Head Chef
- Lead kitchen operations across two shifts at Bikanervala Adelaide.
- Ensure authentic vegetarian Indian dishes are prepared and served to brand standards.
- Oversee menu execution, quality control, and kitchen team performance.
Position: Head Chef
Type: Full-time
Employer: VRMH Spice Co Foods Pty Ltd
Location: Campbelltown SA 5074
Salary: $80,000 p/a
About the Business:
VRMH Spice Co Foods Pty Ltd, trading as Bikanervala Adelaide, is bringing one of India’s most iconic vegetarian restaurant brands to Australia with its first local restaurant at 618 Lower North East Road, Campbelltown. Founded in 1905, Bikanervala is renowned for authentic North and South Indian cuisine, traditional sweets, namkeen, street-food chaats, thalis and Indo-Chinese dishes prepared to time-honoured recipes. The Campbelltown venue is the starting point of the brand’s Australian expansion and is designed as a welcoming, high-volume family restaurant that combines Indian hospitality with local service standards. The business values consistency of flavour, food safety, teamwork across split shifts, and a professional kitchen culture that supports both experienced chefs and developing staff.
About the Position:
The Head Chef is responsible for leading kitchen operations across two shifts at Bikanervala Adelaide, ensuring authentic vegetarian Indian dishes, sweets and snacks are prepared, presented and served to brand standard. The role oversees menu execution, quality control, food cost, hygiene and kitchen team performance so the restaurant can deliver a consistent guest experience during busy service periods. As a senior culinary leader, the Head Chef is central to opening readiness, daily production and the ongoing reputation of Australia’s first Bikanervala restaurant.
Key Responsibilities:
- Plan, organise and supervise the preparation and cooking of authentic vegetarian Indian menus, including curries, thalis, South Indian items, Indo-Chinese dishes, chaats, sweets and snacks
- Maintain consistent flavour, portioning, presentation and brand standards across both service shifts
- Estimate food and labour costs, control wastage and order supplies in line with restaurant demand
- Monitor quality at every stage of preparation and plating, and correct issues immediately
- Enforce food safety, hygiene and workplace health and safety requirements throughout the kitchen
- Lead, roster, train and supervise kitchen staff, including cooks and kitchenhands, across split shifts
- Demonstrate cooking techniques and advise the team on authentic methods, timing and finishing
- Coordinate with front-of-house and management on service flow, specials, dietary requests and high-volume periods
- Contribute to menu planning, seasonal adjustments and operational improvements as the restaurant grows
Requirements:
- Australian citizens and permanent residents are encouraged to apply.
- Certificate IV in Commercial Cookery or Certificate IV in Asian Cookery (or equivalent).
- Demonstrated 1 year experience in a Head Chef, Sous Chef or senior chef role in a busy restaurant kitchen, preferably vegetarian or Indian/Asian cuisine.
- Strong technical skills in Indian vegetarian cookery, including spice blending, tandoor/grill work, sweets and high-volume production; excellent leadership, communication, time-management and food-safety skills; ability to work across two operational shifts and maintain standards under pressure.
How to Apply:
To apply, applicants must submit their resume with a valid email address through this online portal.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
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