About Talent House:

We are a leading recruitment and HR consulting firm that operates as a link between people and companies in achieving a shared purpose. We offer creative, effective and flexible solutions that not only help individuals discover their career paths but also provide organisations with talent they can recruit, develop and retain.

About the Role:

Our client, Meraki Centro Limited, seeks an Executive Chef to join their dynamic team. The Executive Chef is the highest culinary authority at Meraki. This role exists to ensure that every dish, every bake and every food product that leaves a Meraki kitchen — whether at branch level or from the HQ production facility — meets the highest possible standard of quality, creativity and consistency.

The Executive Chef leads from the kitchen — setting the standard, building the team, driving innovation and ensuring that Meraki's food offering remains relevant, exciting and exceptional across all four café outlets and the HQ production kitchen.

This is not a back-of-house role. This is a leadership role that shapes the Meraki brand from the inside out. The Executive Chef is as responsible for the culture and capability of the kitchen teams as they are for the food that those teams produce.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Culinary Leadership & Kitchen Management

• Provide clear, inspiring and accountable culinary leadership across all four Meraki café kitchens and the HQ production facility
• Set, maintain and continuously raise the culinary standard across every Meraki kitchen — ensuring consistency of quality, presentation and taste at every outlet
• Be present and active across all kitchen operations — this is a hands-on leadership role, not a desk role
• Create and maintain a kitchen culture of excellence, precision, hygiene and pride — where every team member understands that what they produce represents the Meraki brand
• Manage and resolve kitchen operational issues swiftly and decisively — minimising disruption to service
• Conduct regular kitchen inspections across all branches — identifying and correcting any deviation from the Meraki culinary standard immediately

2. Menu Development & Culinary Innovation

• Lead the design, development and regular refresh of Meraki's café menus across all four outlets — ensuring the offering is current, exciting and commercially viable
• Draw on exposure to diverse global cuisines to bring fresh, creative and distinctive ideas to the Meraki menu — while honouring the brand's identity of simple, fresh and delicious
• Develop seasonal menus and limited edition offerings that create excitement and drive customer visits
• Collaborate with the COO and CEO on menu strategy — balancing creativity with commercial performance and food cost targets
• Research food trends locally and internationally and translate relevant insights into Meraki menu opportunities
• Develop a signature Meraki food identity — a distinctive culinary voice that is immediately recognisable and consistently delivered
• Ensure all new menu items are fully costed, tested and documented before being introduced to any outlet

3. HQ Production Kitchen — Bulk & Ready-to-Go Meals

• Oversee all food production operations at the Meraki HQ production kitchen — managing the output, quality and efficiency of bulk meal and ready-to-go food production
• Develop the ready-to-go meal range — creating products that are convenient, delicious, well-priced and consistent with the Meraki brand
• Design and implement production schedules that ensure timely, accurate and well-coordinated delivery of food products to all four café outlets
• Maintain strict quality control standards at the production kitchen — ensuring every product that leaves the facility meets the Meraki standard
• Identify opportunities to expand the HQ production capability — new product lines, retail products, corporate catering and wholesale opportunities
• Manage production kitchen staffing, workload and output to meet demand without waste or inefficiency

4. Food Costing, Waste Management & COGS Control

• Own the food cost percentage across all kitchens — ensuring production is consistently within the approved COGS targets
• Develop and maintain accurate recipe cost cards for every menu item — updating them whenever ingredient costs change
• Implement and enforce strict portioning standards across all outlets — ensuring consistency of both quality and cost
• Monitor and actively manage food wastage across all kitchens — identifying and addressing the root causes of waste
• Work closely with the Operations & Financial Risk Manager to track and manage food costs, wastage and variances at branch and production level
• Make commercially sound decisions about menu pricing, ingredient sourcing and production volumes

