Head Chef — Drive Kitchen Excellence in a Busy Hotel

EVT Limited; Canberra; On-site; AUD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Dining discount

Movie tickets

Thredbo perks

Career growth

Parental leave

Job summary

QT Canberra, part of EVT Limited, seeks a driven Head Chef to own the kitchen operations and shape the next chapter of our food offering. You will manage team culture, rostering, food quality and supplier relationships, with autonomy to drive day-to-day performance across outlets.

You will lead a high-volume kitchen, control costs, mentor staff and deliver consistent quality while partnering with hotel leadership for strategic success.

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading a high-volume commercial kitchen, ideally in hotels or hospitality.
• Track record of managing labour costs, food cost percentage and supplier negotiations.
• Strong people leadership with coaching and standards development.
• Comfort working with budgets, KPIs and monthly reporting.
• Creativity balanced with commercial discipline.

Responsibilities

• Build and lead a well-run kitchen team, reducing overtime and casual labour.
• Drive food cost performance through smarter purchasing and portion control.
• Strengthen supplier relationships for better purchasing outcomes.
• Ensure consistent food quality, presentation and menu execution.
• Embed clear KPIs into daily kitchen operations for visibility and improvement.
• Mentor and develop your team and culture within the kitchen.
• Partner with hotel leadership, running the kitchen with autonomy.

Skills

Kitchen leadership

Labour cost management

Food cost management

Supplier negotiations

People leadership

Budgeting & KPIs

Creativity under discipline

Stamina in fast-paced kitchen

Job description

QT Canberra, part of EVT Limited, seeks a driven Head Chef to own the kitchen operations and shape the next chapter of our food offering. You will manage team culture, rostering, food quality and supplier relationships, with autonomy to drive day-to-day performance across outlets.

You will lead a high-volume kitchen, control costs, mentor staff and deliver consistent quality while partnering with hotel leadership for strategic success.