Executive Chef
Creative and operational leadership of the KOMÉ kitchen across event catering, delivered dining, and provisions.
A role for an experienced chef who wants to build something meaningful with their craft.
KOMÉ is a Nairobi-based food business operating across event catering, delivered dining, and provisions.
We’re looking for an Executive Chef to lead our culinary work in practice: how we source, cook, train, and build systems that allow the kitchen to grow.
This is the most senior culinary role at KOMÉ, combining creative leadership, operational excellence, and hands-on kitchen management.
What this role owns.
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01Menu Development & Culinary Direction
Lead menu design and creative direction across event catering, delivered dining, and provisions.
Menu Development & Culinary Direction
Lead menu design and creative direction across event catering, delivered dining, and provisions.
- Lead menu design across event catering, delivered dining, and provisions, expressing KOMÉ’s Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and pan-Asian influences.
- Refresh menus on a seasonal cadence while preserving the staples our clients return for.
- Define plating, presentation, and event styling standards, and train the team to execute them consistently.
- Test, cost, and standardise new dishes from concept through to repeatable production.
02Production Systems
Build the recipes, prep library and documentation the kitchen runs on, with or without you.
Production Systems
Build the recipes, prep library and documentation the kitchen runs on, with or without you.
- Develop standardised recipe cards, scaling formulas, and explicit portion-control specs across all three streams.
- Build and maintain the kitchen’s master prep library — prep lists, mise en place standards, batch yields, and timing guides.
- Document processes thoroughly enough that the kitchen runs consistently across every shift, whether you are present or not.
03Team Leadership
Hire, train, and develop a small team to KOMÉ’s standards of craft and care.
Team Leadership
Hire, train, and develop a small team to KOMÉ’s standards of craft and care.
- Lead, manage, and develop the kitchen team; own staffing levels, shift planning, and rotas.
- Set and uphold clear standards for quality, hygiene, and professionalism, stepping in on the line when production demands.
- Maintain Standard Operating Procedures — prep lists, recipe cards, closing checklists — so the kitchen runs consistently across all shifts.
- Run daily line-ups, provide ongoing training, and conduct structured performance reviews on an agreed cadence.
- Address performance issues directly and in private; acknowledge strong performance publicly.
- Train the line to bring proposed solutions alongside any problem they raise.
- Ensure all kitchen staff hold and maintain current food handling and safety certifications.
04Cost Control & Procurement
Own kitchen finances, inventory discipline, and supplier relationships.
Cost Control & Procurement
Own kitchen finances, inventory discipline, and supplier relationships.
- Take direct responsibility for kitchen finances: inventory data, production variance, and waste against the cost framework.
- Maintain weekly internal cost logs and report variances promptly; contribute to quarterly budgeting and forecasting.
- Manage non-food controllables — cleaning supplies, packaging, small equipment, uniforms — within agreed budgets.
- Maintain target food costs across all three revenue streams and enforce FIFO protocols in all storage areas.
- Partner with Operations on supplier relationships, sourcing decisions, and verified purchasing standards.
05Event Execution
Deliver on-site execution and represent KOMÉ to clients at every event.
Event Execution
Deliver on-site execution and represent KOMÉ to clients at every event.
- Oversee food preparation and presentation for all events (6+ per month), ensuring every plate meets specified standards.
- Manage the prep-to-plate timeline for each event to ensure on-time, zero-defect execution.
- Act as the senior culinary point of contact for clients during pre-event briefings and on-site delivery.
- Gather client feedback during and after each event and feed it back into menu development.
- Collaborate with Operations on venue setup, platter logistics, and equipment transit.
06Sustainability & Food Safety
Lead waste reduction, food safety, and zero single-use plastic across the kitchen.
Sustainability & Food Safety
Lead waste reduction, food safety, and zero single-use plastic across the kitchen.
- Lead KOMÉ’s food waste reduction programme: maintain tracking logs and meet reduction targets.
- Enforce full compliance with local health regulations and internal food safety protocols.
- Maintain strict cleanliness, organisation, and hygiene across all kitchen and cold storage zones.
- Uphold KOMÉ’s zero single-use plastic policy through returnable, reusable packaging.
The chef this role suits.
- 7+ years professional kitchen experience
- Experience leading teams
- Strong costing and inventory skills
- Menu development experience
- Client-facing confidence
- Curiosity about ingredients, seasonality, and food cultures from around the world
- Passion for sustainability and systems
A few honest distinctions.
Not a hands-off role.
You will be actively working on the kitchen floor alongside your team.
Not a place for rigid methodology.
Deep technical expertise is required, but the willingness to shape it around KOMÉ’s voice and operating context is essential.
The practical shape of the role.
Schedule
Hours vary with event and delivery needs, including evenings and weekends.
Physical
Ability to stand for extended periods and lift up to 25kg.
Location
Centralised kitchen facility, with on-site event management at venues across Nairobi.
Interested in joining KOMÉ?
We’re building a kitchen that values craft, curiosity, and care. If that sounds like your kind of work, we’d love to hear from you.
Send your CV and a short note about why this role interests you.
KOMÉ welcomes applications from qualified candidates of all backgrounds. We are committed to building a kitchen team that reflects the diversity of the city we serve.