Executive Chef

Pristina Region

Hospitality

On-site >10 years of professional experience

Short Description

Manpower SEE is a leading provider of innovative workforce solutions, delivering comprehensive staffing and human resources services to help clients thrive in today’s dynamic labor market.On behalf of our client, Hilton Hotels, a globally recognized leader in the hospitality industry, we are seeking a highly skilled and creative Executive Chef to lead the culinary operations at Hilton’s upcoming hotel in Pristina, Kosovo.This role will be responsible for building and developing a talented kitchen brigade, delivering exceptional culinary experiences across all outlets, and ensuring the highest standards of quality, creativity, and operational excellence.

Description

The Executive Chef will oversee all kitchen operations and play a key leadership role in maintaining Hilton's culinary standards while introducing innovative and market-relevant menu offerings. The selected candidate will lead, train, and develop the kitchen team, ensuring consistent delivery of outstanding food quality throughout the hotel.Key responsibilities include:

Leading the kitchen brigade and overseeing continuous development, coaching, and training of all kitchen team members.
Ensuring effective succession planning within the department.
Creating menus that exceed guest expectations and align with Hilton brand standards.
Overseeing the consistent production of high-quality dishes across all hotel food and beverage outlets.
Developing and maintaining strong relationships with guests, suppliers, contractors, and internal teams.
Addressing and resolving any guest or internal issues related to kitchen operations promptly and professionally.
Managing all operational aspects of the kitchen, including budgeting, forecasting, resource planning, and waste management.
Ensuring compliance with food safety, hygiene, health and safety, and fire regulations.
Monitoring customer feedback and responding to guest inquiries in a timely and welcoming manner.
Ensuring adequate staffing levels based on business demands and preparing monthly work schedules in line with local legislation.
Maintaining high standards of kitchen maintenance, hygiene, hazard prevention, and equipment functionality.
Managing food control systems to meet margin targets and improve gross profit performance.
Regularly reviewing menus in collaboration with the Food & Beverage Manager to ensure alignment with market trends and guest preferences.
Implementing and monitoring food waste programs to optimize costs and sustainability efforts.
Leading recruitment, training, and performance management for all kitchen team members.
Ensuring effective communication within the department and across the hotel, including conducting monthly team meetings and preparing post-meeting documentation.
Managing departmental financial performance to support overall hotel objectives.

Requirements

To succeed in this role, the Executive Chef must demonstrate strong leadership, creativity, business acumen, and a commitment to delivering exceptional culinary experiences.Required:

Previous experience as an Executive Chef or a high-performing Sous Chef in a first-class property.
Excellent leadership skills with the ability to inspire, motivate, and develop a large team.
Strong creative approach to menu design and food production.
Proven business-oriented mindset, capable of managing costs, margins, and kitchen profitability.
Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills.
Ability to build strong internal and external relationships.
Outstanding planning, organizational, and time management skills.
Ability to multitask, prioritize, and meet operational deadlines.
Valid and relevant trade or culinary qualification (evidence may be required).
Fluency in English (spoken and written).

Advantageous: