Estate Head Chef: Luxury Destination (Stellenbosch Wine Route)

HotelJobs; Stellenbosch; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Our Client is a luxury estate in Stellenbosch seeking an experienced Estate Head Chef to lead the culinary department across the estate’s venues. You will supervise Head Chefs, develop seasonal menus with local provenance and ensure exceptional dining experiences that honor heritage while embracing the estate’s future vision.

You will drive culinary excellence, financial discipline, and people development, while collaborating with wine pairing and events teams to deliver estate-wide experiences

Qualifications

• 5–7 years in senior kitchen roles
• Experience in five-star hospitality or luxury venues
• Strong leadership and people development skills

Responsibilities

• Oversee culinary operations across estate venues, ensuring high standards
• Mentor Head Chefs and set expectations for culinary excellence
• Lead seasonal menu development with local provenance
• Control food costs, stock, waste and productivity
• Ensure food safety and hygiene across all kitchens
• Support weddings, banquets and estate events
• Collaborate with procurement, finance and winemaking teams
• Promote sustainable, estate-grown produce

Skills

Senior kitchen leadership

Menu development

Food costing

Leadership

Wine pairings

Job description

ESTATE HEAD CHEF: Luxury Destination, Stellenbosch Region

About Our Client

Our Client is a distinctive luxury destination where rich heritage, wine, hospitality and contemporary experiences come together. Our Client’s culinary offering spans multiple venues and restaurants, alongside wine experiences, weddings and estate-wide events.

Our Client is passionate about exceptional food, local provenance and creating memorable guest experiences that honour their history while embracing their vision for the future.

The Role

We are seeking an experienced, hands‑on Estate Head Chef to lead our culinary department across the Estate.

Reporting to the Hospitality Operations Director, you will oversee and support the Head Chefs across our Client’s various venues, ensuring consistently high standards of food quality, presentation, service and kitchen operations. You will play a key role in developing our Client’s culinary offering, building high‑performing teams and ensuring that every venue delivers an exceptional dining experience.

This role requires a strong culinary leader who combines creativity and craftsmanship with operational discipline, commercial awareness and a passion for developing people.

Key Responsibilities

• Oversee culinary operations across the estate's restaurants, hotel, golf facilities and event venues, maintaining consistently high food and service standards
• Lead; mentor and develop the Head Chefs, establishing clear expectations, accountability and a culture of culinary excellence
• Guide seasonal menu development, championing quality ingredients, local provenance and the unique identity of each venue
• Support our Client’s culinary vision by celebrating its heritage, wine culture and connection to the land through distinctive dining and wine‑pairing experiences
• Monitor food costs, stock control, portioning, wastage and kitchen productivity to achieve agreed financial targets
• Ensure compliance with food safety, hygiene and operational standards across all kitchens
• Support the delivery of weddings, banqueting, special events and other estate-wide culinary experiences
• Collaborate with the wider hospitality, procurement, finance and winemaking teams to continuously improve guest experiences and operational performance
• Encourage sustainable kitchen practices and the use of seasonal, locally sourced and estate‑grown produce where practical

What We Are Looking For

• At least 5–7 years of experience in senior professional kitchen roles, including substantial experience as a Head Chef or equivalent
• Proven experience in five‑star hospitality, luxury restaurants or comparable high‑end establishments
• Demonstrated experience overseeing multiple kitchens or outlets and leading other senior chefs
• Strong culinary expertise, creativity and exceptionally high standards of food quality and presentation
• Sound commercial understanding, including food costing, stock management and cost control
• Excellent leadership, communication and people‑development skills
• A hands‑on, collaborative and solutions‑driven approach, with the ability to perform under pressure
• A genuine passion for food, hospitality, seasonal ingredients and continuous improvement

Experience in luxury wine estates, fine dining, banqueting, wine pairing or sustainable, estate‑grown food concepts will be advantageous.

Join a talented culinary team and help shape the future of dining at the Estate. This is an opportunity to combine culinary craftsmanship, practical leadership and a passion for exceptional hospitality while contributing to a distinctive estate experience rooted in heritage and a vision for the future.

Our Client is committed to transforming and redressing past inequalities. Our Client’s employment equity goals will be considered in the selection process.