Executive Chef

Key Responsibilities

1. The Executive Chef reports into the Group Culinary Lead and the Property General Manager and is responsible for the full culinary operation at Grumeti — from kitchen leadership and food quality to community and succession impact.
2. Lead, mentor, and develop the Grumeti kitchen brigade, building a strong, capable team and a clear pathway and succession plan for local chefs to grow within it.
3. Design and deliver menus and food experiences across all Grumeti outlets that are honest to place — reflecting the Serengeti landscape, seasonality, and Tanzanian culinary tradition — while staying true to Singita's brand-wide food identity.
4. Continue and grow the Singita Community Culinary School (SCCS), ensuring a living succession pipeline of local culinary talent is trained, supported, and progressed into permanent roles.
5. Oversee day-to-day kitchen operations, including food safety, hygiene, quality control, and consistency across breakfast, lunch, dinner, bush dining, and special events.
6. Manage food cost, stock control, ordering, and supplier relationships, with a strong preference for local and community-based sourcing wherever possible.
7. Partner with the Group Culinary Lead, Lodge General Manager, and People team on recruitment, onboarding, performance management, and welfare of the kitchen team.
8. Support guest experience innovation where food is at play, working with the Group Culinary Lead and chefs’ team on new openings, seasonal menu changes, and special guest requests or events.
9. Maintain accurate kitchen records, food cost reporting, and other documentation required for group-level culinary reporting.
10. Uphold and represent Singita's five food principles— as the evaluating framework behind every food decision made in the kitchen.
11. Provide continuity of culinary leadership during the Group Culinary Lead's visits and absences, ensuring Grumeti's kitchen operations continue to run smoothly and to standard.
12. Act as the custodian of Grumeti's food identity, translating the group's culinary direction into menus and experiences that reflect this specific place, its landscape, and its people.
13. Support Grumeti's sustainability, employee wellness, and wellbeing initiatives, promoting participation and engagement across the kitchen team.
14. Encourage and support employee participation in community development and social impact initiatives, fostering a positive relationship between Grumeti and the surrounding communities.
15. Work closely with the Group Culinary Lead to ensure Grumeti's food offering stays aligned with brand-wide standards while remaining distinctly Grumeti.

Skills & Experience

1. Minimum 8-10 years of progressive culinary experience, including at least 3-5 years in an Executive Chef or senior head chef role, ideally within luxury lodge, safari, or high-end hospitality settings.
2. Demonstrated experience training, mentoring, and developing local culinary talent, with a genuine commitment to succession and community upliftment.
3. Strong grounding in classical technique, comfortably married to seasonal, honest, ingredient-led cooking rather than imported or overly complex styles.
4. Experience managing kitchen budgets, food cost, stock control, and supplier/sourcing relationships, ideally including local and community-based sourcing.
5. Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build and retain a strong, motivated kitchen team.
6. Menu development and creative direction experience, with the ability to design food journeys rather than standalone dishes.
7. Problem-solving and decision-making under the pressures of a remote, fast-paced hospitality environment.
8. Planning, time management, and meticulous attention to detail.
9. Adaptability, flexibility, and resilience — comfortable operating in a remote wilderness setting with the logistics that come with it.
10. Professionalism, integrity, and a collaborative, teamwork-first approach.
11. Proficiency with kitchen management and reporting systems, and comfortable contributing to group-level reporting.