Group Head Chef Jobs in West Rand

A well-established food franchise is looking for a Group Head Chef / Executive Chef who is willing to travel between restaurants in the West Rand. Recruited through Placement Point (Pty) Ltd, this permanent role carries the advert reference CGHP, and applications close on 30 December 2026.

About the company and the work

Placement Point (Pty) Ltd is the recruiter for this vacancy, and the client is described as a well-established food franchise. The Group Head Chef / Executive Chef leads culinary standards, food costing and kitchen operations across the group’s restaurants, travelling between outlets to audit quality, costs, hygiene and consistency, and reporting regularly to the directors and senior management.

Role details and duties

The duties stated in the advert include:

• Developing, testing and implementing new menus, dishes, specials and seasonal offerings.
• Reviewing existing menus to improve customer appeal, profitability and operational efficiency.
• Standardising recipes, ingredients, portion sizes, preparation methods and presentation across all restaurants.
• Maintaining accurate recipe cards, preparation procedures and plating guidelines.
• Monitoring customer feedback, sales trends and food industry developments for new opportunities.
• Taking responsibility for food costing and gross profit performance across the group.
• Ensuring every menu item is accurately costed using current ingredient prices and portion specifications.
• Monitoring actual food costs against theoretical costs and agreed targets.
• Investigating excessive food costs, stock variances, over-portioning, spoilage and wastage.
• Recommending menu pricing, portion adjustments and ingredient alternatives where appropriate.
• Analysing menu sales and profitability to identify high-performing and underperforming dishes.
• Working with procurement and suppliers to improve pricing and product value without compromising quality.
• Providing regular food cost reports and implementing corrective measures where required.
• Establishing and maintaining high food quality standards across all restaurants.
• Conducting regular food tastings, kitchen inspections and quality audits.
• Investigating food-related customer complaints and implementing corrective action.
• Monitoring incoming ingredient quality and supplier consistency.
• Developing and implementing group-wide kitchen procedures and standard operating procedures.
• Standardising food preparation, stock rotation, storage, labelling and portion control.
• Improving kitchen productivity, service efficiency and preparation planning.
• Implementing effective stock control and waste-reduction systems.
• Supporting new restaurant openings, kitchen upgrades and improved operational systems.
• Ensuring all kitchens comply with applicable South African food safety and hygiene legislation.
• Maintaining food handling, storage, temperature control, cleaning and sanitation procedures.
• Implementing regular hygiene inspections and food safety audits, and following up audit findings.
• Ensuring kitchen staff are trained in food safety, hygiene and allergen management.
• Leading, mentoring and developing Kitchen Managers and kitchen teams across the group.
• Developing training programmes covering recipes, food quality, costing, hygiene and kitchen skills.
• Assisting with the recruitment and assessment of senior kitchen staff.
• Conducting regular scheduled and unannounced restaurant visits and audits.
• Preparing reports on performance, problems and required corrective actions, and working with restaurant management to resolve operational challenges.

Performance is measured against agreed targets, including food cost and gross profit performance, accuracy of recipe costing, food quality and presentation, hygiene and food safety audit results, reduction in waste and stock losses, profitable menu development, completion of visits and audits, training and development of kitchen leadership teams, and improvement in customer feedback on food quality.

Requirements

Only what the source states is listed here:

• A recognised culinary qualification.
• At least 10 to 15 years of professional culinary experience.
• At least 5 to 8 years in a senior culinary leadership role.
• Proven experience managing multiple restaurant kitchens or outlets.
• Strong experience in menu development, recipe standardisation and food costing.
• Demonstrated ability to manage food costs, gross profit, stock control and waste.
• Experience implementing food quality, hygiene and operational standards.
• Proven ability to lead, train and develop kitchen management teams.
• Strong understanding of food safety legislation and HACCP principles.
• Good computer skills, numerical ability and experience with costing and reporting systems.
• A valid driver’s licence and willingness to travel between restaurants.

Advantageous: experience in a restaurant group or franchise environment and in high-volume family restaurants. One advantageous line was cut off in the detail view, so applicants should confirm the full wording in the original advert. The advert states no separate experience level label, so none is shown in the job details.

Where to find and apply safely

This vacancy is listed on Careers24, and the Apply button on this page takes you directly to the original Placement Point advert. Apply only through that original advert, and never pay anyone to apply for a job. Please note that an earlier posting of the same title dated 20 October 2026 also exists; this post covers the 30 October 2026 advert closing 30 December 2026.

Practical tips

This is a senior, travelling role, so lead with the scale you have run: how many kitchens, what food cost percentages you achieved, and how you standardised recipes across sites. Bring examples of menus you developed, waste you reduced and audits you turned around. Make sure your CV shows your culinary qualification, your years in senior culinary leadership, and that you hold a valid driver’s licence and are willing to travel between restaurants.

How the process works

When you apply through the original advert, your application goes to Placement Point for shortlisting on behalf of the franchise group. Shortlisted candidates can expect discussions about menu development, food costing, multi-site leadership and food safety practice. If you do not hear back, keep the closing date of 30 December 2026 in mind and continue applying for similar roles.

Important information

This page is informational only and is not the employer. Details such as the salary, closing date and requirements are taken from the original advert, and the original advert is the final authority. The salary is stated as Market Related. Please note a discrepancy in the original advert: the performance targets refer to nine restaurants, while the audit duties refer to eight restaurants, so applicants should confirm the number of outlets in the original advert.

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