Executive Chef – Multi-Venue Restaurant Group

Melbourne | Full Time | Senior Leadership Role

We’re looking for an experienced Executive Chef to take full ownership of the kitchen operations across two established, independently owned Melbourne restaurants.

This is a hands-on, service-focused leadership role for someone who genuinely loves hospitality — the food, the people, the energy of service and everything that goes into running great restaurants.

You’ll be responsible for all aspects of the kitchens across both venues — food, service, people, culture, systems and commercial performance — working closely with FOH leadership and directly with the owner.

Previous multi-site restaurant experience is essential.

The role

This is not an Executive Chef role that operates from behind a desk.

You’ll be present across both restaurants, working alongside the teams and regularly involved in service. We want someone who understands what’s happening in the kitchens because they’re actually in them.

You’ll have established teams in each kitchen and will be responsible for leading, developing and getting the best out of those people while taking overall ownership of the performance of both kitchens.

Your responsibilities will include:

- Leading, managing and developing the kitchen teams across both restaurants

- Taking full ownership of kitchen operations, standards and performance

- Being actively involved in service and maintaining consistently high execution

- Driving menu development while respecting the individual identity of each restaurant

- Managing food costs, kitchen wages, productivity and profitability

- Overseeing kitchen rostering and staffing structures

- Recruitment, onboarding, training and ongoing development

- Building strong senior chefs and creating clear pathways for progression

- Maintaining strong systems around recipes, costings, ordering, stock control and wastage

- Managing supplier relationships and purchasing

- Working closely with FOH management to ensure BOH and FOH operate as one team

- Maintaining clear communication across the kitchens, FOH, senior management and the owner

- Developing events, collaborations and ideas that keep the restaurants interesting and relevant

- Identifying problems early, taking initiative and owning the solution

Service matters

We’re restaurant people, and service is at the heart of what we do.

We want an Executive Chef who still loves being part of it.

Someone who wants to be in the restaurant when it’s busy. Who notices what’s happening at the pass, on the floor and within the team.



Who understands that the guest experience isn’t divided into FOH and BOH — it’s one experience.

This is a senior leadership position, but it is also a genuinely hands-on role.

You need to be comfortable jumping onto a section, running a pass, supporting a busy service and leading from within the kitchen when that’s what the restaurant needs.

We’re looking for someone who wants to be part of the restaurants, not sit above them.

Culture matters

How you lead will be just as important as what comes out of the kitchen.

We care deeply about how our people are treated, how they’re managed and how they’re trained.

We believe you can have incredibly high standards and accountability without creating a kitchen culture based on fear, ego or burnout.

You’ll work directly with the owner to continue building kitchen environments where expectations are clear, communication is open, people are properly trained and supported, and emerging leaders are given opportunities to develop.

We want someone who can have difficult conversations when they’re needed, hold people accountable and maintain high standards while always treating people with respect.

Respect for what’s already here

Both restaurants have established kitchen teams with people who have contributed significantly to building the venues into what they are today.

Coming into this role with respect for those teams is crucial.

We’re not looking for someone who arrives on day one determined to change everything.

The first part of this role will be about listening, observing and understanding — getting to know the people, understanding how each kitchen operates and recognising what is already working before deciding what needs to change.

Change will absolutely be part of the role, but how you introduce change matters.

You’ll need to understand the impact that new leadership, new systems and new expectations can have on established teams. Building trust first, communicating clearly and bringing people with you will be incredibly important.

This role requires confidence without ego.

You’ll need to know when to lead, when to listen, when to challenge something and when to leave something alone.

The existing teams are something to invest in and develop, not something to replace.





Who we’re looking for

You’ll be an experienced Executive Chef, Group Chef or senior kitchen leader who has successfully managed multiple venues and kitchen teams simultaneously.

Multi-site restaurant experience is essential.

You understand that overseeing multiple kitchens requires a different skill set from being the Head Chef of one venue. You need to be able to see the bigger picture while remaining close enough to service to understand exactly what is happening within each restaurant.

Just as importantly, you’ll be someone who genuinely loves hospitality.

Not just menu development or the creative side of being a chef — the whole thing.

The busy services. The guests. The people. Training someone and watching them improve. Solving problems. Building teams. Creating great food and creating restaurants people are proud to work in.

You’ll be:

- An experienced multi-site restaurant operator

- A highly capable and hands-on chef

- A strong, calm and respected people leader

- Genuinely service focused

- Commercially astute and comfortable working to clear financial targets

- Highly organised and accountable

- Proactive and solutions focused

- An excellent communicator

- Experienced in developing senior chefs and kitchen teams

- Collaborative with FOH

- Comfortable working closely and directly with an owner

- Passionate about food, produce and restaurants

- Someone who understands how to introduce change into established teams

- Someone who genuinely enjoys being part of hospitality

The opportunity

This is an opportunity to take real ownership across two restaurants while remaining connected to what makes working in restaurants excellent.

There are established teams, systems and strong foundations already in place. We’re looking for someone to build on them — bringing leadership, consistency, training and commercial discipline while continuing to push the food and the restaurants forward.

There is genuine autonomy in this role, but also genuine responsibility.

We want someone who takes ownership, leads from the front, builds great teams and genuinely wants to contribute to the next chapter of two Melbourne restaurants.

Someone who loves service, loves developing people and still gets excited about being in a great restaurant on a busy night.

Competitive senior salary + performance-based incentives.

If this sounds like you, we’d love to hear from you.

Please send through your CV and a little about yourself, including your experience leading multiple venues and established kitchen teams.

📌 Executive Chef for multi site independant restaurant group (Melbourne)
🏢 Leading
📍 Melbourne