Head Chef – Coastal Café, Bar & Restuarant • Full Time

Location: Barwon Heads, VIC
Venue opening hours: 7 days/week. Friday – Monday 8am-late, Tues – Thurs 11am-late. Venue hours will extend to 8am-late Monday – Sunday during the Summer period.
Salary: Competitive, commensurate with experience + staff meals

Who We Are

We're a relaxed yet vibrant coastal café, restaurant and bar, now under fresh ownership, blending restaurant favourites with a broad range of beverages to be enjoyed inside by the fire or outside on the large deck out the front in the afternoon sunshine. Friendly, creative, delicious - we're all about seasonal, local ingredients, warm service, and an atmosphere where team and guests feel at home.

At full capacity, we seat roughly 100-120 in the inside dining area, and another 30-40 on the front deck. We also enjoy hosting a range of different functions throughout the year from 10-50 people where set menus or roaming food items are designed and offered to guests based on their budget and dietary requirements.

About the role

You'll lead our kitchen - designing menus that evolve with the seasons and our vision, managing stock and suppliers, shaping a kitchen culture rooted in quality, teamwork & communication.

Candidates must be Australian citizens or permanent residents to be eligible for this position.

Day-to-day you'll:

Develop and refresh menus with seasonal flair

Supervise and help support training of kitchen team: prep, service & quality control

Manage inventory, ordering, supplier relationships, costings

Maintain food safety, hygiene and equipment standards

Food safety certifications must be obtained within 30 days of commencement

Collaborate with front-of-house and leadership team on specials, events and aligned service

Lead by example: fostering open communication, creativity and mutual respect

We'd love you to have

Proven experience in a Head or Senior Chef role, preferably in fast paced hospitality environment

A minimum of 3-4 years of Head Chef or Senior Chef experience is required

Excellent communication and teamwork with other kitchen staff, the FOH and leadership teams

Leadership mindset: encouraging, calm under pressure, with mentoring instincts

A creative flair for designing seasonal dishes and an openness to continue enhancing and evolving dishes based on feedback

A genuine passion for quality, consistency and local sourcing

Strong organisational skills: inventory, ordering, budgeting

Why join us?

Be part of shaping something new and meaningful in a coastal setting

Creative freedom to develop seasonal menus and specials

A supportive, collaborative team culture

Competitive salary, staff meals, and potential performance rewards

Work where your leadership and creativity make a real difference

Please note: to be considered for this role, you must be available over the busy summer period (Late Nov through to end of Feb).

Interested?

Shoot us your resume (and a few lines about what makes your cooking style shine) to [[email protected]].
We'd also love to invite you in for a relaxed chat and to sample what we're all about.

Note quite the right fit but love the vibes?We're also looking for casual kitchen staff and seasonal support over the busy summer period.