Head Chef | Astrolabe

NZ Venue Co LTD; New Zealand; On-site; NZD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Annual bonus up to $20K paid quarterly

Staff discounts across NZ & Australia

NZ Venue Co network benefits

Job summary

Astrolabe Brew Bar in Mount Maunganui is seeking an energetic Head Chef to lead a fast-paced kitchen and drive a standout food offering. The role centers on building a vibrant, high-performing team and delivering top-quality dishes for busy service and late-night trade.

You will mentor a young team, manage daily operations, and control food costs while keeping the local community at the heart of the menu and delivering a consistent, memorable dining experience.

Qualifications

• Previous experience as a Head Chef or an established Sous Chef ready to step up.
• Experience working in a busy pub, bar or high-volume hospitality environment.
• Strong understanding of kitchen operations, food costs and labour management.
• Natural leader who mentors a younger team.
• Passionate about food and creating a great kitchen environment.
• Energetic leader who leads by example and gets things done.

Responsibilities

• Leading, developing and motivating a young kitchen team
• Overseeing daily kitchen operations across a busy food offering
• Maintaining consistently high food quality, presentation and kitchen standards
• Driving efficient service across high-volume periods and late-night trade
• Managing food costs, labour, ordering, stock control and kitchen budgets
• Bringing fresh ideas to the menu while delivering food that keeps the local community coming back
• Building a positive, accountable and high-performing kitchen culture

Skills

Leadership

Head Chef Experience

Kitchen operations

Food costs & labour management

Mentoring team

Energetic & hands-on

Job description

Lead the kitchen. Bring the energy. Be part of a Mount Maunganui institution. Astrolabe Brew Bar is looking for an energetic and passionate Head Chef to take the lead in our kitchen and drive an exciting food offering at one of Mount Maunganui's best-known local venues. A true community favourite, Astrolabe is known for its welcoming atmosphere, great food, extensive beer garden and lively late-night trade. From fresh, delicious pizzas and crowd favourites to busy service periods and big nights featuring international DJs, there's always something happening at The Lab. We're looking for a Head Chef who thrives in a fast-paced environment, enjoys leading a young team and knows how to create a positive, energetic kitchen culture. Someone who leads from the front, brings people together and isn't afraid to get hands‑on when the pressure is on.

What you’ll be doing

• Leading, developing and motivating a young kitchen team
• Overseeing daily kitchen operations across a busy food offering
• Maintaining consistently high food quality, presentation and kitchen standards
• Driving efficient service across high-volume periods and late-night trade
• Managing food costs, labour, ordering, stock control and kitchen budgets
• Bringing fresh ideas to the menu while delivering food that keeps the local community coming back
• Building a positive, accountable and high-performing kitchen culture

What we're looking for

• Previous experience as a Head Chef or an established Sous Chef ready to step up
• Experience working in a busy pub, bar or high-volume hospitality environment
• A strong understanding of kitchen operations, food costs and labour management
• A natural leader who enjoys developing and mentoring a younger team
• Someone passionate about food, people and creating a great kitchen environment
• An energiser who leads by example, takes initiative and gets things done

Why join Astrolabe?

• Competitive salary + annual bonus of up to $20K paid quarterly
• Staff discounts across 250+ venues in NZ & Australia
• Take the reins of a well-established and much-loved Mount Maunganui venue
• Lead a great kitchen team in a fun, energetic environment
• Be part of a venue with an incredible beer garden, strong food offering and exciting late-night atmosphere
• Work in a busy venue with plenty of variety and opportunities to make your mark
• Enjoy the backing, career opportunities and benefits of New Zealand Venue Co

If you're a passionate chef, natural leader and someone who loves bringing energy to a team, we'd love to hear from you. Make your career one to remember at Aus Venue Co. The work you do will directly impact everyone of our customers and our aim is to ensure our employees are provided with the support and knowledge to exceed our customers' expectations.

Australian Venue Co. promotes a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion through programs like AVC Pride for LGBTQIA+ support, Her Hospo for empowering women, and a First Nations Committee for reconciliation. We are committed to growing our understanding and engagement in diversity, equity and inclusion to build a more inclusive industry. Turn your hospo job into a rewarding career Whether you're already in a hospitality management role or you're ready for career progression into management, you can take the next step with Australian Venue Co. We're passionate about training & developing our team members and providing internal career advancement opportunities. At AVC, we turn hospo jobs into careers! Join our team & get access to our AdVanCe Career Pathways program, our in-house development program that is tailored to the hospitality industry.

If your next step is to become a Duty Manager, Assistant Venue Manager or Venue Manager, we can support you on your career journey.

Have a question regarding a career at Australian Venue Co? Read some of our commonly asked questions here.