5. Kitchen Team Development & Training

• Recruit, train and develop a high-performing culinary team across all Meraki kitchens — building both technical skill and professional pride
• Design and deliver ongoing training programmes for kitchen staff — covering technique, hygiene, consistency, product knowledge and Meraki culinary standards
• Identify and develop kitchen talent — building a pipeline of skilled chefs and production staff who are ready to grow with Meraki
• Set clear performance expectations for all kitchen team members and hold them accountable through regular feedback and formal reviews
• Foster a kitchen culture of learning, craftsmanship and continuous improvement — where excellence is the expectation not the exception
• Manage kitchen staffing levels — working with the COO to ensure appropriate resourcing across all outlets and the production kitchen

6. Food Safety, Hygiene & Compliance

• Maintain the highest standards of food safety and hygiene across all Meraki kitchens — ensuring full compliance with Zambian food safety legislation and industry best practice
• Ensure all kitchen team members are trained on and compliant with food safety and hygiene requirements at all times
• Conduct and oversee regular food safety audits and kitchen inspections — addressing any non-compliance immediately
• Maintain accurate and up to date food safety documentation across all kitchen facilities
• Manage food allergen protocols rigorously — ensuring every team member understands the importance of allergen management and the risk of non-compliance
• Oversee food storage, labelling, temperature control and rotation procedures across all outlets and the production kitchen

Qualifications & Experience

Essential:

• Formal culinary qualification from a recognised culinary institute — Diploma or Degree in Culinary Arts or equivalent
• Minimum 7 years of professional kitchen experience — with at least 5 years in a senior chef or head chef role
• Demonstrated experience leading kitchen teams across multiple sites or outlets
• Proven exposure to and command of multiple international cuisines — with the creativity and range to bring diverse culinary influences to the Meraki menu
• Strong understanding of food costing, COGS management and kitchen financial controls
• Extensive knowledge of food safety standards, hygiene protocols and allergen management
• Experience in high-volume food production — whether in a production kitchen, catering operation or multi-site restaurant environment

Desirable:

• Experience in the café, bakery or lifestyle food and beverage sector
• International culinary experience — training or working in kitchens outside Zambia
• Experience developing retail food products or ready-to-go meal ranges
• Exposure to Zambian and broader African ingredient traditions and cuisine
• Experience with food photography and social media content for food brands

The Culinary Profile We Are Looking For

The right person for this role is not simply a great cook. They are a culinary leader — someone who combines exceptional technical skill with the vision to build something distinctive, the discipline to maintain consistently high standards and the warmth to develop a team that loves what it does.

