Chef at Tharisa

Role Context

Kitchen Management

• Plan, implement and manage the daily operations within the kitchen by delegating tasks to the kitchen staff to ensure available resources for a successful shift and navigating challenges.
• Setup kitchen with the required cooking utensils and equipment to ensure all the needed resources are safe and readily available within the kitchen for staff to use.
• Develop, plan and implement a variety of menus, by studying recipes and the required ingredients, considering available stock, and monitoring the allocated budget, so as to deliver food that is delicious and cost effective.
• Plate food in a manner that is attractive to the eye, served with the appropriate accompaniments and condiments, to appeal to the clients.
• Act as supervisor to Cooks and kitchen staff when needed to guide, train and develop their culinary skills.
• Respond to unexpected changes or requests, managing special request, such a dietary request, by adapt the existing menu or developing new menu based on available stock and equipment to deliver on stakeholder expectations.

Meal Preparation

• Oversee the preparation and cooking of all meals as per the standard recipes, production schedules and cycle menus, to ensure efficient and consistent delivery of meals to all key stakeholders.
• Prepare meals, when required to support the Cooks, by following a predetermined menu indicating the exact ingredients to be used, cooking methods and portion control, while adjusting heat levels and stirring as needed, to ensure consistency and quality across all meals.
• Execute potion control of all meals by making use of a predetermined formula to weighing and measuring all the various components of the meal, so as to deliver a uniformed end-product for all key stakeholders.
• Prepare cooking ingredients in advance, by setting up the workstations with the necessary ingredients and cooking tools, to ensure a smooth shift in the kitchen.
• Demonstrate deftness in moving around the kitchen and aptitude in multi-tasking, to cook and deliver meals efficiently according to schedule.
• Monitor food quality during the cooking process to ensure that the final dishes meet the established quality standards.
• Set up sitting venue, cafeterias and conferences with the relevant supplies so as to enable all key stakeholders to enjoy their meal in a suitable environment.
• Maintain all boardroom hospitalities by rotating cups and coffee, and refilling the milk, to ensure that the expectations of various stakeholders are upheld.

Kitchen Maintenance

• Oversee the cleaning and maintaining of the kitchen area and all cooking equipment by executing a high standard of housekeeping within the kitchen, as per the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), to ensure a clean and hygienic workspace.
• Participate in the deep cleaning of the kitchen to ensure its continuous compliance with regulatory requirements to continue operations.
• Monitor all kitchen equipment and report any faults or breakdowns to the Accommodation Office, to ensure immediate rectification.
• Test all equipment and determine if the kitchen is safe for use, to continuously promote a safe working environment. 

Resource Management

• Determine resource needs within own area of responsibility to achieve individual role outcomes.
• Request required assets and resources for the fulfilment of work duties to attain quality work outputs.
• Use assets and resources optimally within own area of responsibility.
• Inspect all ingredients before cooking, to ensure satisfactory level of freshness, tagging the expiry dates accordingly.
• Offload all goods from the trolleys to ensure all food and other items are stored as per the SOPs.
• Control stock level by taking monthly stock counts so as to use available ingredients while procuring the required supplies running low on stock, to prevent food waste. 
• Monitor stock levels of ingredients and report shortages, to keep track of inventory to avoid wastage and ensure timely restocking.
• Manage all food waste as per the approved waste scheme by discarding all kitchen waste to the game farm to feed the livestock, in compliance with the overarching Tharisa Minerals sustainability strategy.
• Draft kitchen production reports showing the various food productions within the kitchen and all related statistics, so as to inform management on the kitchen and menu’s performances within various event and/or cycles. 

Compliance Management

• Adhere to, and maintain the health and safety procedures and processes, by maintaining a sanitised and orderly kitchen environment to comply with the relevant safety regulations.
• Wear the approved Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) as per the SOPs to ensure continuous compliance with the relevant health and safety standards.
• Manage all site inspections to ensure continuous compliance with regulatory requirements in order to maintain all production certifications as required for operation.

Stakeholder Relations

• Engage with all relevant Departments on issues of the area of specialisation, as directed by the Accommodation Officer.
• Communicate with internal and/or external stakeholders, where required, to achieve work objectives and to maintain relationships.
• Navigate an unpredictable circumstance and adapt to the various requirements of others to ensure a successful shift in the kitchen.
• Provide support to the Social and Labour Plan (SLP) department by facilitating cooking classes as and when required, to support the culinary development among the surrounding community.
• Manage relationships with suppliers by participating in the testing of new product samples and determining how it can be used in dishes, determining its effectiveness within existing menus.

Requirements

Qualifications:

• Matric Certificate /Grade 12 (NQF4)
• Certificate (NQF5) in Culinary Arts
• Advantageous: Diploma (NQF6) in Culinary Arts is advantageous

Certifications:

• Professional Cooking (sue-chef) / Pastry Certificate
• Basic first-aid certificate
• Basic firefighting certificate

Job specific experience:

• Minimum of 2-3 years of relevant experience serving within a Culinary/ Hospitality environment
• Ability to work with the full Microsoft suite (i.e., Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc.)