Head Chef | Help Build Newcastle's Best Café Kitchen

Talulah; The Junction; On-site; AUD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Performance incentives linked to the业务

Supportive owner

Calm, professional workplace

Long-term career growth

Job summary

Talulah Café in The Junction, Newcastle, is seeking a Head Chef to lead our kitchen and shape the menu with a focus on flavour, simplicity, and consistency. You will guide the team, uphold high standards, and work closely with the owner to improve the business.

We offer a competitive salary based on experience, with performance incentives linked to business success and a calm, professional workplace. This is a long-term opportunity to influence culture, people, and the future direction of

Qualifications

• Experience leading a kitchen team in a café or restaurant.
• Ability to create seasonal menus with balanced flavour and profitability.
• Strong communication and calm under pressure.
• Commercial mindset with focus on consistency and operational excellence.

Responsibilities

• Lead the kitchen team and set daily standards.
• Create seasonal menus with focus on flavour and consistency.
• Develop and mentor chefs.
• Manage labour, food costs and ordering.
• Build a positive and professional kitchen culture.

Skills

Leadership

Menu development

Mentoring

Cost control

Job description

This is a Head Chef position at Talulah Café

– The Junction, Newcastle.

You will help build an exceptional kitchen based on strong leadership, calm professionalism and people who genuinely enjoy getting better every day. This is an opportunity to make a genuine impact not just on the menu, but on the culture, the people and the future direction of the business.

Key responsibilities

• Lead the kitchen team and set the standard every day
• Create seasonal menus with a focus on flavour, simplicity and consistency
• Develop and mentor chefs
• Maintain exceptional food quality and presentation
• Manage labour, food costs and ordering
• Build a positive, professional kitchen culture
• Work closely with the owner to continually improve the business

About you

• You naturally understand modern café food with exceptional taste and passion for flavour
• You lead through example rather than authority, stay calm under pressure and communicate clearly
• You develop the people around you
• You are commercially minded and understand that the best menus balance creativity with consistency, profitability and operational excellence
• You are humble enough to keep learning and confident enough to hold high standards
• You love creating memorable food
• You think commercially as well as creatively

About us

Talulah has built a reputation as one of Newcastle's favourite cafés. Our vision is to create the benchmark for breakfast and lunch through exceptional food, genuine hospitality and a team that people are proud to be part of. We're building for the long term, and we're looking for someone who wants to build with us.

• Competitive salary based on experience
• Performance incentives linked to business success
• A supportive owner who values collaboration and new ideas
• A calm, professional workplace with high standards
• Genuine long-term career growth for the right person