Fleet Traveling Chef for Silversea Cruises

V.Group; Remote; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading luxury cruise line is seeking a Fleet Traveling Chef to elevate culinary experiences across our fleet. This pivotal role involves ensuring high food quality, leading culinary standards, and innovative menu rollouts. The right candidate will have a background in luxury hospitality with at least five years of senior-level culinary experience. Responsibilities include training staff, monitoring guest feedback, and ensuring compliance with international health standards. The role requires extensive travel and a passion for mentorship, creating unforgettable dining experiences for our guests.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in luxury hospitality or premium cruises.
• Strong leadership and mentoring skills.
• Fluent in English; additional languages a plus.

Responsibilities

• Support onboard culinary leadership and standards.
• Conduct training workshops and mentoring.
• Manage food cost control and compliance audits.

Skills

Leadership

Mentorship

Culinary Standards

Cost Control

Guest Engagement

Inventory Management

Food Safety Regulations

Education

Proven experience as Executive Chef / Pastry Chef

5+ years in senior culinary roles

Good working knowledge of Microsoft applications

Tools

Fidelio

MXP

Job description

Fleet Traveling Chef for Silversea Cruises

Department: Hotel

Employment Type: Contract

Location: Shipboard

Description

V.Ships Leisure is looking for Fleet Traveling Chef on behalf of Silversea Cruises.
A pivotal culinary leadership role within the luxury cruise line’s gastronomic team, charged with the mission to surprise and delight our guests, make every day remarkable and continually improve. The Fleet Traveling Chef is the guardian of excellence, ensuring the highest standards of food quality, safety, and consistency across the fleet, while inspiring and mentoring onboard culinary brigades and collaborating closely with company leadership. The role is dynamic and influential—requiring quality control auditing, coaching, and supporting shipboard culinary operations, all while maintaining impeccable compliance with international regulations, corporate procedures, and our brand’s promise of culinary distinction. This is an incredible opportunity for a passionate leader to re-define the future of luxury dining on the seas, creating unforgettable moments that resonate long after the voyage ends.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide expert support and direction to onboard culinary leadership across the fleet.
• Ensure consistent execution of culinary standards, recipes, plating, and portion control across all venues.
• Actively support menu rollouts, seasonal updates, and event coordination (e.g., Brunch, al fresco gala dinners, regional activations).
• Monitor and act upon guest and crew feedback (Qualtrics, Medallia, direct input, online reviews, NPS, food matters & eNPS).
• Lead culinary training initiatives focused on service excellence and guest engagement in coordination with the Fleet Training Position.
• Perform onboard assessments and provide coaching to improve guest and crew satisfaction metrics.
• Oversee and support food cost control initiatives including accurate forecasting, inventory management, waste reduction, and compliance with budgetary goals.
• Collaborate with corporate procurement and logistics teams to optimize product availability and onboard delivery schedules.
• Evaluate ingredient performance, supplier quality, and make strategic recommendations.
• Conduct internal audits of food preparation, storage, and service areas to ensure compliance with: USPH/CDC and international public health standards, ILO Maritime Labor Convention (food service-related provisions), Brand and corporate food safety SOPs, Guide ships through pre-inspection preparation for third-party or government audits, Work closely with the fleet traveling culinary team, including traveling F&B director on onboard initiatives and accountability.
• Mentor onboard culinary management, identify high-potential talent, and provide succession planning support in coordination with the fleet traveling team.
• Facilitate onboard and shoreside training workshops in collaboration with L&D departments.
• Support onboarding and integration of new Executive Chefs and key culinary leaders.
• Supports recruitment and career development efforts for the division.

Education/Experience/Qualifications:

• Proven experience as Executive Chef / Pastry chef in luxury hospitality, premium cruise, or 5-star resorts.
• At least 5 years in a senior role within culinary transformation, complex large challenging operations, and/or project management in culinary.
• Strong leadership and interpersonal skills with a focus on mentorship and team development.
• Excellent proficiency in USPH, ILO, ISO, and HACCP regulations.
• Superior ability to deliver an excellent and consistent culinary experience while maintaining sound cost control.
• Willing to travel extensively and be willing to spend extended periods at sea.
• Fluent English (verbal and written) is mandatory.
• Additional languages (French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Mandarin) are considered a plus.
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft applications, Fidelio and MXP.