Head Chef - QT Canberra

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 Hotels & Resorts is EVT’s premium lifestyle hotel brand, with locations in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. Pioneers behind the philosophy of 'unexpected and unrequested', with every guest engagement presenting an opportunity to delight, and every QT property inspired by local influence with signature quirk. And our people? With personalities as diverse as each property, individuality is more than encouraged.

EVT has an endless range of roles and careers paths to explore across over 140 entertainment experiences like Event Cinemas and Moonlight Cinemas, 150 award winning restaurants and bars, and 80+ hotels, including QT, Rydges, Atura, LyLo, Independent Collection and Australia’s most loved year round alpine resort, Thredbo. Our ventures include a ~$2.3B property portfolio and hotel management, just to name a few. Once you’re in, there’s no limits on where your career could take you.

About the Role:

QT Canberra is looking for a driven, hands-on Head Chef to lead our kitchen and help shape the next chapter of our food offering. This is a pivotal leadership role. You'll take full ownership of kitchen operations - from team culture and rostering through to food quality, cost discipline and supplier relationships - with real scope to leave your mark on how the kitchen runs day to day.

Key Responsibilities:

• Building a well-run, well-led kitchen team - reducing reliance on overtime and casual labour through smarter rostering and stronger day-to-day leadership
• Driving food cost performance through tighter purchasing, portion control and waste reduction, without compromising quality
• Strengthening supplier relationships to secure better purchasing outcomes
• Ensuring consistent food quality, presentation and menu execution across all outlets
• Embedding simple, trackable KPIs into daily kitchen operations (food cost %, waste, labour cost, productivity) so performance is visible and continuously improved
• Mentoring and developing your team, building a kitchen culture people want to be part of
• Acting as a genuine partner to the broader hotel leadership team, with autonomy to run the kitchen as your own

What you’ll bring:

• Proven experience leading a high-volume commercial kitchen, ideally within hotels or a comparable hospitality setting
• A track record of managing labour costs, food cost percentage and supplier negotiations
• Strong people leadership - someone who can coach, hold standards and build a stable, motivated team
• Comfort working with budgets, KPIs and monthly reporting
• Creativity balanced with commercial discipline
• The stamina and resilience for a fast-paced, physically demanding kitchen environment

This is an opportunity to take real ownership of a kitchen's performance and make a measurable, visible impact - on the team, the guest experience, and the bottom line.

How You Work

• Daymaker ethos — no one’s too big for the small things.
• Inclusive leader — values diverse perspectives; builds belonging.

Perks from Day One

As part of EVT, you unlock Elevate Perks from your first day. Parity for all levels - no ivory towers.

• 50% off dining and stays across EVT hotels – QT, Rydges, Atura, LyLo and more.
• $2 movie tickets + discounts on Gold Class, Moonlight Cinema and Candy Bar.
• Seasonal perks at Thredbo.
• Rapid career growth across our hotel & entertainment network.
• Paid parental leave; community & volunteering opportunities.

Join and make a positive impact on our people, communities, and environment every day.

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds.