Head Chef - Premium Mediterranean Cuisine

An opportunity has arisen for a Head Chef to lead the kitchen of a premium Mediterranean restaurant in Manama, Bahrain, part of an established international hospitality group. The venue is an established, high-volume operation with a strong core menu and a disciplined structure already in place.

This is not a role about reinventing a concept. It is about ownership. The group is looking for a hands-on Head Chef to take full command of the back-of-house operation and strengthen day-to-day leadership, consistency, commercial control and team execution - while protecting the identity of a brand that already works. The right person will make the kitchen feel calmer, sharper and more consistent.

Responsibilities

• Own daily food quality, presentation and consistency across the full menu.
• Lead the brigade with clear standards, accountability, training and succession planning.
• Drive recipe and specification adherence, portion control, prep discipline and service readiness.
• Manage food cost, wastage, purchasing and kitchen variances with strong commercial awareness.
• Maintain menu discipline and complexity without compromising the guest experience or the identity of the concept.
• Work closely with the Group Culinary and Operations teams to maintain alignment across the concept internationally.
• Identify operational gaps quickly and build structure around people, systems, communication and execution.
• Within the first 90 days: establish visible leadership and accountability, stabilise standards across prep, service, plating and recipe execution, build development plans for key team members, and gain firm control of food cost, wastage, ordering, stock movement and portioning.

• Current Head Chef, or a high-calibre Senior Sous Chef ready to step into full ownership of a kitchen.
• Proven experience in a premium, high-volume restaurant environment.
• Strong Greek or Mediterranean experience is preferred; excellent ingredient-led cooking and relevant premium restaurant experience are valued equally.
• A structured operator who can run a disciplined kitchen - not only a creative chef.
• Strong people leader who can coach, develop and hold a team accountable.
• Commercially literate, with a clear understanding of food cost, GP, wastage, yield, purchasing and recipe control.
• Comfortable managing a broad menu and maintaining consistency through busy services.
• Calm, mature and collaborative, with the confidence to work within an established brand and group structure.
• Evidence of operating success, not only strong restaurant names on a CV.
• Formal food safety / HACCP certification, or the ability to obtain the certification required to work in a Bahrain kitchen.
• Please note: candidates whose experience is predominantly hotel banqueting, or who lead mainly from the office rather than the pass, are unlikely to be a fit for this particular operation.

• Salary: BHD 2,050 – 2,565 per month, (DOE) all-inclusive, live-out.
• Gratuities and/or service charge additional
• Bahrain levies no personal income tax, so the package is effectively net.
• Further benefits to be confirmed during the recruitment process.Additional Information

This is a permanent, full-time, live-out position based in Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain. Candidates must be able to obtain and hold the right to work in Bahrain. Relocation is expected for candidates based outside the Kingdom; regional Gulf experience is useful but is not a requirement where the restaurant background, maturity and adaptability are right. Start date is to be confirmed and the client is keen to move quickly for the right candidate. Culture and leadership fit are weighted as heavily as culinary technique. Applications must include a current CV together with a relevant work portfolio containing clear examples of the candidate's food, presentation style and previous work. Please also be prepared to share your current and expected compensation, notice period, current brigade size and typical restaurant covers. Three satisfactory professional references will be required before any offer is issued.

Disclaimer

We appreciate your interest in this vacancy. Due to the high number of applications we receive, only candidates selected to move to the next stage of the recruitment process can be contacted. Radiant does not charge any fee to candidates – all costs are always covered by the client.