Executive Chef

Key Responsibilities

• The Executive Chef reports into the Group Culinary Lead and the Property General Manager and is responsible for the full culinary operation at Grumeti — from kitchen leadership and food quality to community and succession impact.
• Lead, mentor, and develop the Grumeti kitchen brigade, building a strong, capable team and a clear pathway and succession plan for local chefs to grow within it.
• Design and deliver menus and food experiences across all Grumeti outlets that are honest to place — reflecting the Serengeti landscape, seasonality, and Tanzanian culinary tradition — while staying true to Singita's brand-wide food identity.
• Continue and grow the Singita Community Culinary School (SCCS), ensuring a living succession pipeline of local culinary talent is trained, supported, and progressed into permanent roles.
• Oversee day-to-day kitchen operations, including food safety, hygiene, quality control, and consistency across breakfast, lunch, dinner, bush dining, and special events.
• Manage food cost, stock control, ordering, and supplier relationships, with a strong preference for local and community-based sourcing wherever possible.
• Partner with the Group Culinary Lead, Lodge General Manager, and People team on recruitment, onboarding, performance management, and welfare of the kitchen team.
• Support guest experience innovation where food is at play, working with the Group Culinary Lead and chefs’ team on new openings, seasonal menu changes, and special guest requests or events.
• Maintain accurate kitchen records, food cost reporting, and other documentation required for group-level culinary reporting.
• Uphold and represent Singita's five food principles— as the evaluating framework behind every food decision made in the kitchen.
• Provide continuity of culinary leadership during the Group Culinary Lead's visits and absences, ensuring Grumeti's kitchen operations continue to run smoothly and to standard.
• Act as the custodian of Grumeti's food identity, translating the group's culinary direction into menus and experiences that reflect this specific place, its landscape, and its people.
• Support Grumeti's sustainability, employee wellness, and wellbeing initiatives, promoting participation and engagement across the kitchen team.
• Encourage and support employee participation in community development and social impact initiatives, fostering a positive relationship between Grumeti and the surrounding communities.
• Work closely with the Group Culinary Lead to ensure Grumeti's food offering stays aligned with brand-wide standards while remaining distinctly Grumeti.

Skills & Experience

• Minimum 8-10 years of progressive culinary experience, including at least 3-5 years in an Executive Chef or senior head chef role, ideally within luxury lodge, safari, or high-end hospitality settings.
• Demonstrated experience training, mentoring, and developing local culinary talent, with a genuine commitment to succession and community upliftment.
• Strong grounding in classical technique, comfortably married to seasonal, honest, ingredient-led cooking rather than imported or overly complex styles.
• Experience managing kitchen budgets, food cost, stock control, and supplier/sourcing relationships, ideally including local and community-based sourcing.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build and retain a strong, motivated kitchen team.
• Menu development and creative direction experience, with the ability to design food journeys rather than standalone dishes.
• Problem-solving and decision-making under the pressures of a remote, fast-paced hospitality environment.
• Planning, time management, and meticulous attention to detail.
• Adaptability, flexibility, and resilience — comfortable operating in a remote wilderness setting with the logistics that come with it.
• Professionalism, integrity, and a collaborative, teamwork-first approach.
• Proficiency with kitchen management and reporting systems, and comfortable contributing to group-level reporting.