Executive Chef at Waldorf Astoria Dubai International Financial Centre

Role Overview

Executive Chef at Waldorf Astoria Dubai International Financial Centre, a Forbes 5-Star luxury hotel operated by Hilton, based in Dubai.

Company Overview

Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts provides guests with an exceptional environment and personalized attention of True Waldorf Service, creating a singular experience through rich customer service and attention to even the most extraordinarily different experiences.

Role Purpose

The Executive Chef is responsible for the hotel's culinary strategy and daily kitchen operations, ensuring exceptional menu quality, consistency, and guest experiences across all dining venues. This role develops a high-performing team, drives efficiency and profitability, maintains the highest brand and hygiene standards, and positions the hotel's restaurants and bars as preferred luxury destinations within the market.

Key Responsibilities

Commercial

• Develop the Culinary and Stewarding business plan, considering market strategy, financial targets and business volumes, as well as customer and team member experience.
• Manage the Culinary and Stewarding budget and forecast to support achievement of the hotel's commercial goals.
• Review departmental results—including sales, food costs, profit margins, wastage, breakage, and guest satisfaction—and take action with the Culinary and Stewarding management team to improve performance.

Food Quality & Innovation

• Partner with the F&D Operations team to create attractive F&D concepts, menus, products and promotions that drive revenue and profit.
• Deliver delicious, high quality, well-presented food to meet guests' needs.
• Support Hilton's sustainability goals through local sourcing strategies, use of seasonal produce, minimizing food waste, recycling, and efficient energy and water consumption.
• Keep up to date with current and future trends in F&D, markets, ingredients, competitors and suppliers to drive innovation.

Guest Experience

• Ensure the Culinary team prepare, present and deliver dishes on time, with pride and precision, to create exceptional guest experiences.
• Make sure that food allergies and dietary requirements are treated with absolute seriousness and that all chefs are trained on correct food handling.
• Review and act on guest feedback, taking prompt action to resolve guest complaints and improve guest loyalty.
• Collaborate with F&D Operations to enhance the hotel's image through online reputation management for F&D, driving positive reviews on key platforms and websites.

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead, develop and inspire the Culinary and Stewarding teams, creating an inclusive environment where all Team Members can thrive and achieve their professional goals.
• Practice great people management, from recruitment to training to succession planning and recognition.
• Develop an efficient Culinary and Stewarding workforce plan to identify current and future needs based on forecast business volumes, budgets and HR guidelines.
• Communicate well and often, building great relationships with key stakeholders.

Operations & Compliance

• Ensure Culinary and Stewarding operations strictly comply with all regulations, including health, safety and hygiene, food safety certification, daily kitchen records and labelling.
• Identify, report and correct potentially hazardous situations.
• Work with the Purchasing team to identify and select suppliers and create efficient purchasing processes, with controls in place to maintain high quality of produce and equipment.
• Work with the Finance team to set the minimum and maximum stocks of all food, material and equipment.
• Maintain FFE, kitchen upkeep and inventories.

Qualifications & Experience

• Current or previous experience as Executive Chef.
• Solid experience with luxury hotel brands.
• Experience leading a large team.
• Experience implementing and maintaining the highest standards of food production, quality and hygiene.
• Effective relationship management skills to build and maintain good working relationships with key stakeholders, internally and externally, including suppliers.

Advantageous

• Experience working with Forbes Standards.
• Relevant qualifications and educational background.
• Previous experience in UAE.
• Experience in leading Michelin Guide award-winning restaurants.

Skills & Competencies

• Commercial focus, with demonstrated ability to deliver exceptional business performance and results.
• Inspirational leadership and people management skills, with experience in leading, developing and motivating a large team and working effectively with other departments.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, able to deliver a compelling message for the right audience, from team briefings to commercial business presentations to representing the hotel publicly.
• Creativity, strategic thinking, and strong problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment while remaining composed, adaptable, and focused when managing competing priorities.
• Fluency in English.
• Experience or strong understanding of social media management.
• Proficiency in F&D systems.
• Competence in Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.