Alsahwa Estate is nestled in the Palmwoods region of the Sunshine Coast Hinterland, offering an escape surrounded by natural beauty. More than just a destination, our estate is a place designed to bring people together, creating memorable experiences in a thoughtfully curated setting.

At the heart of our estate lies our restaurant, offering a unique farm-to-table dining experience — a Mediterranean-inspired menu celebrating the freshest local ingredients and a philosophy of sustainability. Alongside our restaurant, we host weddings, corporate functions, and private events across the estate. We've just been named 2026 Sunshine Coast New Restaurant Winner at the Restaurant & Catering Hospitality Awards for Excellence.

The role

As Head Chef, you'll own the culinary direction and day-to-day performance of our kitchen — across both restaurant service and our events program — leading a team that includes an Executive Sous Chef and Sous Chef, and setting the standard the whole kitchen works to.

Key responsibilities

- Lead menu development and implementation, showcasing local, seasonal, farm-to-table produce across our Mediterranean-inspired offering
- Own the kitchen's food and labour cost budgets, including rostering, overtime, and gross profit targets
- Set and uphold quality control, plating,



and portion standards across every service
- Ensure food safety and HACCP compliance across the kitchen at all times
- Coordinate event catering, including weddings, corporate functions, and private dining
- Manage supplier relationships and ingredient sourcing
- Oversee kitchen equipment, layout, and capital expenditure planning
- Recruit, train, and mentor the kitchen team, building a strong culture and succession pipeline

What we're looking for

- Proven experience as a Head Chef or Executive Chef in a high-quality, high-volume kitchen
- Strong culinary vision with a genuine passion for local, seasonal, sustainable produce
- Experience across both restaurant service and event/function catering
- Solid financial acumen — budgeting, forecasting, and P&L; management
- Proven leadership of a multi-tier kitchen team
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
- Ability to stay calm and decisive under pressure in a fast-paced workplace
- Current food safety certification and strong HACCP knowledge

Be part of an award-winning restaurant in one of the Sunshine Coast Hinterland's most beautiful settings — with real scope to shape the menu, run a growing events program, and build the culture of the kitchen.

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📌 Head Chef (Palmwoods)
🏢 @
📍 Palmwoods