How to Hire a Head Chef [Updated 2025]

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Do you need to hire a head chef? A head chef oversees the kitchen operations in a restaurant, café, hotel or other food establishment, leading a team of cooks and chefs to prepare meals for customers.

Understanding the steps behind hiring a head chef, including job seeker data, salary information and key terms to include in your job description, can help you stand out from the competition to effectively attract and hire quality candidates.

In Indeed’s guide to hiring a head chef, learn how to attract top talent for your open position.

Hire your next Head Chef today.

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Hire your next Head Chef today.

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Head Chef: What is the cost of hiring?

What is a head chef?

A head chef is a senior role in the hospitality industry, as they manage and supervise the work of other chefs in the kitchen of an eatery, as well as cook themselves.

Head chefs also perform operational duties, such as designing menus and creating unique recipes, as well as ordering supplies, ensuring food costs stay within budget.

Head chefs also enforce kitchen hygiene, schedule staff rosters and coordinate equipment maintenance and replacement.

Why hire a head chef?

A head chef can be useful to manage your kitchen by improving efficiency and providing leadership to junior chefs and cooks.

A head chef may be better placed than other hospitality workers, such as a restaurant manager, to manage inventory and purchase ingredients, as they have a more in-depth knowledge of food and working with it.

A head chef may be better placed than other hospitality workers to stay up to date with consumer trends and suggest new menu additions that may attract more customers, which may grow your business.

Contributions of a great head chef:

manage and lead a team of kitchen staff to prepare meals for customers
design menus and source ingredients within budget
maintain a hygienic, functional kitchen.

Defining your hiring needs for a head chef

A head chef may be useful when you employ several cooks and chefs in one kitchen.

However, if your business has a small kitchen workforce, you may decide a chef is a suitable title, with some typical head chef duties delegated to another employee, such as food and beverage manager.

Meanwhile, if your business has numerous locations, with chefs working in multiple kitchens, you may require an executive chef instead of a head chef to oversee all operations.

What are the types of head chefs?

A head chef may specialise in a type of food or dining style. For example, a head chef may specialise in Thai cuisine or pub food, casual eating or fine dining. They may run a large kitchen catering for many people across breakfast, lunch and dinner daily, such as a canteen on a FIFO site, or a small kitchen only open for select lunch and dinner hours during the week, such as an intimate Italian café.

When writing your head chef job description, consider including some or all of the following keywords to improve the visibility of your job posting. These are the most popular search terms leading to clicks on head chef jobs, according to Indeed data:

chef
head chef
chef sponsorship
chef with visa sponsorship
chef manager
chef cook
FIFO chef
executive chef
visa sponsorship, chef
sous chef.

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Where to find head chefs

To find the right head chef for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

Promote from within: Consider your existing chefs who hold experience or excellence in their role for promotion into the role of head chef.
Ask for staff referrals: Your existing employees may be able to recommend candidates to you or encourage their contacts to apply for the position.
Specialist recruitment agencies: Recruitment agencies that specialise in hospitality may be aware of suitable talent for your role.
Network: Attend industry events to network with other people in the hospitality industry to grow your contacts, who may be suitable themselves or able to refer suitable candidates to you.
Post your job online: Try posting your head chef job on Indeed to find and attract quality candidates.

Skills to look for in a head chef

A successful head chef candidate will typically have the following skills and competencies, which may be gained through a variety of experiences, training or education:

experience working in a kitchen and expertise in cooking meals for your style of eatery
leadership and communication skills
organisational and financial management skills
an ability to work under pressure
knowledge of ingredients and understanding of consumer trends
understanding of food safety standards and hygiene practices.

Writing a head chef job description

Now that you know the key skills, salary expectations, popular job seeker search terms and hiring insights for a head chef, you’re ready to write a job description.

A head chef job description typically includes a compelling summary of the role, a detailed list of duties and responsibilities, and the required and preferred skills for the position. You may also want to include information about your company culture, benefits and perks to attract candidates to your vacant role.

Ready to get started? See our full guide for writing head chef job descriptions.

Interviewing head chef candidates

Strong candidates for head chef positions will be confident answering questions regarding:

leadership experience and management style
chef experience, particularly in your style of eatery
experience or ability to undertake operational duties such as inventory
how they stay up to date about consumer trends
ideas or suggestions for current or new menu items.

Need help coming up with interview questions? See our list of head chef interview questions for examples (with sample answers).

FAQs about how to hire a head chef

No. While head chef is a senior position, above that of sous chef, chef de partie and commis chef, their role is second to the executive chef in the kitchen hierarchy. However, the head chef may undertake many day-to-day operational requirements of a kitchen and have the autonomy to make key decisions when an executive chef is absent or unavailable. Meanwhile, an executive chef typically is responsible for several kitchens, such as restaurants with multiple locations, so if you only have one kitchen, the head chef may be the most senior chef on your roster. Executive chef is also a more administrative role than a kitchen one, so a head chef may be the most senior chef among those cooking in the kitchen.

The level of experience that you require of your head chef may come down to your preferences and ability to hire suitable talent. As head chefs require a strong understanding of how a kitchen operates, several years’ experience working in other chef roles is typically required. However, if an existing employee shows competencies or transferable skills from other roles that you feel may be more useful than experience, you may decide significant experience is not essential. For example, a candidate who made a career change from a business leadership role into being a chef may hold the suitable organisational and management qualities that you require.

The employee to whom the head chef reports will depend on your business size and structure. Larger businesses may have an executive chef to whom they will report, while smaller businesses may require the head chef to report to the restaurant manager or general manager. It is important to clarify who your head chef will report to before they begin in the position to ensure they, as well as your other employees, are clear as to whom they need to seek approvals from. This may prevent problems from occurring later, such as a menu being approved or rejected by the wrong employee.