Head Chef (m/f/d)

Zoku, which is Japanese for family, tribe or clan, facilitates global living and working for the traveling professional. Zoku is a new category in the hotel industry: a flexible home/office hybrid, also suitable for long stays, with the services of a hotel and the social buzz of a thriving neighbourhood. You can live, work, relax and socialize with like-minded people – while getting wired into the city. 

Zoku still feels very much like the high-energy and ambitious entrepreneurial start-up from its early beginnings; yet, it also benefits from strong financial backing and a professional set-up to “make it big”. Zoku is created by a small team of highly enthusiastic and engaged individuals who bring on board bags of enthusiasm and gumption. It describes itself as “a sprawling family thanks to an amazing group of people who have supported the company over the last few years”. 

After opening the first Zoku in Amsterdam in 2016, the team started the European expansion and has now several deals in the pipeline to open in 2021 and beyond.

Further information on Zoku can be found at www.livezoku.com, as well as by browsing its various social media platforms (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Youtube).

It is also noteworthy to mention that Zoku became B-corp certified in August 2018. On its website, under the ‘Green Zoku’ page you can find an overview of Zoku’s social and sustainable responsibilities as well as its impact vision, i.e. the ‘why’ as it pertains to how we believe we can make a difference 

Life doesn’t become more social than through sharing food. That’s our founding food philosophy. The food that comes out the Living Kitchen is fresh, simple, honest, healthy and local where possible. With short-end preparation times, simple ingredients and limited preparation steps, the assortment is intelligent, and service is fast. Reflecting the belief that we are what we eat, our kitchen aims to physically energize, appeal to the senses and nourish the soul. Our food is served on long communal tables – ideal for salt passing and idea swapping. 

The Head Chef’s main responsibility is to successfully operate and oversee Zoku’s Living Kitchen in Vienna and ensure it’s in line with Zoku’s food philosophy. You are responsible for any food that comes out of the Living Kitchen, from conception to execution and presentation of the food. You will manage and work closely together with the other cooks, develop menu offerings, forecast supply needs and estimate costs. You are also expected to ensure that the Living Kitchen meets all local regulations, including HACCP and safety guidelines. 

We are looking for someone who really understands Zoku’s food philosophy and is a true food artist – also in the visual sense. Someone who loves plating beautiful dishes and who makes creative buffets that not only look good, but also taste amazing. As you are cooking in an open, residential kitchen we need someone who loves chatting to guests, while cooking up a storm. 

We will be opening our third location in Vienna, Austria, in Q2 2021. Located in the central Second District of Leopoldstadt, Zoku Vienna will be close to the Vienna University of Economics and Business, the Messe Wien Conference Center, and the iconic Prater park.

The role of Head Chef will firstly be focused on the preparation of the opening, followed by opening the property and then operating the Living Kitchen post opening. The Head Chef forms a close team with the team of chefs and the Duty Managers and reports directly to the General Manager. 

Next to cooking up a storm and plating dishes that taste amazing & look beautiful, this position also focuses on other areas within the Living Kitchen: 

• Operate the Living Kitchen as leading part of a small team 

• Create seasonal menu cycles (incl. cost calculations) in line with Zoku’s food philosophy  

• Be aware of the food costs and make sure the costs are in line with budget 

• Be fully in charge of hiring and scheduling your kitchen team 

• Motivate and train your kitchen team and oversee their workload 

• Make sure that you and your team can run the Living Kitchen efficiently 

• Plan and execute orders of ingredients and needed equipment 

• Continuously improve and update Zoku’s F&B offering, and processes based on guest reviews and F&B trends 

• Create a yearly F&B event calendar 

• Arrange kitchen repairs when necessary with the right parties 

• Comply with HACCP regulations and safety standards 

WHEN WILL YOU BE SUCCESSFUL?  

• When you successfully operate and oversee the Zoku’s Living Kitchen resulting in happy guests and a happy kitchen team 

• When the food that comes out of the kitchen is of high quality and consistent, resulting in high review scores 

• When the type of dishes is in line with Zoku’s food philosophy 

• When the food & beverage costs are in line with budget 

• Love to cook  

• Have a hands-on pro-active mentality and are creative 

• Are fully flexible, so not stuck to fixed working days and hours 

• Have experience in healthy homestyle cooking – vegan skills are a plus 

• Love to work, as we need you fulltime on shift 

• Have provable knowledge of various cooking techniques 

• Have the basic F&B financial and business knowledge 

• Have a social hygiene certificate 

MUST HAVES  

• Have a minimum of 2 years working experience in a Chef de Partie, Sous Chef or similar position 

• Have experience with implementing the local HACCP guidelines 

• You are fluent English – other languages are a plus 

• You are an EU resident or have a working and living permit valid in Austria 

• You love to work, as we need you full time 

• You are based in Vienna 

• A salary of € 2.800 gross per month (minimum of € 2.100 gross per month based on full time) 

• Full time (40 hours) position at “One of the 25 Coolest Hotels in the World” according to Forbes 

• 25 vacation days to relax & unwind 

• An annual budget that can be applied for personal development 

• Laptop from Zoku 

• Exciting on-the-job training opportunities 

• Lots of cool wanna have benefits