Central Kitchen Sous Chef

Gentle Rebel Sdn. Bhd.; Sungai Buloh; On-site; MYR 78,000 - 123,000; Full time

Job summary

Gentle Rebel Sdn Bhd, a Kuala Lumpur-based F&B company, is seeking a Central Kitchen Sous Chef who can produce large volumes to consistent standards, report to the Central Kitchen Manager, and lead a fast-growing team across local and regional menus.

You will plan production, optimise workflows, ensure food safety, and contribute to R&D and menu standardisation as the brand expands.

Qualifications

• Minimum: a Diploma or professional culinary certification in Culinary Arts, Food Technology, Hotel & Catering Management, or a related discipline.
• At least 3–5 years of relevant experience as a Sous Chef, Chef de Partie or senior kitchen role, with experience in a central kitchen, high-volume production or multi-outlet F&B environment a strong advantage.
• Proven ability to consistently cook large volumes of food to a high, repeatable standard under time pressure.
• Strong hands-on cooking ability across local Malaysian cuisine, including Chinese and Malay dishes, is essential.
• Ability to cook Thai, Indonesian, Japanese and/or Korean cuisine is an advantage.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day production on the kitchen floor, cooking across the full local and regional menu range to consistent volume and quality targets.
• Work with the Central Kitchen Manager to execute the production schedule: plan prep, sequence batch runs, and ensure outlet inventory levels are replenished accurately and on time.
• Continuously streamline and optimise kitchen workflows — cooking methods, prep sequencing, station layout and batch sizing — to reduce time, effort and cost per unit without compromising quality.
• Monitor output levels, yields, portion sizes and packaging quality against defined targets, correcting drift in real time.
• Operate and maintain Central Kitchen equipment, flagging maintenance and servicing needs promptly to avoid unplanned downtime.
• Identify and lead initiatives to reduce wastage, increase productivity and lower unit production costs without compromising product quality.
• 3. Quality Assurance & Food Safety: Uphold and enforce the Central Kitchen’s food safety management system on the floor, day to day.
• Conduct routine quality checks during production, catching and correcting issues before they reach the next stage.
• Ensure full compliance with the Malaysian Food Act 1983, Food Regulations 1985, and all relevant MITI, MOH and local authority requirements in daily kitchen practice.
• Support Halal certification requirements in daily production (when Halal certification has been obtained).
• Maintain quality benchmarks for raw materials and finished goods at the point of use, and flag supplier quality issues to procurement.
• Lead, coach and schedule the kitchen production team on shift, ensuring stations are properly staffed and skills are matched to tasks.
• Train kitchen staff on standardised recipes, techniques and food safety practices, particularly across local, Chinese and Malay cuisine.
• Uphold clear KPIs on the floor and foster a culture of discipline, consistency and pride in craft.
• Step in on the line during peak periods, ensuring the standard holds under pressure.
• 5. Supply Chain & Inventory Support: Monitor raw material and packaging stock levels on the floor, flagging shortages and quality issues to procurement early.
• Support inventory counts and stock rotation to minimise wastage while maintaining appropriate buffer stock levels.
• Assist in coordinating dispatch and cold-chain handover to outlets in compliance with food safety standards.

Skills

Culinary leadership

High-volume production

Food safety

Malaysian cuisine

Education

Diploma or culinary certification

Tools

HACCP

GMP

Food safety systems

Job description

Gentle Rebel Sdn Bhd is a Kuala Lumpur-based food and beverage company on a mission to redefine how Malaysians — and the world — experience the drinks they love most. Built on almost 100 years of tea heritage and driven by a restless spirit of innovation, we own and operate two distinct, award-winning brands:

Our heritage brand. With roots stretching back almost 100 years, Beca Tea is Malaysia’s pioneer of artisanal, specialty cold-brew teas, botanical infusions and ready-to-drink beverages. We source rare tea leaves, blend them in-house, and push the boundaries of what tea can be.

Teh Tarik Nation

Our fast-growing brand

On a bold mission to “Make Teh Tarik Great Again,” Teh Tarik Nation is Malaysia's Milk Tea Specialist. We are not another kopitiam. Just as Thailand has its Thai milk tea, China its New Style Chinese Milk Tea, and Taiwan gave the world boba, Malaysia's answer is Teh Tarik. And we are here to own it. From the iconic TTN™ Slushy Tarik to a constantly growing menu of inventive, fun drinks, TTN fuses over 80 years of Teh Tarik blending heritage with fearless innovation — all powered by a Central Kitchen at the heart of our operations.

THE OPPORTUNITY

We are looking for a Central Kitchen Sous Chef who is, above all, a master of consistency at scale — someone who can turn out large volumes of food, day after day, to the same exacting standard every single time.

Teh Tarik Nation is growing fast. We have moved from concept to flagship outlet, from flagship to multi-outlet operations, and we are only just getting started. The Central Kitchen is the engine room of this growth: it is where our heritage recipes are scaled, standardised and brought to life — consistently and at speed — across every outlet we open.

