Chef
- Lead the kitchen operations at Murugan Idli, focusing on South Indian cuisine.
- Manage staff and ensure compliance with food safety standards.
- Develop and maintain authentic menus while overseeing kitchen performance.
About the Role
At Murugan Idli, based in Woodville Park, SA, we are seeking a highly experienced and creative Chef with exceptional expertise in South Indian, Indo-Chinese, and North Indian cuisine to lead our busy restaurant kitchen. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience managing high-volume kitchen operations, developing authentic menus that reflect traditional South Indian flavours, and maintaining consistent quality and presentation across all dishes.
This role requires a strong leader who can manage staff, ensure compliance with food safety standards, and oversee all aspects of menu planning, inventory control, and kitchen performance.
Key Responsibilities:
• Plan, organise, prepare and cook a variety of authentic South Indian vegetarian dishes in accordance with established recipes, traditional cooking methods, menu requirements and restaurant standards.
• Prepare and cook traditional South Indian breakfast and tiffin items, including idli, dosa, uthappam, pongal, vada, poori masala and other menu specialties.
• Oversee the preparation of fermented rice and lentil batters, chutneys, sambar, vegetable curries, gravies and other accompaniments required for daily food production.
• Prepare and cook South Indian lunch specialties, including South Indian meals, sambar rice, tamarind rice, lemon rice, curd rice, rasam, kootu, poriyal and other traditional vegetarian preparations.
• Prepare vegetarian snacks, Indo-Chinese dishes and desserts, including items such as paneer 65, gobi 65, fried rice, fried noodles, paniyaram, sakkarai pongal and halwa, as required by the restaurant's menu.
• Plan daily food preparation requirements, including ingredient quantities, preparation schedules, cooking procedures and portion sizes, to ensure efficient breakfast, lunch and dinner services.
• Coordinate daily kitchen activities and food production to ensure the timely preparation of dine-in, takeaway, pickup, online delivery, catering and group orders.
• Monitor the taste, texture, freshness, cooking consistency, portion sizes and presentation of dishes to maintain authentic flavours and established food quality standards.
• Supervise and coordinate kitchen staff and kitchen hands, allocate preparation tasks and provide guidance on traditional cooking techniques, food preparation methods and presentation requirements.
• Estimate ingredient requirements, manage stock levels, coordinate ordering and maintain appropriate storage, labelling and stock rotation procedures for vegetables, rice, lentils, spices and other kitchen supplies.
• Monitor ingredient usage and food production quantities, implement effective portion control and minimise unnecessary food wastage.
• Ensure food preparation, cooking, storage and handling comply with applicable Australian food safety, hygiene, sanitation and workplace health and safety requirements.
• Work with restaurant management to review existing recipes, improve preparation techniques, develop new menu offerings and maintain consistency in traditional South Indian vegetarian cuisine.
• Coordinate with management, kitchen staff and front-of-house personnel regarding daily menu availability, special orders, dietary requirements and service priorities.
• Monitor kitchen workflow, identify food preparation or quality issues and implement appropriate corrective measures to maintain efficient kitchen operations.
Skills and Expertise Required
• Experience preparing authentic South Indian vegetarian cuisine, including idli, dosa, curries, rice dishes and traditional snacks.
• Knowledge of traditional cooking techniques, food preparation and presentation standards.
• Ability to plan and coordinate kitchen operations and supervise staff during busy periods.
• Experience in stock management, ingredient handling and minimising food wastage.
• Sound knowledge of Australian food safety, hygiene and WHS requirements.
• Strong communication, teamwork, time management and organisational skills.
Qualifications and Experience
• Relevant qualification in Commercial Cookery, Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management or a related field, preferably at Diploma level or above.
• Relevant commercial cooking experience, preferably in South Indian vegetarian cuisine.
• Experience in kitchen coordination, food quality control, stock management and menu preparation.
What We Offer
• Permanent, full-time employment.
• Salary of $85,000 per annum plus superannuation.
• Opportunity to join a growing South Indian vegetarian restaurant business.
• Supportive and professional working environment.
Only eligible and short-listed applicants will be considered.
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