Executive Chef

Executive Chef

WELCOME TO A WORLD OF OPPORTUNITIES AT THE WORLD'S #1 BEST WORKPLACE, AWARDED BY GREAT PLACE TO WORK & FORTUNE.

A new challenge begins at Hilton Rotterdam!

We are looking for an Executive Chef who is responsible for leading our Kitchen team. Are you passionate about operating an international restaurant and bar? Do you know what it takes to inspire your team to create exceptional culinary experiences every time?

Are you a pioneer in Food trends, social media, and marketing? And as a leader, are you supportive and inclusive? If so, this role is tailor-made for you.

Hilton Rotterdam is already over 60 years a well-known hotel located in the middle of the city center. It is our mission to deliver exceptional service to all our guests while having fun at work. With 120 team members in total, we have a very dedicated and passionate hotel team that is highly motivated to create memorable moments. Our team is divers by nature and inclusive by choice.

Job overview

The Executive Chef is responsible for the entire hotel operated culinary performance. Working closely with the F&D venue operations teams and Meeting & Events teams you will be responsible for the overall delivery of world-class cuisine.

Key Responsibilities

As Executive Chef your key responsibilities will be:

1. Culinary Leader

• You are fully responsible for developing the reputation of the hotel through the production of excellent quality food throughout the hotel.

• Deliver world-class culinary experiences in F&D venues, banqueting, meeting and events.

• Lead the kitchen brigade and ensure ongoing development of Team Members, identifying an effective approach to succession planning.

• Dedicated to fostering an inclusive workplace, where every team member’s unique background and perspective are valued and respected.

• Review departmental results - including sales, costs, profit margins, covers, guest satisfaction and act with the team to improve performance.

• Constantly seeks out opportunities and technologies to revolutionize culinary executions across venues and Meetings, Events and Banquets

2. Excellence in Food

• Lead the Culinary team to create attractive food concepts, menus, products, and promotions that drive revenue and profit.

• Deliver high-quality, well-presented food to meet and exceed guests’ needs and social media feeds.

• Champion Hilton’s sustainability goals through local sourcing, use of seasonal produce and minimizing food waste.

• Consistently exploring new culinary trends and techniques to keep the menus fresh and exciting while meeting the evolving tastes of customers.

3. Exceptional Guest Experiences

• Deliver exceptional guest experiences by maintaining consistently high service standards and product knowledge throughout the culinary team.

• Make sure that food allergies and dietary requirements are treated with absolute seriousness.

• Review and act on guest feedback, taking prompt action to resolve guest complaints and improve guest loyalty.

• Enhance the hotel’s image through online reputation management for food, driving positive reviews on key platforms and websites.

4. Great Working Environment

• Lead, develop and inspire the culinary team, 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 workforce plan to identify current and future needs based on forecast business volumes, budgets, and HR guidelines.

• Responsible for ensuring that the monthly working schedules are made and maintained in accordance with local legislation.

• Communicate well and often, building great relationships with key stakeholders.

5. Day-To-Day Essentials

• Make sure culinary operations strictly comply with all regulations (including health, safety and hygiene, food safety certification, licensing) and that potentially hazardous situations are identified, reported, and corrected.

• Work with the purchasing team to select suppliers and create efficient purchasing processes.

• Keep up to date with what is happening in current and future trends, markets, ingredients, competitors, and suppliers – to drive innovation

Who are we looking for?

We are looking for an inspirational leader who is passionate about food, with at least 3 years’ experience in a similar role and a recognized degree or diploma. Experience of similar capacity in an international hotel culinary operation is a requirement.

To be successful in this position you will have:

• Commercial focus, with a demonstrated ability to deliver exceptional business performance and results.

• Inspirational leadership and people management skills, experienced in leading, developing and motivating a large team and working effectively with other departments.

• Excellent verbal and written communication deliver a compelling message for the right audience, from team briefings to meet with meeting organizers.

• Guest focus, maintaining the highest standards of service and quality to create memorable guest experiences.

• Effective relationship management skills to build good working relationships with key stakeholders, internally and externally, including suppliers, local media and influencers.

• Creativity, strategic thinking and problem-solving skills, able to work effectively in a fast-paced environment while remaining calm and focused under pressure.

• Consistently delivers high-quality dishes with meticulous attention to detail and innovative flair

• Must be forward-thinking, with a strong background in hotel culinary operations, to seamlessly blend sophistication with efficiency

You will also be fluent in English, a social media expert, and comfortable using F&D systems and MS Office.

Useful to know: This position is full-time and may require working weekend and/or evening shifts.