Sous Chef

Emirates Flight Catering; Dubai; On-site; AED 300,000 - 480,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Two duty meals provided at EKFC

Health and wellness coverage

Paid time off and public holidays

Performance-based annual bonus and pay

Recognition for achievements (NAJM)

Job summary

Emirates Flight Catering (EKFC) is hiring a senior culinary supervisor to oversee staff, production planning, and adherence to airline-standard recipes while maintaining stringent food safety practices. You will coordinate with Sr.

Sous Chefs to ensure smooth operations in a high-volume kitchen environment. The role requires a hotel catering background with 5+ years in culinary roles, including banqueting experience, and strong leadership, coaching, and problem-solving skills.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in the culinary field.
• Hotel Catering equivalent in 5‑star facility with excellent knowledge in all aspects of cooking and different cuisines
• Previous experience in high volume and / or banqueting in a large kitchen team preferred.

Responsibilities

• Supervise and allocate work to subordinates, observe productivity, assist them, and coordinate training for smooth workflow and target output achievement.
• Ensure output through roster planning / scheduling.
• Maintain accurate portioning and presentation as per recipes and airline standards with daily food safety monitoring.
• Identify and resolve operational issues during daily production with timely actions and communication with senior staff.
• Drive SOP adherence and implement corrective actions to ensure standardized operations and quality standards.
• Support development, trial, and implementation of new recipes and menu items aligning with client requirements and quality.
• Prepare, update, and execute the production plan to meet targets, maintaining production sheets for airlines/catering businesses.
• Ensure proper stock rotation, on-time deliveries, high-quality service, and hygiene compliance.
• Implement food cost and wastage controls by monitoring portions and material usage.

Skills

Feedback & coaching

Self-development

Responsibility ownership

Problem solving

Interpersonal skills

Education

Hotel Management or Culinary degree

Job description

Key Responsibility Areas

• Supervise and allocate work to subordinates, observe the working methods and productivity of assigned staff, assist them, and coordinate with senior production staff to provide them with the necessary training ensuring a smooth workflow and target output achievement.
• Ensure desired output delivery through effective roster planning / scheduling.
• Ensure timely and efficient production in accordance with specifications, standardized recipes, and passenger load requirements by maintaining accurate portioning and presentation, adhering to airline standards, implementing proper date colour‑coding of food products, and sustaining Gold Standard food safety recording with daily monitoring and corrective follow‑ups, resulting in consistent quality output, full compliance with food safety standards, and minimal wastage.
• Proactively identify and resolve operational issues during daily production activities by implementing timely corrective and preventive actions and maintaining regular communication with Sr. Sous Chefs and Executive Sous Chefs on production status, challenges, and actions taken, ensuring smooth operations, minimized disruptions, and effective operational coordination.
• Drive the implementation, regular updating, and adherence to SOPs within the respective section by addressing non‑conformances with timely corrective actions, briefing the team on preventive measures, and ensuring strict compliance with approved recipes and methods, resulting in standardized operations, improved team consistency, and full compliance with quality and operational standards.
• Support the development, trial, and implementation of new recipes and menu items by coordinating with relevant stakeholders and guiding the team on client requirements, ensuring successful execution aligned with client expectations and quality standards.
• Prepare, update, and execute the production plan to meet production targets based on demand, and maintain production sheets, including separate breakdowns for all airlines/catering businesses, to support all intra‑department requirements.
• Ensure that a proper stock rotation is maintained, on time deliveries, high‑quality service and strict adherence to the laid down hygiene procedures.
• Implement effective food cost and wastage control measures by monitoring portioning, optimizing raw material usage, minimizing overproduction, and tracking variances against production plans, ensuring reduced waste and improved kitchen revenue and profitability.

Qualifications

Education Qualification:

• Hotel Management or Culinary degree.

Work Experience:

• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in the culinary field.
• Hotel Catering equivalent in 5‑star facility with an excellent knowledge in all aspects of cooking and different cuisines
• Previous experience in high volume and / or banqueting in a large kitchen team preferred.

Skills

• Ability to provide feedback and coaching.
• Ability to develop himself / herself in the current role and beyond.
• Willingness to take on responsibility.
• Problem solving and decision‑making ability in real time, creative and out of box thinking.
• Strong Interpersonal skills, organizational skills and effective Training and communication skills

At Emirates Flight Catering (EKFC), our people are at the heart of everything we do. As one of the world’s largest catering and hospitality services providers, we deliver excellence at scale—supporting airlines, hospitality brands, and global events every day. Our success is driven by the passion, professionalism, and commitment of our teams.

Why Work With Us

At EKFC, your role matters. Whether you work in operations, engineering, corporate services, or support functions, you contribute to delivering safe, reliable, and high‑quality services every single day.

You’ll be part of:

• A globally recognised organisation within the Emirates Group ecosystem
• A diverse, multicultural workforce united by shared standards and values
• A fast‑paced, operational environment where responsibility and professionalism matter
• A workplace that values integrity, accountability, and continuous improvement

Life at EKFC

What you can expect:

• Collaborative and approachable leadership
• A diverse, multicultural team
• Open communication and transparency

We offer a competitive benefits package designed to support your well‑being:

• Competitive salary and benefits
• Two duty meals provided at EKFC
• Health and wellness coverage
• Paid time off and public holidays
• Performance‑based annual bonus and salary review opportunities, subject to eligibility and company policy
• Recognition for achievements and commitment, including monetary NAJM Awards (Appreciation, Bronze, Silver & Gold levels)
• Learning and development support
• Team events and engagement activities

(Benefits may vary by role and location.)