Head Chef - Production | Catering, Venues & Major Events

Food & Desire; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 100,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Food & Desire in South Melbourne seeks a Head Production Chef to lead a high-volume kitchen serving major events and bespoke catering. You will own production, drive menu development with the Executive Chef, and mentor a capable team of chefs, ensuring quality, consistency and cost control at scale.

You will manage rostering, production planning and systems, upholding food safety and high standards while coordinating with events and sales teams for successful functions.

Qualifications

• Proven experience as a Head Chef or senior role ready to step up.
• Strong hands-on cooking and deep culinary knowledge.
• Experience in events, catering, production kitchens or similar environments.
• A genuine passion for contemporary food, produce and where dining is heading.
• A leader people want to work for - calm under pressure, clear, fair and invested in developing others.
• Commercial sense: you understand food cost, margins, labour, yield and portion control, and you can balance quality with the realities of large-scale production.
• Highly organised, with strong planning and systems thinking.
• Flexibility to lead around events and major event periods.
• Full working rights in Australia.

Responsibilities

• Running the South Melbourne production kitchen day to day, reporting to the Executive Chef, and owning its output, standards and culture.
• Working with the Executive Chef on menu development, tastings and new dishes across events, catering, venues and major events.
• Leading, training and mentoring a team of chefs, sous chefs and apprentices.
• Setting and holding clear standards for cooking, presentation, organisation and kitchen discipline.
• Planning production, rostering and workflow so the kitchen delivers consistently at volume, including leading kitchen delivery for major events.
• Owning recipe standardisation and production systems so quality holds from prep to dispatch.
• Managing food cost, margins, yield, ordering, supplier relationships and wastage.
• Working closely with the events, sales and operations teams to deliver every function successfully.
• Making sure food safety, hygiene and compliance are run to a high standard.

Skills

Head Chef experience

Culinary expertise

Events catering

People leadership

Food cost control

Job description

Head Chef - Production | Catering, Venues & Major Events

Some kitchens cook for one dining room. Ours cooks for the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, the Spring Racing Carnival, weddings, corporate events for some of the country's best-known brands, and our venues Carousel, Half Acre and Sunnyside Estate.

We're looking for a Head Production Chef to run our South Melbourne production kitchen - the engine room behind everything Food & Desire puts on a plate.

Reporting to our Executive Chef, you'll run the production kitchen day to day and lead a capable team of chefs. You'll have real input into menus alongside the Executive Chef, full ownership of how the kitchen runs, and responsibility for what leaves it. If you're a strong Head Chef looking for real scale and profile, this is it.

Food & Desire - South Melbourne

Some kitchens cook for one dining room. Ours cooks for the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, the Spring Racing Carnival, weddings, corporate events for some of the country's best-known brands, and our venues Carousel, Half Acre and Sunnyside Estate.

We're looking for a Head Production Chef to run our South Melbourne production kitchen - the engine room behind everything Food & Desire puts on a plate.

Reporting to our Executive Chef, you'll run the production kitchen day to day and lead a capable team of chefs. You'll have real input into menus alongside the Executive Chef, full ownership of how the kitchen runs, and responsibility for what leaves it. If you're a strong Head Chef looking for real scale and profile, this is it.

Why this role

Your food, at scale. You'll work with the Executive Chef on menus for everything from intimate private dinners to tens of thousands of covers at major events. Your ideas don't stay on a whiteboard - they get cooked, served and seen.

Some of Melbourne's biggest stages. The Grand Prix and Spring Racing Carnival are high-pressure, high-profile and genuinely exciting. Few chefs get to lead food at this level.

A team already in place. You'll step in alongside an experienced, settled brigade. Your job is to lead them, lift them and grow the next generation of chefs in the business, not to start from scratch.

Real variety. No two weeks are the same - weddings, corporate, venue, racing, motorsport. The work stays interesting.

A business that backs its kitchen. Food & Desire has been part of Melbourne hospitality for 25 years. You'll work closely with our Executive Chef and have a real say in where our food offering goes next.

What you'll be doing

• Running the South Melbourne production kitchen day to day, reporting to the Executive Chef, and owning its output, standards and culture
• Working with the Executive Chef on menu development, tastings and new dishes across events, catering, venues and major events
• Leading, training and mentoring a team of chefs, sous chefs and apprentices
• Setting and holding clear standards for cooking, presentation, organisation and kitchen discipline
• Planning production, rostering and workflow so the kitchen delivers consistently at volume, including leading kitchen delivery for major events
• Owning recipe standardisation and production systems so quality holds from prep to dispatch
• Managing food cost, margins, yield, ordering, supplier relationships and wastage
• Working closely with the events, sales and operations teams to deliver every function successfully
• Making sure food safety, hygiene and compliance are run to a high standard

About you

• Proven experience as a Head Chef, Executive Sous Chef or Senior Sous Chef ready to step up
• Strong hands-on cooking and deep culinary knowledge
• Experience in events, catering, production kitchens or similar environments
• A genuine passion for contemporary food, produce and where dining is heading
• A leader people want to work for - calm under pressure, clear, fair and invested in developing others
• Commercial sense: you understand food cost, margins, labour, yield and portion control, and you can balance quality with the realities of large-scale production
• Highly organised, with strong planning and systems thinking
• Flexibility to lead around events and major event periods
• Full working rights in Australia

What we offer

• A senior leadership role with full ownership of how the kitchen runs and real input into the menu
• $100,000 - $120,000 + super
• A home base in our established South Melbourne production kitchen
• Predominantly Monday to Friday, daytime hours, with flexibility needed around major events like the Grand Prix and Spring Carnival
• Leadership of food at the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix and the Spring Racing Carnival
• A supportive Executive Chef and leadership team that values high standards, professionalism and continuous improvement

Our Values

Trust. We show up! Building relationships with honesty and integrity, creating valuable experiences and always staying accountable.

Respect. We are supportive! Consistent in building a resilient environment. We value connection and are open with communication, delivering tailored experiences with unwavering professionalism.

Innovate. We are brave! Celebrating creativity and unafraid to explore curiosity. We pride ourselves on delivering the best experiences and inspiring growth, time and time again.

Passion. We love what we do! Approaching all opportunities with energy and excitement. We are driven and dedicated to our purpose, providing unforgettable experiences for our people and customers.