Head Chef - Cà Phê Mai

Head Chef

Cà Phê Mai, Double Bay

About the venue

Cà Phê Mai is a 45-seat contemporary Vietnamese cafe by day and natural wine bar by night, on Kiaora Lane in Double Bay. We opened in June.

Hours

Monday: closed

Tuesday to Friday: 11am to 10pm

Saturday: 8am to 10pm

Sunday: 8am to 3pm

Breakfast on weekends.

The food

The cooking is contemporary Vietnamese, seen through a Viet Kieu lens: the way the diaspora cooks here, with Australian produce and a wine list on the other side of the pass. Some of it is family recipe, the phở stock most of all. The rest pushes forward. Lunch is bánh mì, phở, laksa and vermicelli bowls. Dinner moves into wine bar territory: oysters with nước chấm, beef tartare with rau răm and prawn crackers, pipis with house XO, roast chicken with fish sauce and lime jus, cá kho, bò kho with a baguette, steak frites. Bread and butter, raw and cold plates, a handful of hot plates, a roast, a braise, three desserts. The menu moves with the seasons and there are regular specials on top of it.

About the role

The kitchen team is already in place: a sous chef and CDPs. What we need is a head chef to run it and take real ownership of it. Someone who leads from the front, sets the standard every service and brings the team up with them.

This is a hands-on leadership role with full responsibility for the kitchen. You’ll run service, lead and develop the team, write the menu with the owners, and own the systems that keep the kitchen consistent and on budget.

What you’ll do

• Run service across breakfast, lunch and dinner to the same standard on a quiet Tuesday as a full Saturday

• Lead the sous chef and CDPs: set the culture, hold the standard, develop each person’s skills

• Write the menu with the owners and turn it into tested specs. Recipes are written down and belong to the kitchen, so the whole team can cook them

• Own ordering, stock control, supplier relationships and prep structure

• Manage the roster and labour cost in Deputy

• Hold food cost through portioning, wastage and purchasing

• Keep food safety, hygiene and WHS compliance tight

• Cook. This is a working role on the line.

Who we’re after

• Proven head chef, or a senior sous chef ready to step up, from a busy produce-led kitchen. Wine bar or bistro experience is a plus

• A leader the team wants to follow, with energy at the pass every service

• A systems mindset. You think in rosters, prep lists, order cycles and labour targets, not just dishes

• Comfortable across all-day formats, from weekend breakfast through to plated dinner

• Fluent in Vietnamese and South East Asian flavours, and interested in where they can go next

• Writes things down. Recipes, specs, costings and prep lists are part of the job

• Experience with rostering and kitchen management software

• Available Saturdays and Sundays. Sunday is a day shift and it is not negotiable

What’s on offer

• Full time, $95,000 to $105,000 plus super depending on experience, under the Restaurant Industry Award

• Kitchen closed Mondays. Last seating 9.30pm, bar closes 10pm

• An established team ready to be led

• Kitchen share of tips paid weekly

• Staff meal on shift, coffee whenever you want it

• A menu with your name on it, and owners who are in the room for every step of it