As the second in command after the Central Kitchen Manager, you will own the kitchen floor: running production lines, tightening up processes, and holding every batch that leaves the kitchen to the same high bar — whether it’s the tenth batch of the day or the hundredth.

You will report to the Central Kitchen Manager and join a pioneering team at one of Malaysia’s most exciting and fastest-growing F&B brands. Career growth here is real, tangible, and directly tied to the company’s expansion.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

• Lead day-to-day production on the kitchen floor, cooking across the full local and regional menu range to consistent volume and quality targets.
• Work with the Central Kitchen Manager to execute the production schedule: plan prep, sequence batch runs, and ensure outlet inventory levels are replenished accurately and on time.
• Continuously streamline and optimise kitchen workflows — cooking methods, prep sequencing, station layout and batch sizing — to reduce time, effort and cost per unit without compromising quality.
• Monitor output levels, yields, portion sizes and packaging quality against defined targets, correcting drift in real time.
• Operate and maintain Central Kitchen equipment, flagging maintenance and servicing needs promptly to avoid unplanned downtime.
• Identify and lead initiatives to reduce wastage, increase productivity and lower unit production costs without compromising product quality.

2. Recipe Execution & Standardisation, R&D

• Execute and standardise recipes handed down from the R&D process, ensuring quality, flavour profile and presentation are replicable across every batch and every outlet.
• Translate new or refined recipes into scalable, central-kitchen-ready production methods and clear, step-by-step prep guides for the kitchen team.
• Flag practical production issues — ingredient substitutions, equipment constraints, scaling problems — back to the Central Kitchen Manager during recipe standardisation.
• Support food and beverage trials as needed, including production feasibility testing for Ready-to-Drink (RTD), Ready-to-Eat (RTE) and Ready-to-Cook (RTC) products.
• Support the Central Kitchen Manager in R&D and menu innovation initiatives, contributing hands‑on culinary input as needed.

3. Quality Assurance & Food Safety

• Uphold and enforce the Central Kitchen’s food safety management system on the floor, day to day.
• Conduct routine quality checks during production, catching and correcting issues before they reach the next stage.
• Ensure full compliance with the Malaysian Food Act 1983, Food Regulations 1985, and all relevant MITI, MOH and local authority requirements in daily kitchen practice.
• Support Halal certification requirements in daily production (when Halal certification has been obtained).
• Maintain quality benchmarks for raw materials and finished goods at the point of use, and flag supplier quality issues to procurement.
• Lead, coach and schedule the kitchen production team on shift, ensuring stations are properly staffed and skills are matched to tasks.
• Train kitchen staff on standardised recipes, techniques and food safety practices, particularly across local, Chinese and Malay cuisine.
• Uphold clear KPIs on the floor and foster a culture of discipline, consistency and pride in craft.
• Step in on the line during peak periods, ensuring the standard holds under pressure.

5. Supply Chain & Inventory Support

• Monitor raw material and packaging stock levels on the floor, flagging shortages and quality issues to procurement early.
• Support inventory counts and stock rotation to minimise wastage while maintaining appropriate buffer stock levels.
• Assist in coordinating dispatch and cold-chain handover to outlets in compliance with food safety standards.

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Qualifications & Experience

• Minimum: a Diploma or professional culinary certification in Culinary Arts, Food Technology, Hotel & Catering Management, or a related discipline.
• At least 3–5 years of relevant experience as a Sous Chef, Chef de Partie or senior kitchen role, with experience in a central kitchen, high‑volume production or multi‑outlet F&B environment a strong advantage.
• Proven ability to consistently cook large volumes of food to a high, repeatable standard under time pressure.
• Strong hands‑on cooking ability across local Malaysian cuisine, including Chinese and Malay dishes, is essential.
• Ability to cook Thai, Indonesian, Japanese and/or Korean cuisine is an advantage.

Technical Skills

• Solid working knowledge of HACCP, GMP and food safety management systems.
• Familiarity with Malaysian food regulations (Food Act 1983, Food Regulations 1985) and Halal compliance requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to streamline kitchen processes — workflow redesign, batch optimisation, station layout — to lift output without lifting cost.
• Competent in production planning, scheduling and inventory management at the shift level.
• Working understanding of food costing and yield analysis.

Mindset & Character

• A craftsperson’s obsession with consistency — you take pride in the tenth batch tasting exactly like the first.
• Process‑minded: you naturally spot where a workflow is wasting time, ingredients or motion, and you fix it.
• High attention to detail and a commitment to product quality and consistency, every single day.
• A hands‑on leader who works the line alongside the team, not just from the pass.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills; able to train, coach and hold a team accountable to a standard.
• Comfortable working in a fast‑paced, rapidly scaling environment where production volumes grow month on month.