The right leader doesn't just fill a role. They define what your venue becomes.
5
Star Google Rating
20+
Years Hospitality Experience
90
Day Replacement Guarantee
12%
Fees From
WHY TRUST
TASTE
I’m Rob Wilkes, founder of Taste Hospitality. For more than 20 years I worked inside the industry as a General Manager, Head Chef and venue operator across the UK and Australia.
I specialise in permanent senior leadership recruitment for premium venues across Melbourne and Victoria. Head Chefs, Executive Chefs, General Managers, Venue Managers, and senior culinary leaders.
Getting a senior hire right isn’t just about experience on paper. It’s about understanding what a venue actually needs, how a candidate leads under pressure, and whether they’re genuinely the right fit for the business. That’s what you’re getting with Taste Hospitality. Not an agency. An operator who recruits.
Results You Can Taste.
"He doesn't fill roles. He builds high performing teams."
- Kristian Maxwell Proctor
Every search is different. The venue, the brief, the kind of leader required, no two are the same. A few recent examples.
Real Briefs.
Real Placements.
Real Outcomes.
GM Regional Estate
A regional hospitality estate needed stronger leadership across accommodation, events, and F&B. When the brief came to us as a Venue Manager role, we recognised the scope demanded more and repositioned the search at General Manager level, leading to a hire aligned with long-term growth.
Head Chef Structural Change
A café venue with strong potential required a Head Chef to bring structure, consistency, and operational control to the kitchen. When early weeks surfaced communication challenges, we stayed involved beyond standard milestones, facilitating structured conversations until trust was established and the placement held.
Executive Chef & GM Pre-Opening Venue
A premium bayside steakhouse engaged us six months before opening to place both an Executive Chef and General Manager. We ran a structured pre-opening process so both appointments brought hatted-level experience and the judgement to build systems before the pressures of service began.