Superstar Head Chef - Beau Deli

Head Chef – Beau Deli

Full-time | Ponsonby | Monday–Friday or Tuesday–Saturday | Days only

Beau Deli is looking for a seriously good Head Chef to lead our small kitchen team and help take the food at the deli forward.

We’re looking for someone who is, first and foremost, a great cook.

Someone who genuinely loves food, cooks outside of work, eats out, keeps an eye on what’s happening and understands what makes simple food really good. Someone who knows a Reuben from a Cuban and probably has an opinion on both.

We already have a busy deli, a strong customer base and a menu of favourites people come back for. We want someone who can keep that foundation strong while bringing new ideas, seasonal specials and their own point of view to the food.

The role

This is a hands-on cooking role leading a small kitchen team of around 3–4 people.

It’s a morning/daytime kitchen, so you get your evenings back. The working week can be Monday–Friday or Tuesday–Saturday depending on the right person.

You’ll be responsible for

Cooking alongside the team every day

Leading, training and developing junior chefs

Making our core menu consistently well

Developing sandwiches, seasonal salads, specials and new dishes

Building good kitchen systems and structure

Writing and costing recipes

Managing ordering, stock and waste

Keeping food costs and GP in check

Helping create a positive, calm kitchen culture

Getting involved in events, collaborations and other projects across Beau

We also have a very good pastry and baking chef already in the team. You don’t need to be a pastry chef, but being confident around baking is a bonus.

Who we're looking for

You’ll ideally have

• Strong professional cooking experience
• Experience leading or supervising a kitchen team
• A genuine love of food and cooking
• Good taste and strong food knowledge
• Confidence training junior chefs
• Good organisation and kitchen systems
• An understanding of costing, margins and waste
• Confidence with Excel or spreadsheets
• A positive, practical leadership style
• Plenty of ideas, without needing to reinvent everything
• We’re not looking for someone who wants to sit in an office all day.
• We want someone who enjoys cooking, likes being part of a busy kitchen and gets satisfaction from making really good food consistently.

The opportunity

• Beau Deli is already established and busy, but there is plenty of room to keep improving.
• You’ll have the freedom to bring ideas to the table, create specials, change things seasonally, improve systems and help shape where the food goes next.
• For the right chef, it’s a chance to have real creative input, lead a good small team and still have nights free.
• If that sounds like you, send us your CV along with a few words about yourself, your experience and the kind of food you love to cook.