Case study
Head Chef Recruitment: Arts and Entertainment Centre
The challenge
The centre's contract catering arrangement was ending, which meant the incoming Head Chef would be building the food offer from scratch: team, menus, suppliers and onboarding, across a café and a functions operation. The timeline was fixed, and the hire needed to work closely with the venue's management team as well as run the kitchen.
Our approach
We ran it as a retained, exclusive search, combining a live job ad with direct headhunting of Head Chefs from comparable venues. Candidates were screened in operator-to-operator interviews covering café, functions and team building. A shortlist of three went through a multi-stage interview process with the venue's management, with a backup candidate held in reserve.
The outcome
The centre got the Head Chef it needed. An operator who could build the kitchen from nothing and work alongside the venue's management.
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