Executive Head Chef

About the role

Lead culinary excellence at the Sheraton Athlone Hotel, a four‑star property in the heart of Ireland. Reporting to the Managing Director, you will own the hotel’s food production function, driving quality, consistency and innovation across three outlets, conferences, banquets and weddings.

Key responsibilities

• Establish and embed exceptional culinary standards across all food service areas to deliver a four‑star guest experience.
• Lead, develop and inspire the kitchen team, fostering a culture of respect, pride and continuous improvement.
• Drive menu development and culinary innovation with a focus on seasonal produce, presentation and guest satisfaction.
• Own daily kitchen operations, ensuring service excellence for restaurant service, conferences, banquets and weddings.
• Manage departmental budgets, achieving cost‑of‑sales, labour and margin targets in collaboration with Finance and Purchasing.
• Ensure full compliance with HACCP, food safety, hygiene and health & safety legislation.
• Recruit, train and appraise kitchen staff, maintaining the right skill mix for business demands.
• Develop and maintain SOPs, training manuals and champion brand standards and innovative practices.

Required profile

• Minimum 5 years’ experience at senior chef level in a quality four‑star hotel or comparable high‑volume hospitality environment.
• Proven leadership ability with a track record of building, motivating and retaining high‑performing kitchen teams.
• Strong commercial focus with experience managing budgets, cost control and margin targets.
• Flexibility to work a five‑days‑over‑seven roster aligned to operational needs.

Required skills

• Menu development
• Culinary innovation
• HACCP and food safety compliance
• Budget management and cost control
• Staff training and performance appraisal