Kitchen Manager – Multi-Outlet Elite Coffee Brand – Cape Town

Summary: One-Year Fixed-Term Contract Salary: R40,000 – R50,000 per month, depending on experience   We are recruiting an experienced Kitchen Manager for an elite, multi-outlet coffee brand with a central production kitchen servicing four Cape Town outlets. This is not a traditional single-site kitchen management role. The business is looking for someone to bring its production kitchen and individual outlets together under one consistent operating model.

Over the course of the contract, the successful candidate will assess the current operation, build practical systems and create a clear reporting structure across all sites. The role requires someone who understands both food and numbers. You should be comfortable moving between the production kitchen, outlet kitchens, suppliers, stock reports and costings, identifying where controls are weak and putting workable solutions in place.

Description: Key Responsibilities   Review existing kitchen and outlet operations across all sites Develop and implement standard operating procedures for the production kitchen and coffee outlets Create one consistent operational and reporting structure across the business Standardise recipes, portions, presentation, production methods and quality controls Build accurate food-costing systems and maintain current recipe costings Monitor gross profit, margins, yields, wastage and stock variances Introduce live or regularly updated reporting across the production kitchen and outlets Source, assess and negotiate with suppliers Consolidate purchasing and improve supplier controls where appropriate Establish effective ordering, stock-control and reconciliation procedures Develop production schedules based on outlet requirements and sales volumes Improve communication and stock movement between the central kitchen and individual outlets Identify operational gaps, duplication and unnecessary costs Train existing chefs and kitchen teams on new systems, standards and plating Ensure recipes and presentation are followed consistently across all outlets Support better planning, accountability and decision-making through accurate operational reporting Help the business build a scalable multi-site model that can support future growth Requirements: Proven kitchen management or multi-site food operations experience Strong knowledge of food costing, gross profit, margins, stock control and wastage management Experience developing and implementing kitchen systems and SOPs Able to interpret operational information and turn it into practical improvements Experience managing suppliers, purchasing and production planning Sound understanding of coffee-shop kitchens, bakery production or central production kitchens Confident training established chefs and introducing new working methods Strong Excel and general computer skills Comfortable compiling reports and maintaining accurate, current operating information Able to work across several sites and bring different teams into one consistent structure Commercially aware, organised and firm on standards and accountability Baking knowledge would be advantageous Sourdough experience would be highly advantageous The ideal candidate will be a practical operator rather than a consultant who works only at a strategic level.

You must be willing to spend time in the kitchens, understand how the teams currently work and build systems that people can use every day. This is a defined one-year assignment with a clear objective: to leave the business with a consistent, controlled and scalable kitchen operation across its central production kitchen and four coffee outlets. Please send your CV to [email protected].

If you have not heard back from us within the next two weeks, please consider your application as unsuccessful on this particular occasion. To apply for this job, click here . If you have not heard back from us within 7 days, please accept that your application was not successful on this occasion, Have a lo