Head Chef, Pre-Opening

As the Head Chef of Earth Jumeirah Beach, you will lead the culinary direction, kitchen operations, and team behind the hotel's food experience, with a particular focus on bringing the Earth Brasserie concept to life is positioned as an independent restaurant concept and not a typical hotel restaurant brand.

This is more than a traditional Head Chef role. As Earth Hotels grows, you will have the opportunity to become a key culinary champion for the Brasserie concept and culinary development across the hotels we develop. The role will help shape our food identity and creative direction, operating standards, and consistency while supporting the launch of future Earth Hotels projects.

What on Earth Will You Do

• Lead the culinary direction and day-to-day food offering at Earth Jumeirah Beach.
• Bring the Earth Brasserie concept to life through menus that are distinctive, relevant, approachable, and commercially viable.
• Develop and continuously evolve menus based on seasonality, guest preferences, market trends, and commercial performance.
• Create signature dishes and food experiences that strengthen the identity of the Brasserie.
• Ensure consistency in taste, presentation, portioning, and quality across all food offerings.
• Work closely with the Co-Founders, Brand, and F&B teams to ensure the culinary experience reflects the Earth Hotels identity.
• Stay connected to emerging food, dining, and lifestyle trends and translate relevant ideas into the guest experience.
• Take full responsibility for the day-to-day management and performance of the kitchen.
• Establish efficient kitchen workflows, operating procedures, preparation standards, and service routines.
• Ensure smooth execution across breakfast, lunch, dinner, events, and other food operations.
• Maintain consistently high standards of food quality, presentation, speed, and service.
• Manage kitchen scheduling and manpower to ensure appropriate coverage while maintaining productivity.
• Ensure equipment, storage areas, preparation areas, and kitchen facilities are maintained to the required standards.
• Work closely with the F&B and hotel leadership teams to ensure seamless coordination between kitchen and front-of-house operations.
• Remain hands-on and visible within the kitchen, particularly during key service periods.
• Lead culinary readiness for the pre-opening and launch of Earth Jumeirah Beach.
• Support kitchen setup, equipment selection, OS&E requirements, operating supplies, and opening inventories.
• Develop opening menus, recipes, specifications, costing, and kitchen operating procedures.
• Support supplier selection, product testing, tastings, and procurement decisions.
• Recruit, onboard, train, and prepare the culinary team ahead of opening.
• Participate in kitchen commissioning, operational testing, mock services, and opening readiness assessments.
• Ensure all culinary requirements are operationally ready ahead of launch.
• Support opening and post-opening stabilization, adapting processes and menus based on operational learnings and guest feedback.
• Recruit, lead, coach, and develop a high-performing culinary team.
• Build a kitchen culture based on creativity, respect, accountability, teamwork, and consistency.
• Establish clear roles, expectations, standards, and performance measures across the culinary team.
• Develop chefs through structured coaching, training, exposure, and succession planning.
• Identify and develop future culinary talent as Earth Hotels expands.
• Foster an environment where team members are encouraged to contribute ideas and continuously improve the food experience.
• Manage performance and address operational or behavioral issues promptly and constructively
• Take ownership of food cost, kitchen payroll, productivity, wastage, and other controllable culinary expenses.
• Develop and maintain accurate recipe costing, portion controls, and menu engineering.
• Work closely with Finance, Procurement, and F&B leadership to achieve agreed financial targets.
• Monitor menu performance and make informed decisions based on popularity, profitability, and guest feedback.
• Maintain strong inventory controls and minimize waste without compromising quality.
• Support budgeting and forecasting for culinary operations.
• Balance creativity and product quality with the commercial realities of the operation.
• Work closely with Procurement to source ingredients and products that meet required quality, consistency, and cost standards.
• Participate in supplier selection, product evaluation, tastings, and negotiations where appropriate.
• Establish product specifications and quality standards for key ingredients.
• Monitor supplier and product performance and identify alternatives where required.
• Champion responsible sourcing, seasonal ingredients, and waste reduction where commercially and operationally viable.
• Ensure appropriate stock levels and inventory controls are maintained.
• Act as a culinary champion for the Earth Brasserie concept as the brand develops.
• Capture and document the culinary standards, recipes, specifications, processes, and learnings established at Earth Jumeirah Beach.
• Help develop a scalable culinary framework that can support the Brasserie concept across future Earth Hotels properties.
• Support menu development and adaptation for future locations while protecting the core identity of the concept.
• Support future hotel pre-openings through culinary planning, kitchen readiness, menu development, supplier sourcing, recruitment, training, and opening support.
• Work alongside future property chefs to ensure culinary standards and the Brasserie identity are understood and consistently delivered.
• Provide hands-on task-force support during future Earth Hotels openings and post-opening stabilization as required.
• Share best practices and operational learnings across the growing portfolio.
• Travel to future Earth Hotels projects when required to support culinary development and hotel openings.
• Engage with guests and lead from the front as the gate keeper of the hotel's culinary innovation
• Work on creating locally relevant and innovative menus
• Work closely with Brand & Marketing on culinary storytelling, content, events, collaborations, and launches.
• Support activations, pop-ups, special menus, partnerships, and community-led food experiences.
• Collaborate with hotel leadership and F&B teams to create experiences that make the Brasserie relevant to both hotel guests and the local community.
• Respond quickly to guest feedback and continuously refine the culinary offering.
• Ensure full compliance with food safety, hygiene, HACCP, and applicable regulatory requirements.
• Maintain consistently high standards of kitchen cleanliness, food storage, preparation, handling, and sanitation.
• Ensure all culinary colleagues are appropriately trained in food safety and hygiene requirements.
• Maintain accurate records and ensure the kitchen remains ready for inspections and audits.
• Ensure safe working practices and appropriate use and maintenance of kitchen equipment.
• Nurture and grow a kitchen leader and manager from within. Seeking to expand the pool of high performing chefs to support the growth of our F&B concepts across our network.