Senior Sous Chef - Bakery

Emirates Flight Catering; United Arab Emirates; On-site; AED 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Emirates Flight Catering is seeking an experienced bakery production lead to manage kitchen operations, ensuring efficient production, high quality, and strict adherence to SOPs and food safety standards. The role involves coordinating with chefs and stakeholders to meet airline catering requirements and drive continuous improvement in a large, multi-national kitchen environment.

The successful candidate will have at least 6 years of culinary experience, a relevant certification, and a track

Qualifications

• Minimum 6 years of culinary experience.
• Relevant culinary certification.

Responsibilities

• Manage kitchen production operations to meet targets and timelines.
• Implement and enforce SOPs, recipes, and food safety standards.
• Lead and develop Sous Chefs and production teams.
• Coordinate with Executive Sous Chef and stakeholders for decisions.
• Establish production quality controls for portion, yield, labeling, and specs.
• Drive lean initiatives to improve efficiency and reduce waste.
• Monitor performance and implement corrective actions.
• Oversee high-volume a la carte and banquet operations.
• Conduct quality assurance reviews and process verifications.

Skills

Kitchen ops

Culinary techniques

Menu development

Food costing

Leadership

Banqueting

Quality control

Staff training

Communication

Education

Hotel/Culinary management degree

Job description

Responsibilities

Job Context

This role supports Bakery Production operations by ensuring effective kitchen operations, consistent application of processes and standards, participation in the rotational Chef on Duty role, and coordination with key internal and external stakeholders and suppliers.

Key Result Areas

• Manage kitchen production operations and workflow execution to ensure operational continuity, timely delivery, and achievement of production targets in line with airline catering requirements.
• Optimize production planning and resource utilization by aligning manpower, equipment, materials, and capacity requirements to achieve operational efficiency, cost effectiveness, and service delivery objectives.
• Ensure implementation of kitchen SOPs, recipes, food safety, and regulatory standards across all production areas to maintain compliance and operational consistency.
• Establish production quality control measures to ensure adherence to portion control, yield, presentation, labelling, product specifications, and airline/customer requirements.
• Monitor operational performance, risks, and challenges by implementing corrective actions and improvement plans to resolve issues, enhance efficiency, and support business objectives.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives through lean practices, waste reduction, productivity enhancement, and cost optimization without compromising quality standards.
• Lead and develop Sous Chefs and production teams through coaching, performance management, and capability development to strengthen leadership effectiveness and maintain operational standards.
• Maintain effective communication, reporting, and stakeholder coordination with the Executive Sous Chef and other key stakeholders to support operational decision-making, issue resolution, and service excellence.
• Conduct quality assurance reviews and process verification activities to evaluate operational effectiveness, sustain compliance, and support continuous improvement and customer satisfaction.

Qualifications

Education Qualification

• High Diploma or Degree in Hotel Management, Culinary Arts, or a related field.

Work Experience

• Minimum 6 years of culinary experience.
• Relevant culinary certification.

Skills

• Strong knowledge of food products, production processes, and large-scale in-house kitchen operations.
• Extensive knowledge of cooking techniques across various cuisines, with experience in 5-star hotel catering environments.
• Experience in recipe creation, menu development, and food costing.
• Proven leadership, coaching, training, and delegation skills to effectively manage a diverse, multi-national workforce.
• Experience in managing high-volume a la carte and/or banqueting operations within a large kitchen team.
• Strong organizational, communication, problem-solving, and decision-making skills to effectively manage operational challenges.