Job Description

Executive Chef – Key Job Responsibilities

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1. Culinary & Kitchen Operations

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- Lead and oversee all culinary operations across the hotel, including restaurants, banquets, room service, bar/café, and special events.
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- Ensure consistent food quality, presentation, taste, portion control, and adherence to established recipes and standards.
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- Develop and maintain SOPs for food preparation, production, storage, service, and kitchen operations.
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- Ensure smooth coordination between the kitchen, F&B; service, stewarding, purchase, stores, and other operational departments.
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- Drive innovation in culinary offerings while maintaining the hotel's brand positioning and guest expectations.
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2. Menu Planning & Engineering

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- Develop and periodically review menus based on guest preferences, market trends, seasonality, and business requirements.
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- Conduct menu engineering to maximise profitability while maintaining quality.
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- Introduce new dishes, concepts, promotions, buffets, themed events, and culinary experiences.
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- Ensure appropriate menu pricing in coordination with F&B; and Finance teams.
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3. Food Cost & Profitability

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- Take ownership of food cost and kitchen profitability .
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- Ensure food cost remains within the approved budget and established benchmarks.
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- Monitor wastage, pilferage, overproduction, portion control, and yield.
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- Analyse food cost reports and take corrective action wherever required.
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- Work closely with Purchase and Stores to ensure effective procurement and inventory management.
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4. Revenue & Business Contribution

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- Actively contribute towards achieving the hotel's F&B; revenue targets.
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- Develop culinary promotions and special experiences to generate incremental revenue.
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- Support banquets, weddings, corporate events, festivals, and other revenue-generating activities.
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- Work closely with Sales & F&B; teams to develop customised menus and commercial offerings.
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5. Guest Experience & Quality

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- Drive improvement in guest satisfaction through food quality, consistency, presentation, and service coordination.
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- Monitor guest feedback, online reviews, complaints, and food-related GSI scores.
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- Ensure prompt resolution of food-quality-related guest complaints.
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- Maintain high standards of culinary presentation and overall dining experience.
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6. Hygiene, Food Safety & Compliance

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- Ensure strict compliance with FSSAI requirements , HACCP principles, hotel hygiene standards, and food safety procedures.
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- Conduct regular kitchen inspections and hygiene audits.
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- Ensure proper storage temperatures, labelling, FIFO/FEFO, cleaning schedules, pest control, and personal hygiene standards.
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- Ensure all kitchen equipment is properly maintained and operated safely.
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7. Team Leadership & People Development

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- Lead, motivate, and develop the entire culinary team.
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- Plan manpower requirements in line with business volumes and operational needs.
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- Conduct training, coaching, skill development, and performance reviews for kitchen associates.
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- Identify high-potential talent and develop succession plans for key culinary positions.
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- Maintain discipline, grooming, attendance, productivity, and qualified standards within the kitchen team.
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8. Procurement & Inventory

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- Work closely with Purchase and Stores to ensure timely availability of quality ingredients.
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- Approve specifications and quality standards for food products.
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- Monitor inventory levels and minimise unnecessary stock holding.
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- Evaluate suppliers based on quality, consistency, pricing, and delivery standards.
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- Ensure proper receiving, storage, issuing, and utilisation of food materials.
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9. Budgeting & Financial Management

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- Prepare and manage the annual culinary budget in coordination with F&B; and Finance.
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- Control manpower, food, consumable, and operational costs.
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- Monitor monthly financial performance against budget.
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- Identify opportunities for cost optimisation without compromising guest experience or quality.
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10. Kitchen Infrastructure & Equipment

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- Ensure proper utilisation and maintenance of kitchen equipment.
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- Identify requirements for new equipment, replacement, upgrades, and kitchen improvements.
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- Coordinate with Engineering for preventive maintenance and timely resolution of equipment breakdowns.
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- Ensure kitchens remain operationally efficient and appropriately equipped.
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11. Coordination & Leadership

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- Participate in daily operational meetings and management reviews.
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- Coordinate closely with the General Manager, F&B; Manager, Purchase, Finance, HR, Sales, and Engineering teams.
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- Provide regular updates on culinary performance, food cost, manpower, guest feedback, and operational challenges.
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- Take ownership of corrective actions and ensure timely closure of identified gaps.
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Overall responsibility: The Executive Chef should be accountable for culinary excellence + guest satisfaction + food cost + F&B; profitability + team capability + hygiene and food safety , rather than being responsible only for kitchen production.

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📌 Executive Chef (Kolkata)
🏢 Polo Hotels Group
📍 Kolkata