The Budgie Bar is one of the east’s leading hospitality venues, and with the launch of Holly’s Bar & Kitchen, we’re looking for a passionate Head Chef to take our food offering to the next level.

This is your opportunity to take ownership of an established kitchen, develop exciting current menus and lead a small team across Holly’s Italian-inspired offering, Budgie’s bar menu and our extensive events and functions.

You’ll have the creative freedom to shape our food direction while managing the day-to-day kitchen operations, maintaining strong cost controls and working closely with our General Manager, FOH, Bar and Marketing teams.

We’re looking for someone who brings fresh ideas, takes pride in their food and understands the importance of working together to create one of the eastern suburbs’ leading hospitality experiences.

The Role

You’ll be responsible for:

Day-to-day management of the kitchen

Menu creation and development across our core menu, weekly specials, functions and events

Food costing, stock control, ordering and wastage

Kitchen rostering and labour management

Leading and developing a small kitchen team

Maintaining food quality, consistency and presentation

Managing prep and service across regular trade, functions and larger venue events





Maintaining food safety and kitchen compliance

Working closely with management and the bar team on the overall venue operation

Collaborating with marketing on specials, events and activations to continue growing the venue

About You

Previous experience in a senior kitchen role, ideally 3+ years as a Head Chef

Current Food Safety Supervisor certificate

Strong understanding of food costing, stock control and kitchen operations

Confident leading a small team while remaining hands-on

Organised and comfortable managing multiple menus, specials, functions and events

Available to work weekends and required prep days

Italian or Italian-inspired cooking experience is highly regarded

Most importantly, you’re a team player who wants to run a excellent kitchen as part of a broader hospitality team

This is a great opportunity for someone who wants genuine ownership of a kitchen, creative input into the food offering and the opportunity to help shape what comes next for Holly’s.

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📌 Head Chef — Italian Kitchen & Events Leader (Melbourne)
🏢 The Budgie Smuggler
📍 Melbourne