Executive Savoury Chef

EXECUTIVE SAVOURY CHEF

Ladurée SA | French Luxury Hospitality & Pâtisserie Brand

Join Our Expanding Culinary Team

As part of the continued growth and development of Ladurée SA’s culinary operations in South Africa, we are expanding our culinary team and seeking an experienced and highly skilled Executive Savoury Chef to join our growing team.

This is an exciting opportunity for a passionate culinary professional to contribute to the continued development of Ladurée’s savoury offering while upholding the exceptional standards, elegance and heritage associated with our iconic French brand.

The successful candidate will play a key role in overseeing savoury culinary operations, maintaining exceptional food quality and consistency, developing culinary offerings and supporting the continued growth of Ladurée’s food and beverage experience.

This role requires a hands-on culinary leader with strong operational and people-management skills, a refined palate and a genuine passion for delivering exceptional dining experiences within a luxury hospitality environment.

Key Responsibilities

· Strong knowledge of French cuisine and contemporary culinary techniques.

· Experience Lead and oversee savoury kitchen operations, ensuring the consistent delivery of high-quality dishes.

· Contribute to the continued development and growth of Ladurée’s savoury culinary offering.

· Develop, implement and maintain savoury menus in alignment with Ladurée’s French culinary identity and brand standards.

· Ensure all dishes are prepared and presented to exacting standards of quality, flavour, consistency and visual appeal.

· Maintain strict adherence to recipes, portion specifications, plating standards and food presentation guidelines.

· Supervise, train, mentor and develop the savoury kitchen team as the culinary operation continues to grow.

· Allocate daily responsibilities and ensure effective kitchen workflow during preparation and service.

· Monitor food quality throughout the production and service process.

· Ensure compliance with food safety, hygiene, sanitation and occupational health and safety requirements.

· Manage food costs through effective portion control, stock management and waste reduction.

· Work closely with management and procurement teams to ensure appropriate stock levels and the consistent availability of quality ingredients.

· Monitor supplier quality and provide input regarding the sourcing of premium ingredients.

· Conduct regular stock checks and assist with food-costing and menu-costing processes.

· Ensure equipment, preparation areas and kitchen facilities are maintained to the required standards.

· Implement and maintain appropriate kitchen procedures, checklists and operational controls.

· Contribute to menu development, product innovation and seasonal offerings as Ladurée continues to evolve its culinary offering.

· Ensure all new dishes and recipes are properly tested, costed, documented and standardised before implementation.

· Support consistency and quality across Ladurée locations, where applicable.

· Manage kitchen performance and address operational or performance-related concerns within the team.

· Collaborate closely with the pastry, front-of-house and management teams to ensure seamless service delivery.

· Remain informed of current culinary trends while ensuring innovation remains consistent with Ladurée’s heritage, identity and luxury positioning.

· Contribute ideas and culinary expertise that support the continued growth and success of the Ladurée brand in South Africa.

· Minimum Requirements

· Culinary qualification from a recognised culinary institution.

· Minimum 5–7 years’ professional culinary experience, preferably within luxury hotels, fine dining restaurants, premium cafés, pâtisseries or international hospitality brands.

· Proven experience in a senior or executive chef position.

· managing, mentoring and developing a professional kitchen team.

· Strong understanding of food costing, portion control, stock management and kitchen profitability.

· Knowledge of HACCP and applicable food safety and hygiene standards.

· Excellent knowledge of kitchen operations and professional food-production processes.

· Strong organisational and time-management skills.

· Excellent communication and leadership abilities.

· Ability to work effectively under pressure in a fast-paced luxury hospitality environment.

Advantageous

· Formal training or experience in French cuisine.

· Experience working for an international or luxury hospitality brand.

· International culinary experience.

· Knowledge of French culinary terminology.

· Experience with menu development and culinary concept creation.

· Experience supporting culinary expansion, new concepts, new outlets or evolving food and beverage operations.

· Key Competencies

· Culinary excellence

· Leadership and team development

· Attention to detail

· Creativity and innovation

· Quality consciousness

· Commercial awareness

· Cost control

· Planning and organisation

· Problem-solving

· Professionalism

· Strong work ethic

· Adaptability

· Passion for luxury hospitality and French cuisine

Personal Attributes

The successful candidate will be:

· Passionate about food and culinary excellence.

· Highly detail-oriented and quality-driven.

· A confident and inspirational kitchen leader.

· Disciplined, organised and adaptable.

· Calm and effective under pressure.

· Customer-focused and committed to exceptional standards.

· Innovative and enthusiastic about contributing to a growing culinary operation.

· Collaborative and able to work effectively across culinary and operational teams.

· Able to represent the Ladurée brand professionally and authentically at all times.

Why Join Ladurée?

This is an opportunity to become part of an expanding culinary team within an internationally recognised French luxury brand. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the continued development of Ladurée’s culinary offering in South Africa and play an important role in maintaining and elevating the brand’s exceptional standards.

Employment Type: Full-time

Location: South Africa

Industry: Luxury Hospitality / Food & Beverage

Work Location: In person