• Provide clear, inspiring and accountable culinary leadership across all four Meraki café kitchens and the HQ production facility
• Set, maintain and continuously raise the culinary standard across every Meraki kitchen — ensuring consistency of quality, presentation and taste at every outlet
• Be present and active across all kitchen operations — this is a hands-on leadership role, not a desk role
• Create and maintain a kitchen culture of excellence, precision, hygiene and pride — where every team member understands that what they produce represents the Meraki brand
• Manage and resolve kitchen operational issues swiftly and decisively — minimising disruption to service
• Conduct regular kitchen inspections across all branches — identifying and correcting any deviation from the Meraki culinary standard immediately
• Lead the design, development and regular refresh of Meraki's café menus across all four outlets — ensuring the offering is current, exciting and commercially viable
• Draw on exposure to diverse global cuisines to bring fresh, creative and distinctive ideas to the Meraki menu — while honouring the brand's identity of simple, fresh and delicious
• Develop seasonal menus and limited edition offerings that create excitement and drive customer visits
• Collaborate with the COO and CEO on menu strategy — balancing creativity with commercial performance and food cost targets
• Research food trends locally and internationally and translate relevant insights into Meraki menu opportunities
• Develop a signature Meraki food identity — a distinctive culinary voice that is immediately recognisable and consistently delivered
• Ensure all new menu items are fully costed, tested and documented before being introduced to any outlet
• Oversee all food production operations at the Meraki HQ production kitchen — managing the output, quality and efficiency of bulk meal and ready-to-go food production
• Develop the ready-to-go meal range — creating products that are convenient, delicious, well-priced and consistent with the Meraki brand
• Design and implement production schedules that ensure timely, accurate and well-coordinated delivery of food products to all four café outlets
• Maintain strict quality control standards at the production kitchen — ensuring every product that leaves the facility meets the Meraki standard
• Identify opportunities to expand the HQ production capability — new product lines, retail products, corporate catering and wholesale opportunities
• Manage production kitchen staffing, workload and output to meet demand without waste or inefficiency
• Own the food cost percentage across all kitchens — ensuring production is consistently within the approved COGS targets
• Develop and maintain accurate recipe cost cards for every menu item — updating them whenever ingredient costs change
• Implement and enforce strict portioning standards across all outlets — ensuring consistency of both quality and cost
• Monitor and actively manage food wastage across all kitchens — identifying and addressing the root causes of waste
• Work closely with the Operations & Financial Risk Manager to track and manage food costs, wastage and variances at branch and production level
• Make commercially sound decisions about menu pricing, ingredient sourcing and production volumes
• Recruit, train and develop a high-performing culinary team across all Meraki kitchens — building both technical skill and professional pride
• Design and deliver ongoing training programmes for kitchen staff — covering technique, hygiene, consistency, product knowledge and Meraki culinary standards
• Identify and develop kitchen talent — building a pipeline of skilled chefs and production staff who are ready to grow with Meraki
• Set clear performance expectations for all kitchen team members and hold them accountable through regular feedback and formal reviews
• Foster a kitchen culture of learning, craftsmanship and continuous improvement — where excellence is the expectation not the exception
• Manage kitchen staffing levels — working with the COO to ensure appropriate resourcing across all outlets and the production kitchen
• Maintain the highest standards of food safety and hygiene across all Meraki kitchens — ensuring full compliance with Zambian food safety legislation and industry best practice
• Ensure all kitchen team members are trained on and compliant with food safety and hygiene requirements at all times
• Conduct and oversee regular food safety audits and kitchen inspections — addressing any non-compliance immediately
• Maintain accurate and up to date food safety documentation across all kitchen facilities
• Manage food allergen protocols rigorously — ensuring every team member understands the importance of allergen management and the risk of non-compliance
• Oversee food storage, labelling, temperature control and rotation procedures across all outlets and the production kitchen

• Culinary leadership
• Kitchen management
• Menu development
• Culinary innovation
• Food production oversight
• Food costing
• Waste management
• COGS control
• Team development
• Training delivery
• Food safety standards
• Hygiene protocols
• Allergen management
• Global cuisine command
• Commercial viability assessment
• Recipe costing and documentation
• Production scheduling
• Quality control
• Portioning standards enforcement
• Performance management
• Food safety audits
• Food storage and rotation

• Formal culinary qualification from a recognised culinary institute — Diploma or Degree in Culinary Arts or equivalent
• Minimum 7 years of professional kitchen experience — with at least 5 years in a senior chef or head chef role
• Demonstrated experience leading kitchen teams across multiple sites or outlets
• Proven exposure to and command of multiple international cuisines — with the creativity and range to bring diverse culinary influences to the Meraki menu
• Strong understanding of food costing, COGS management and kitchen financial controls
• Extensive knowledge of food safety standards, hygiene protocols and allergen management
• Experience in high-volume food production — whether in a production kitchen, catering operation or multi-site restaurant environment
• Experience in the café, bakery or lifestyle food and beverage sector (Desirable)
• International culinary experience — training or working in kitchens outside Zambia (Desirable)
• Experience developing retail food products or ready-to-go meal ranges (Desirable)
• Exposure to Zambian and broader African ingredient traditions and cuisine (Desirable)
• Experience with food photography and social media content for food brands (Desirable)