Executive Chef

Trippas White Group; Homestead; On-site; AUD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Centennial Homestead seeks an experienced Executive Chef to lead the culinary operation across restaurant, café, weddings, corporate functions and events. You will drive food quality, menu development and financial performance while building a high-performing kitchen culture.

You will own food safety, COGS and labour management in a demanding, volume-driven environment, delivering exceptional guest experiences and commercial success.

Qualifications

• Proven leadership in a high-volume kitchen.
• Strong knowledge of menu costing and P&L performance.
• Experience managing COGS, labour and food safety.

Responsibilities

• Lead and inspire the Centennial Homestead kitchen team.
• Own food quality, presentation and consistency across venues.
• Develop seasonal, commercially viable menus using Australian produce.
• Oversee COGS, labour, purchasing, stock and waste control.
• Maintain accurate recipes, yields, costings and allergen information.
• Build rosters aligned to forecast revenue and events.
• Recruit and develop Sous Chefs and kitchen staff.
• Collaborate with FOH, events, sales and leadership.

Skills

Leadership

High-volume

Food cost

P&L

Menu development

Team development

Food safety

Job description

We are looking for an experienced and commercially mindedExecutive Chef to lead the culinary operation at CentennialHomestead, one of Sydney’s most unique hospitality destinations.

Located within the surrounds of Centennial Park, Centennial Homestead combines busy restaurant and café trade with weddings, corporate functions, private events and large-scale activations.

This is an opportunity for a strong culinary leader to take ownership of a diverse, high-volume operation and build a kitchen known for great food, strong culture, consistency and commercial performance.

Centennial Park, Sydney | Full-Time

The Role

As Executive Chef, you will have overall responsibility for the culinary direction and day-to-day performance of the Centennial Homestead kitchen.

Reporting to the General Manager and working closely with Group Culinary Leadership, you will lead the BOH team across restaurant, café, functions and events while taking ownership of food quality, menu development, COGS, labour, food safety and team performance.

We are looking for more than a great chef.

We want a leader who understands the numbers behind the food, develops people, builds effective systems and can deliver consistently during high-volume services and major events.

What You’ll Be Responsible For

• Lead, develop and inspire the Centennial Homestead kitchen team.
• Take ownership of food quality, consistency and presentation across all areas of the venue.
• Develop seasonal, commercially viable menus showcasing quality Australian produce.
• Lead culinary execution across restaurant, café, weddings, corporate functions and major events.
• Manage food COGS, BOH labour, purchasing, stock, waste and kitchen productivity.
• Understand and contribute to venue budgets, forecasts and P&L performance.
• Maintain accurate recipes, menu costings, yields, portion controls and allergen information.
• Build effective rosters based on forecast revenue, bookings and event requirements.
• Recruit, train and develop Sous Chefs and the wider kitchen brigade.
• Build a positive kitchen culture centred around accountability, respect and development.
• Maintain exceptional food safety, allergen, hygiene and WHS standards.
• Work collaboratively with FOH, Events, Sales and venue leadership.
• Build productive supplier relationships and maintain strong procurement controls.
• Continually identify opportunities to improve quality, efficiency, revenue and profitability.

About You

You will be an established Executive Chef, Head Chef or senior culinary leader ready to take ownership of a significant Sydney hospitality operation.

You’ll ideally bring:

• Proven leadership experience within a high-volume restaurant, premium casual dining or events environment.
• Strong culinary foundations and a genuine interest in seasonal Australian produce.
• Demonstrated experience managing and developing kitchen teams.
• Strong understanding of food COGS, labour, menu costing and P&L performance.
• Experience managing functions, weddings or large-scale events.
• Strong organisational and forward-planning skills.
• A practical understanding of food safety, allergens and WHS compliance.
• The ability to remain organised and lead effectively during demanding services.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively across culinary and operational teams.
• A hands-on leadership style while still being able to step away from the pass and manage the wider business.

Most importantly, you will understand that running a successful kitchen is about more than cooking great food.

It is about people, culture, systems, consistency, guest experience and commercial performance.

What Success Looks Like

You’ll lead a kitchen that is organised, commercially controlled and consistently delivering.

You’ll build a strong brigade with capable Sous Chefs underneath you, maintain disciplined COGS and labour management, successfully execute high-volume

restaurant and event services and continue developing a food offering that suits both the venue and its location.

You’ll be comfortable discussing tomorrow’s prep list with the kitchen team and the month’s financial performance with senior management.

TheOpportunity

Centennial Homsteadoffers the opportunity to lead a diverse culinary operation in one of Sydney’s most recognisable parklandlocations.

The scaleand variety of the businessmeans no two weeks are quite the same - fromeveryday restaurant trade to weddings, corporate events and major activations.

For the right chef,this is an opportunity to make the kitchen your own, developa strong team and have a genuine impact on the future culinary direction and commercial performance ofthe venue.

Ready for Your Next Leadership Role?

If you’re an experienced culinary leader who combines great food with great people management and strong commercialthinking, we’d like to hear from you.