Head Chef - Mercure Johannesburg Bedfordview Hotel at Accor Hotel

Duties

• Management and leadership of the hotel kitchen team.
• Management of the restaurant, room service, bar and conference food service operations on a day to day basis.
• Produce creative and innovative menu designs
• Create a true multi-site kitchen facility that use the collective people, and equipment resources efficiently to meet the needs of respective food outlets. 
• Meet and where possible exceed customer and guest expectations, enabling the Food & Beverage operation of the hotel to be recognised as a purveyor of consistent, quality and value for money cuisine.
• Respond to any changes in food styles and service trends as dictated by the market (hotel / customers)
• Ensure food standards, preparation, presentation and cooking techniques are established and monitored to meet Brand Standard guidelines and maintained at that level. Work with the kitchen teams and take corrective action where appropriate, and within company guidelines, if standards are not met.
• Ensure the highest possible standard of hygiene is practiced and maintained by the entire F&B Service team to meet Health & Safety regulations and HACCP food preparation guidelines.
• Cultivate a positive work environment where learning and personal development are benchmarks by which quality improvement is driven.
• Liaise with the Restaurant and Bar Manager / Supervisors and the Conference Sales Manager / Conference Coordinator keeping the lines of communication open between the departments, extend this to other departments in the hotel.
• Co-ordination of the stewarding team to meet the kitchen’s requirements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree/ Diploma, or any related Culinary Certification.
• Minimum of 2 years of industry and culinary management experience.
• Previous experience with controlling food and labor cost, demonstration cooking, menu development, pricing, and training of culinary team members.
• Eye for detail to achieve operational excellence
• Passion for leadership and teamwork
• Excellent guest service skills
• Experience developing and motivating staff.
• Excellent ability to communicate and build positive working relationships with the team, suppliers and service staff.
• Relevant qualification including sound knowledge of HACCP
• Previous experience in menu development
• Ability to understand and manage key financial metrics in a commercial kitchen environment (stock control, food cost, etc.) 
• Strong organisational and communication skills
• Ability to effectively time manage large volume work load, to meet deadlines and work well under pressure situations
• A flexible and resilient approach to challenge