Head Chef

🌟 THE MISSION

You are the creative force behind Mama’s culinary identity 🍽️🔥✨ — the one who turns food into emotion, theatre, and unforgettable moments.

As our Head Chef, you don’t just run a kitchen—you lead a stage where energy, precision, and creativity come together in every dish.

You set the rhythm of service, inspire your brigade, and bring bold, memorable flavours that define Mama’s dining experience 🎶💫

Here’s what you’ll be responsible for:

🍽️ Culinary Visionary

• Define and evolve Mama’s culinary direction in line with the lifestyle concept
• Create bold, innovative menus that balance creativity, profitability, and consistency
• Bring seasonal inspiration, local influence, and global flair to every plate

⚡ Kitchen Leader

• Lead the kitchen brigade with energy, discipline, and presence on the pass
• Ensure smooth, efficient service across all meal periods and events
• Drive high performance, structure, and pride within the team

📊 Commercial Driver

• Manage food cost, wastage, and kitchen labour within agreed targets
• Support revenue growth through menu engineering and strategic pricing
• Deliver consistent quality while protecting profitability

👥 Team Inspirer

• Recruit, train, and develop a high-performing, diverse kitchen team
• Build a culture of respect, accountability, and creativity under pressure
• Inspire chefs to grow, perform, and take ownership of their craft

🤝 Collaboration Champion

• Work closely with the Restaurant, Bar, and Events teams to deliver seamless experiences
• Align culinary execution with brand activations and guest experiences
• Partner with suppliers to ensure quality, innovation, and consistency

🛎️ Quality & Standards Guardian

• Maintain exceptional standards across taste, presentation, hygiene, and consistency
• Ensure compliance with all HACCP, safety, and kitchen regulations
• Continuously refine processes to elevate kitchen performance

🎉 Experience Creator

• Bring storytelling to the plate through bold, expressive, and memorable dishes
• Support events, pop-ups, and activations with creative culinary input
• Help shape Mama as a true dining destination, not just a restaurant

🌟 MADE FOR YOU… ONLY IF ✨

• You have strong senior culinary leadership experience in high-volume or lifestyle hospitality kitchens 🍽️🏨
• You come from luxury, experiential, or destination dining brands ✨
• You are a natural leader who thrives in fast-paced, high-pressure kitchen environments ⚡
• You are commercially aware with strong control of food cost, waste, and margins 📊💰
• You are highly organised, structured, and operationally disciplined 🛠️
• You are present on the pass and lead from the heart of the kitchen, not the office 🔥
• You are passionate about flavour, innovation, and delivering standout guest experiences 💖
• You can lead large, diverse teams while maintaining consistency and energy 👥💫
• You bring creativity, resilience, and strong communication skills to every service 💬🤝

🎯 YOUR LITTLE EXTRAS

• Pre-opening experience? Big plus 🏗️✨
• Lifestyle or high-volume branded experience? Even better 🌍
• You know how to turn a kitchen into the heartbeat of a social dining experience 🍸🔥
• You bring bold ideas, precision, and Mama personality every day 🎶💫

Next, we're sure you know the tune 🎶:

• First melody: “At Mama, no AI! We review your application in person and take the time to understand your background. 🎧
• First verse: We organise an initial telephone interview with our People & Culture Team to see if your application fits in with our rhythm. 🤳
• Chorus: Once you've passed the phone interview, we'll arrange a remote meeting 💻 or a meeting at Mama 🤝 to meet the Gang!
• Last verse: Naturally, you'll receive a response from us within two to three weeks at the latest, whether it's a ✔️ or a ✖️.