Head Chef

Mr. Watson; Amsterdam; Hybrid; EUR 42,000 - 64,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Market-based salary

Lead a distinctive fire kitchen

Opportunity to evolve concept

Job summary

Mr. Watson invites a Head Chef to lead a unique, ingredient-driven fire kitchen where mushrooms take center stage. You will shape menus that fuse fermentation, smoke, and wood-fired techniques in a plant-based framework.

We seek a calm, confident leader who cooks from understanding rather than trends, guiding a team to deliver precise, high-quality dinners for 75–100 covers per evening.

Qualifications

• Proven experience as a Head Chef or in a senior Sous Chef role.
• Deep knowledge of mushrooms and fermentation.
• Comfortable working in a plant-based kitchen without seeing it as restrictive.
• Strong affinity with fire cooking.
• Experience with Green Egg, Josper, or braai is a strong plus.
• Grounded, confident leadership; calm under pressure.
• Clear in expectations; cook from understanding, not trends.

Responsibilities

• Lead a distinctive, ingredient-driven fire kitchen.
• Deliver 75–100 covers per evening with consistency and precision.
• Develop menus that showcase mushrooms, fermentation, and plant-based technique.
• Guide and mentor kitchen team to maintain high standards.

Skills

Head Chef experience

Mushroom expertise

Fermentation knowledge

Fire cooking

Plant-based cooking

Job description

Are you a chef who understands mushrooms as an ingredient category of their own, and sees fire as a collaborator rather than a tool?

For our Botanical Roast Room, we are looking for a Head Chef with vision, authority, and deep respect for ingredients. Someone who knows how fermentation, fungi, and fire interact, and how time, smoke, and heat transform flavor.This is a kitchen where mushrooms lead, fermentation adds depth, and vegetables find their most expressive form over wood and charcoal. Plant-based is our framework, not our message.

Our Philosophy

• Cooking over open fire: wood, charcoal, smoke, and temperature control
• Mushrooms as the backbone of the kitchen
• Lion's Mane, shiitake, oyster mushrooms, and local, seasonal varieties
• Fermentation as a core technique:
• For depth, umami, preservation, and texture
• Ingredient-driven cooking with minimal manipulation
• Plant-based by nature, focused on flavor, structure, and craft
• A kitchen that delivers 75–100 covers per evening with consistency and precision
• Food as edible art: bold, grounded, and uncompromising

Your Profile

• Proven experience as a Head Chef or in a senior Sous Chef role
• Deep knowledge of, or strong fascination with, mushrooms and fermentation
• Comfortable working in a plant-based kitchen without seeing it as restrictive
• Strong affinity with fire cooking
• Experience with Green Egg, Josper, or braai is a strong plus
• A grounded, confident leader:
• Calm under pressure
• Clear in expectations
• You cook from understanding, not from trends

What we offer

• The opportunity to lead a distinctive, ingredient-driven fire kitchen
• Working hours:
• Full-time
• A fair, market-based salary aligned with responsibility and experience
• Space to deepen, refine, and evolve the concept within clear boundaries