Head Chef and Breakfast/Sous Chef

I need a Head Chef capable of 100-200 covers for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I also need a Breakfast/Sous Chef to run the breakfast shift and assist the Head Chef for busy services/events. The position will require you to live on the Island and, accomodation is very limited, so I need a small, elite team to run my busy kitchen (I already have one excellent chef and 1 excellent cook). Both roles will be very hands on cooking. The Head Chef role will be a full time, salaried position. The Breakfast/Sous Chef role will be a seasonal part time position (until approx May 2015) but, if you do wish to stay on, there may be an opportunity to move FOH in shoulder season (we are busy for coffee, smoothies and fresh juices year round).

I want a kitchen team to match my dedicated FOH team. I need 2 chefs that will treat the business as if it were their own. You will have full management of the kitchen. You need to be hands on and lead your team through example. Because the business is so seasonal you also need to be able to step into other roles in the kitchen, you need to be equally at home during the rush of a busy service but also able to scale back as the seasons change. FOH we are busy creating awesome coffee, smoothies, fresh squeezed juices and working towards becoming a licensed venue. BOH we need a team to work seamlessly with us who can work autonomously towards the same vision of making this one of the best restaurants in Western Australia.

This will be a long winded advertisement as I want to make sure I get the right fit.

What I Need From You: Experience in a high quality a la carte, high volume environment, Demonstrated leadership and management skills to lead the team to build passion and culture, Willing to work closely with management and Front of House to take the business to the next level, Readily adaptable to seasonal change, Passionate about service standards and customer satisfaction, Genuine interest in all aspects of the food and hospitality industry, Continual desire to improve, Exceptional work ethic, ability to work hospitality hours and multitask all aspects of the kitchen, Of course, you will have above average culinary skills and deliver dishes with fantastic presentation and consistency, References will show you are a dedicated team player who will treat the business as if it were your own,

Duties and Responsibilities of the Head Chef: This is a good opportunity to be involved from the ground up in building a business to be a part of and a great opportunity to grow with the business. Duties will include: Be fully accountable and in charge of operations and management of all aspects of the kitchen, Produce excellent food in a timely manner, Develop standard recipes and techniques for food preparation and presentation to assure high quality, consistency and to minimise cost of goods. Assist in menu development and costings, Assist in hiring kitchen staff, training, mentoring and rostering to maximise productivity in the kitchen and minimise labour costs. Able to supervise an apprentice, Ordering, rotation and dealing with any supply issues

Spot any problems, resolve quickly and efficiently, maintain a level head, be able to train and delegate and maintain an upbeat kitchen environment

Interact positively with FOH, management and customers to promote a team effort

Be in charge of kitchen hygiene and upholding OHS standards

Work towards creating catering, function and events menus and pricelists

Attend management meetings and implement new policies and procedures as developed in the kitchen

Establish and maintain regular cleaning and maintenance schedules for kitchen areas and equipment 

The venue: Geordie's (check us out on Urbanspoon) opened in December 2012 and is located 2km from the main settlement on Rottnest Island. We are surrounded by 476 accommodation beds and 157 boat moorings, all of which are at capacity pretty much from mid December until after Easter. The area is unparalleled in it's natural beauty.

Rottnest Island is WA's number one tourist destination and hosts around 500 000 tourists per year. Rottnest Island is located 18km off shore only a ½ hour ferry trip (you get staff rates) from Perth so you get the best of both worlds. You get to join a community of only around 200 lucky permanent residents living in paradise (think world renowned surfing, diving and some of Australia's best beaches with no cars - you must get around by bike) but you are on the doorstep of a cosmopolitan city with nearly 2 million residents.

The Café is a rustic but trendy fit out on a 20 year lease and the owner's vision is to continually evolve and improve the venue. Only going into our third year, we are on a continual learning curve, and are looking for a kitchen team to assist in making this a world class venue.

The Cafe has around 70m2 front of house, 70m2 kitchen and about 120m2 outdoors seating. Breakfast starts at 7am in summer (8am otherwise) and goes to 11.30am. Lunch starts at 11.30am and goes until close (8.30pm everyday except for Mondays when we close at 4pm) . In addition we have a post 5pm menu with (currently) 5 'Chef's Signature Dishes' and there are always some blackboard specials. We revisit the menu for summer, shoulder and winter periods to ensure we are using seasonal produce and that we can cut down on the workload and product lines for off peak.

Off peak (from end Easter to beginning Sept/Oct school hols) we are open 8am – 7.30pm Thurs to Sat and 8am – 4pm Sunday but we do extend these hours for long weekends, school and public holidays and Island events.

We close for 6.5 weeks immediately following the July school holidays so that everyone gets a satisfactory break and, as the business grows, renovations can be made during these times. This allows a great work/life balance and gives the rare opportunity to book holidays in advance.

Our current menu could be described as contemporary Australian. We aim for dishes that can be produced in high volume but maintain consistency and freshness. Our point of difference from other venues on the Island is that we aim to produce everything from scratch, we aim to deliver simple fare with a twist, we do amazing coffee, everything we do we do well, in a friendly environment and with personal service  and we deliver it with enthusiasm. We try to 'change things up' and deliver dishes that are slightly 'left of base' so you will have creative freedom and can experiment with different dishes with a blackboard menu that we change every day.

I also have permission to do on and off site catering, run a tour desk, apply for a small bar license and have live entertainment so the opportunities going forward for this business are endless. This summer is going to be all about putting key people into key roles so that I can drive the business forward with the correct team in place.

What You Can Expect From Me: This is my dream business and I am learning as I go along. I will be honest in that I have never run a Cafe before but the business is already developing a good reputation and is becoming very busy. I have a great FOH team and some good kitchen staff but I need good leadership in the kitchen to assist me to drive the business forward. You will find me a very fair employer, very involved in the business, with high expectations but willing to give a lot in return. Salary is negotiable, accommodation is currently $95/wk + utilities, super will be paid on top of your salary and, after a 6 month trial,if you are the right fit for the job I would love you to help me develop some KPIs for you to hit in future seasons and the possibility of an equity share or additional commission based pay for upcoming seasons is not out of the question. I am not in a position to sponsor anyone so only those with Australian work rights apply. Only short listed candidates will be contacted.

Preferably I need 1 chef to start 1 September but I am willing to take the time to find the right fit.

I will need you to reply with a cover letter, the position (Head or Sous) that you are applying for, a resume and provide work references that can be readily checked.

If you are not valued where you are and need me to be discreet then let me know when you apply and I will only contact these references right at the very end. 

Samantha Howe, Owner / Manager, Geordie's, Location: Perth, Salary: Award + Super + Discount Accomodation + Meals, Work type: Full Time, Classification: Hospitality & Tourism Chefs/Cooks

Email to: gbc@rottnestcatering.com.au