teams.

• Provide ongoing coaching, training, and mentorship to ensure continuous development and knowledge transfer.

• Act as a proactive team player, supporting other departments when needed.

• Respond to guest feedback with service and culinary improvements.

• Provide feedback and reports to the Lodge Manager and corporate team.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Should you not receive a response within 14 days please consider your application unsuccessful. We will keep your CV on our database for any other relevant roles that may arise.