Executive Head Chef - Multi-Site Premium Casual Dining Group

Radiant Hospitality Company; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 725,000 - 781,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

13th cheque

Transport allowance

Food allowance

Cellphone allowance

Uniform provided

Job summary

Radiant Hospitality Company in South Africa seeks an Executive Head Chef to lead culinary strategy across multiple sites from Johannesburg to the Western Cape, owning back-of-house operations and cost control while maintaining brand standards. You will mentor regional Head Chefs, drive menu development, oversee audits, support new store openings, and travel between provinces.

Formal culinary training and HACCP certification are required, with rights to work in South Africa and a competitive

Qualifications

• Formal culinary training and food safety certification such as HACCP or equivalent.
• Experience leading multiple kitchens regionally (group, district or cluster level).
• Willingness to travel between Gauteng and the Western Cape.

Responsibilities

• Oversee back of house operations across South Africa, aligning to group strategy.
• Directly mentor two regional Head Chefs and central culinary support team.
• Lead performance reviews and development planning for culinary leadership.
• Enforce brand standards through audits and tastings across locations.
• Ensure menu rollouts are executed on time and to spec.
• Maintain regional food cost performance and waste management.
• Drive efficiency improvements across kitchens.
• Develop leadership pipelines and succession plans.
• Oversee onboarding and training with group culinary leadership.
• Collaborate with Culinary Director on regional menu feedback and innovation.
• Provide quarterly regional performance reports and support franchise alignment.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic planning

Financial control

Menu development

Food cost management

People development

Project management

Quality assurance

English fluency

Education

Formal culinary training

HACCP certification

Job description

We are hiring an Executive Head Chef to take senior culinary leadership of a multi-site premium casual dining group across South Africa, based in either Johannesburg or Cape Town. This is a head office role covering an estate of restaurants in Gauteng and the Western Cape, not a single kitchen. Our client is an established, design-led premium casual hospitality group with a portfolio of restaurant brands across South Africa and internationally, known for beautiful spaces, genuinely fresh food, and long staff tenure. The group is in an active growth phase in its home market, so the role carries new store openings alongside a substantial trading estate, and the culinary function is central to how the brand is protected.

The role reports to the Regional Director for South Africa, with dotted line reporting into the group culinary department covering culinary direction, back of house operations, and culinary training. It owns all back of house operations for the region: two regional Head Chefs report in directly, one for Gauteng and one for the Western Cape, together with a central support team. We are looking for a highly organised, strategic culinary leader who can hold standards and cost across many sites, build chef leaders beneath them, run several projects at once, and still bring genuine creativity to the plate.

Responsibilities

• Oversee all back of house operations across South Africa, setting regional culinary priorities aligned to group strategy.

• Directly manage and mentor two regional Head Chefs and the central culinary support team, with clear accountability structures across all stores.

• Lead performance reviews and development planning for culinary leadership across the region.

• Protect and enforce brand standards across all concepts, conducting structured culinary audits and tastings across locations.

• Ensure menu rollouts are executed flawlessly and on time, escalating and resolving any deviation from brand standards.

• Maintain regional food cost performance within approved targets and oversee waste management strategies and corrective actions.

• Work closely with the Regional Director on standard operating procedure adherence, and ensure procurement alignment and product consistency.

• Drive efficiency improvements across kitchens.

• Develop structured leadership pipelines and identify high potential chefs, creating advancement pathways in line with franchisee involvement.

• Ensure structured onboarding and training in collaboration with the group head of culinary training, fostering a culture of discipline, ownership, and professional pride.

• Partner with the Culinary Director on regional menu feedback and innovation that is aligned to brand identity and operationally feasible.

• Feed regional insight into group development and the research and development calendar, and present regional culinary performance reports quarterly.

• Support franchisee alignment and expectation management where applicable.

• Substantial senior culinary experience, including a period of accountability for several kitchens at the same time, ideally at regional, group, or cluster executive chef level.

• Proven multi-site leadership of chefs: managing Head Chefs and Sous Chefs, running performance reviews, and building succession into the team.

• Demonstrable brand standards and quality control experience, including structured audits, tastings, and menu rollouts delivered on time across multiple locations.

• Strong commercial and financial control: food cost management to target, waste reduction, procurement alignment, and efficiency improvement, with the numbers to evidence it.

• Experience in premium casual or premium dining, with the standards discipline that segment demands.

• New store opening and project management experience, with the ability to run multiple projects in parallel.

• Formal culinary training and food safety certification such as HACCP or equivalent.

• Genuine creative ability in menu development, balanced against brand identity and operational feasibility.

• Fully fluent written and spoken English.

• Willingness to travel between Gauteng and the Western Cape as the role requires.

• Must already hold the right to work in South Africa, or be able to secure it.

• Salary: ZAR 65,000 to 70,000 gross per month, depending on experience.

• A 13th cheque.

• Transport allowance of ZAR 5,000 per month, company food allowance of ZAR 3,000 per month, and a cellphone allowance.

• Uniform provided.

• Further benefits to be confirmed during the recruitment process.

Additional Information

This is a full time, permanent position working 5 days per week, including two weekends per month and two night shifts per month, with longer hours expected during new store openings. The role reports to the Regional Director for South Africa with dotted line reporting into the group culinary department. The target start date is 1 November 2026, and our client is reviewing strongly matched candidates on a rolling basis, so early application is advised. Candidates must hold the right to work in South Africa, or be able to secure the right to work in South Africa. The role can be based in either Johannesburg or Cape Town, and regular travel between the two provinces is part of the position. Applications from candidates currently based outside South Africa will be considered.