Head Chef

Café Frank is an established, independent restaurant known for our harvest table, blackboard menu, and "slow food, fast" philosophy. We're looking for a Head Chef who has cooked this way before — someone who's run a small, seasonal, ingredient-led kitchen and knows what that actually takes. Ideally your experience includes upmarket catering and restaurant positions.

What you'll be doing:

• Designing and evolving a daily/weekly blackboard menu built around seasonal, available produce
• Running the kitchen's day-to-day operations: ordering, stock control, costing, and margins
• Leading, rostering, and developing a small back-of-house team
• Maintaining food safety, hygiene, and health department compliance
• Planning and executing catering and harvest table service alongside regular à la carte service
• Working closely with front-of-house and ownership on menu pricing, waste, and supplier relationships

What we're looking for:

• Proven experience in an independent restaurant, café, deli, or catering kitchen with a similar ethos — not a hotel or large institutional kitchen
• A genuinely creative approach to seasonal, produce-driven menus
• Strong administrative ability: stock, ordering, costing, rostering — this is a hands-on management role, not just a pass-line role
• Solid people management experience — you'll be leading a team, not just cooking
• Formal culinary qualification preferred but not required if experience speaks for itself

To apply, please answer the screening questions honestly — they're designed to make sure this role is genuinely the right fit for you too.

Pay: R15 000,00 - R25 000,00 per month

Application Question(s):

• Do you have the legal right to work in South Africa?
• Which best describes your most recent kitchen environment? Give details of the establishment and your role.

Experience:

• head chef: 2 years (Required)

License/Certification:

• Work visa or permit for South Africa? (Required)

Location:

• Cape Town, Western Cape (Required)

Work Location: In person