Head Chef

About the role

You will take ownership of the day-to-day running of the kitchen at Kaprica, an established neighbourhood Italian restaurant on Grattan Street in Carlton. This is a hands-on Head Chef position where you will lead from the kitchen rather than managing everything from an office.

Key responsibilities

• Lead and develop the kitchen team
• Run service and maintain consistency across every dish
• Train, mentor and manage kitchen staff
• Manage ordering, stock levels and supplier relationships
• Monitor food costs, wastage and kitchen labour
• Maintain food safety, organisation and cleanliness
• Work with ownership on menu development and seasonal changes
• Maintain Kaprica's existing food identity while continually improving execution
• Build systems that make the kitchen organised, consistent and efficient

About you

• Previous experience as a Head Chef, Sous Chef or senior chef in a busy restaurant
• Strong understanding of Italian cooking
• Experience with pizza and pasta highly regarded
• Strong organisational and kitchen management skills
• Understanding of food cost, labour and stock control
• Ability to train and develop a team
• High standards without creating unnecessary drama
• Ability to stay calm and organised during a busy service
• Reliability and accountability

About us

Kaprica is an established neighbourhood Italian restaurant built around simple food, good produce, pizza, pasta, music and relaxed hospitality.

Benefits

• Genuine opportunity to take ownership of an established Carlton restaurant kitchen
• Input into menus and the future direction of the food
• A small independent hospitality business where good ideas can actually be implemented
• Supportive management team
• Staff meals and benefits
• Long-term opportunity as the business grows