Executive Chef

About Upbeat Recreation Centre

Upbeat Recreation Centre – Upbeat is a world class and fun sports and fitness recreation centre in Africa for the benefit of all in the community. We are vibrant, encouraging, team-oriented, wholesome, strong and positive attitudes for babies, school children, young adults, thrill seekers, parents, and grandparents. Every day, we deliver a unique experience through our Facility, our people and our products to make UPBEAT your number one destination for fun and fitness. We provide excellent quality service in a safe environment. We are energetic, we are fun, innovative, and fit! We touch the lives of everyone as we challenge you to be inspired, be different and be motivated. We challenge you to Up your Fun, Up your Fitness.

Job Objective

• Under the general guidance of the Restaurant Manager provides the highest food quality consistent with cost control and profitability margins of the restaurant to maximize guest satisfaction and food profitability. All work is carried out in line with the restaurant’s guidelines, the departmental business plan, and the Upbeat’s corporate guidelines, and service concepts.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

• Manages all activities in the kitchen, including production, stewarding and management of food production staff
• Maximizes guest satisfaction by providing the highest food quality consistent with cost control and profitability margins of the restaurant.
• Oversees all food production related areas
• Co-ordinates activities, times and communicates priorities to ensure correct preparation, and delivery time to provide food for functions.
• Maintains product consistency by conducting inspections of seasonings, portions, and food appearance, and follows-up appropriately
• Oversees inventory disbursement of all food supplies
• Controls and orders all fresh products and dry storage items required by kitchen and related departments to ensure correct quality and par stock
• Monitors and facilitates communication between kitchen production and service staff
• Ensures that proper safety, hygiene, and sanitation practices are followed
• Co-ordinates operation of kitchen
• Works with the sales and marketing team to make suggestions for sales promotions with food and beverage and to increase sales
• Ensures readiness and compliance in case of last-minute changes to orders
• Ensures that prices and portions are offered in accordance with food and beverage profit objectives
• Utilize leadership skills and motivation to maximize employee productivity and satisfaction
• Challenges employees to achieve optimum quality while minimizing cost
• Monitors department’s overall service, interaction with other departments, and team work daily, and takes actions to improve
• Screens, interviews and selects potential employees
• Identifies training needs, and makes sure staff receives training, including skills training to produce consistent results
• Works closely with the Human Resources Manager on the following Human Resources related tasks:
  • Performance appraisals
  • Coaching
  • Counselling
  • Discipline and grievance

Employee Relations:

• Fosters and develops effective employee relations between kitchen and restaurant staff
• Keeps effective internal communications, including daily meetings with all staff to ensure optimum teamwork and productivity
• Looks for ways to motivate and challenge employees
• Monitors and makes sure staff follows all applicable laws, especially regarding food safety and sanitation

Miscellaneous:

• Develops guest/market-oriented menus, and changes menus regularly to reflect local and seasonal trends.
• Monitors industry trends and recommends appropriate action to maintain the competitive status and profitability
• Recommends better operational practices, procedures and concepts
• Conducts formal tasting as part of new recipe development and product testing regularly
• Prepares reports to develop a more informative database for improved management decision making, and critical evaluation of work activities and preparation techniques
• Devise measures to minimizes spoilage, waste and overproduction
• Assists in the review, selection, determination of specifications and pricing of proposed restaurant menus
• Works pro-actively to minimize complaints from guests
• Follows-up with Restaurant Manager to determine guest satisfaction; measures these results and establishes strategies to improve the food quality
• Prepares the food production department’s business plan
• Assists colleagues to perform similar or related jobs when necessary
• Accepts flexible work schedule necessary for uninterrupted service
• Maintains own working area, materials and company property clean, tidy and in good shape; reports defective materials and equipment to the appropriate individual
• Is well updated on, and possesses solid knowledge of the following:
  • Upbeat fire, bomb and emergency procedures
  • Upbeat health and safety policies and procedures
  • Current licensing relating to own department

Health and Safety:

• Adheres to all health, sanitation and food safety rules and regulations, and makes sure that all staff adheres to these
• Ensures that all potential and real hazards are reported and reduced immediately
• Fully understands the hotel’s fire, emergency, and bomb procedures
• Ensures that emergency procedures are practiced and enforced to provide for the security and safety of guests and employees
• Ensures that employees work in a safe manner that does not harm or injure self or others
• Stimulates and encourages a general awareness of health and safety
• Anticipates possible and probable hazards and conditions and either corrects them or takes action to prevent them from happening
• Ensures that the highest standards of personal hygiene, dress, appropriate uniform, appearance, and conduct is maintained by all employees in the department

Experience and Qualifications

• OND qualification
• Minimum of Five (5) years relevant experience.
• Excellent culinary skills, all round knowledge of kitchen and ability to teach others
• Professional cooking/food preparation qualification

Person Specification:

• Excellent self-hygiene.
• High energy levels and a positive outlook.
• Very good customer service and people management skills.
• Good crisis/conflict management skills.
• Very good attention to detail skills.
• Must be able to manage multiple priorities and take initiative.
• Must be conversant with hazard spotting and emergency procedures.
• Organized and efficient
• Demonstrate a strong customer-focused approach to all
• Ability to remain calm under pressure
• Effective leadership and people management skills