Executive Chef - Restaurants | Saudi Arabia

Rawaj HCM Jobs; Riyadh; On-site; SAR 360,000 - 600,000; Full time

Job summary

Rawaj HCM Jobs is seeking an Executive Chef to lead the culinary function across restaurants, central production kitchens, and catering projects in Saudi Arabia. You will drive menu innovation, ensure top-class food safety standards, and build high-performing kitchen teams in a fast-paced hospitality environment.

The role requires hands-on leadership, strong commercial acumen, and the ability to deliver consistent quality across diverse formats, from outlets to large-scale events.

Qualifications

• Degree or Diploma in Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management, or a related discipline.
• Professional culinary certifications are highly preferred.
• Minimum 8 years of progressive experience in senior culinary leadership roles.
• Strong experience within restaurants, hospitality, catering, cloud kitchens, or large-scale food service operations.
• Proven expertise in international cuisines, high-volume food production, banquet operations, and corporate or institutional catering.
• Strong knowledge of food safety regulations, HACCP, SFDA requirements, hygiene standards, and quality assurance practices.

Responsibilities

• Lead culinary operations across all restaurants and catering projects to ensure high-quality international cuisine.
• Oversee menu planning, recipe development, food presentation standards, and product innovation.
• Manage production planning, kitchen operations, labour scheduling, inventory control, and procurement coordination.
• Ensure compliance with SFDA regulations, HACCP, hygiene standards, and quality policies.
• Monitor food cost, gross margins, waste control, and kitchen profitability.
• Develop and standardise recipes, procedures, and quality assurance across brands and catering operations.
• Lead culinary planning for corporate, governmental, hospitality, and event catering projects.
• Drive continuous improvement in kitchen operations, workflows, equipment utilisation, and efficiency.
• Build and develop the culinary organisation, including staffing, succession planning, and capability development.
• Lead transformation initiatives focused on operational excellence, innovation, scalability, and continuous improvement.
• Establish scalable culinary systems and production standards for high-growth business.
• Partner with executive management on strategy, new concepts, expansion, and client experience.
• Manage supplier relationships and procurement to ensure cost efficiency and quality.
• Mentor and inspire kitchen teams, fostering accountability, collaboration, and culinary excellence.
• Support new openings, catering mobilisations, client presentations, tastings, and audits.

Skills

Executive leadership

Menu engineering

Food cost control

HACCP SFDA compliance

Culinary innovation

Staff development

High-volume production

Quality assurance

Education

Degree in Culinary Arts

Job description

Join a leading Saudi holding company operating a growing portfolio of restaurants and B2B catering services, delivering exceptional international cuisine.

The Executive Chefwill lead the culinary function, ensuring operational excellence, consistent food quality, innovation, cost optimisation, and culinary governance across all restaurant and catering operations. The role requires a hands-on culinary leader capable of building high-performing kitchen teams, driving menu innovation, strengthening food safety standards, and supporting business growth in a dynamic, fast-paced hospitality environment.

Key Accountabilities:

• Lead all culinary operations across restaurants, central production kitchens, and B2B catering projects, ensuring consistent delivery of high-quality international cuisine.
• Oversee menu planning, recipe development, food presentation standards, and product innovation while maintaining consistency across all outlets and catering operations.
• Manage food production planning, kitchen operations, labour scheduling, inventory control, and procurement coordination to maximise operational efficiency.
• Ensure full compliance with Saudi Food & Drug Authority (SFDA) regulations, HACCP requirements, food safety standards, hygiene protocols, and company quality policies.
• Monitor food cost, gross profit margins, waste control, portion management, and overall kitchen financial performance while maintaining premium quality standards.
• Develop and standardise recipes, production procedures, kitchen SOPs, and quality assurance processes across all brands and catering operations.
• Lead culinary planning and execution for large-scale corporate, governmental, hospitality, and event catering projects, ensuring seamless service delivery and client satisfaction.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives in kitchen operations, production workflows, equipment utilisation, and culinary efficiency.
• Demonstrate strong operational leadership by implementing best practices, optimising kitchen systems, and ensuring disciplined execution across all culinary teams.
• Build, structure, and develop the culinary organisation, including kitchen staffing, succession planning, role alignment, performance management, and capability development.
• Lead culinary transformation initiatives focused on operational excellence, innovation, scalability, and continuous improvement.
• Establish scalable culinary systems and production standards suitable for a high-growth restaurant and catering business.
• Partner closely with executive management on business strategy, new concept development, expansion projects, customer experience, and profitability initiatives.
• Manage supplier relationships, ingredient sourcing, product quality, and procurement collaboration to ensure consistency and cost efficiency.
• Lead, mentor, coach, and inspire kitchen teams while building a culture of accountability, creativity, collaboration, and culinary excellence.
• Support new restaurant openings, catering mobilizations, client presentations, menu tastings, operational audits, and business development initiatives.

Knowledge, Skills, and Experience:

• Degree or Diploma in Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management, or a related discipline.
• Professional culinary certifications are highly preferred.
• Minimum 8 years of progressive experience in senior culinary leadership roles.
• Strong experience within restaurants, hospitality, catering, cloud kitchens, or large-scale food service operations.
• Proven expertise in international cuisines, high-volume food production, banquet operations, and corporate or institutional catering.
• Strong knowledge of food safety regulations, HACCP, SFDA requirements, hygiene standards, and quality assurance practices.
• Experience operating within multi-site restaurant groups, catering organisations, or high-growth hospitality businesses.
• Proven capability in developing kitchen structures, implementing operational standards, and leading culinary transformation initiatives.
• Demonstrated success in building and restructuring kitchen operations while driving efficiency, consistency, and cost optimisation.
• Strong leadership presence with the ability to motivate, mentor, and develop diverse culinary teams.
• Excellent menu engineering, food costing, production planning, and operational problem-solving skills.
• Strong commercial awareness with the ability to balance culinary creativity, customer satisfaction, and business profitability.
• Ability to perform under pressure, manage multiple operations simultaneously, and lead effectively within fast-paced environments.
• High attention to detail, execution excellence, organisational discipline, and commitment to delivering exceptional guest experiences.