Job Description
Client Profile
Our client is a leading hospitality and events business operating a portfolio of premium destination venues renowned for delivering exceptional weddings, events and guest experiences. With a strong reputation for quality and a growing footprint, the business continues to invest in its people, facilities and culinary offering while positioning itself for future expansion. This is an opportunity to join an established leadership team and play a pivotal role in the next phase of growth.
Job Description
Reporting directly to the General Manager, the Executive Catering Chef will lead all catering operations across the group's venue portfolio from a central production kitchen. This role combines strategic leadership, operational oversight and culinary innovation, ensuring the successful delivery of thousands of annual catering experiences while maintaining exceptional food quality and consistency.
Working closely with venue leadership, sales teams and event stakeholders, you will oversee a large and dynamic kitchen operation, support the continued growth of the restaurant offering, and contribute to the evolution of a contemporary catering program that delivers memorable guest experiences.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead catering operations across multiple premium event venues
- Manage and develop a brigade of approximately 12–14 culinary professionals
- Oversee food production for more than 500 weddings and 2,500 annual catering events annually
- Coordinate food logistics, event execution and venue readiness across multiple locations
- Manage labour costs, rostering, staffing requirements and departmental budgets
- Drive food quality, consistency, systems improvement and operational excellence
- Collaborate with venue leadership, sales teams and operational stakeholders
- Support the continued development and growth of the restaurant offering
Candidate Profile
The successful candidate will be an experienced kitchen leader with a passion for hospitality, events and team development. You may currently be an Executive Chef or a strong Head Chef ready to step into a broader leadership role. Most importantly, you will bring outstanding organisational capability, commercial awareness and the ability to lead large-scale catering operations while fostering a positive and collaborative team culture.
You Will Demonstrate
- Proven leadership experience within catering, banqueting or high-volume hospitality environments
- Strong operational planning and organisational skills
- Experience managing multiple events, services and competing priorities simultaneously
- Excellent people leadership, coaching and team development capabilities
- Commercial acumen with an understanding of labour management and food cost control
- A creative and contemporary approach to food and event catering
- A collaborative mindset and ability to work effectively across multiple stakeholders
- A genuine desire to contribute to a growing and evolving hospitality business
Experience within premium dining, luxury hospitality or destination event venues will be highly regarded.
Offer
This is a rare opportunity to lead one of Australia's most dynamic event catering operations, delivering exceptional experiences at scale while helping shape the future culinary direction of a growing hospitality group.
To learn more about this role, submit your CV or contact Lee via lee@hastingspeople.com.au for a confidential discussion.
By applying to this role, you are agreeing to the terms set out in Hastings People's privacy policy available at the Hastings People website.
