Company: Masco Foods Limited

Location: Accra, Ghana

Reporting to: General Manager of Casual Dining

Employment Type: Full Time, Permanent

Role Type: Pre-opening / start-up, transitioning to brand culinary lead

ROLE PURPOSE

The Brand Head Chef will lead the culinary function for a new group of franchise casual dining, bakery, and café-style restaurants. As a senior member of the start-up team, the role owns kitchen operations from the ground up — leading all product, procedure, and ingredient testing through the pre-opening phase, and establishing the recipes, standards, and systems that will define the brand.

The role is deliberately phased. During pre-opening, the Brand Head Chef develops and validates the entire culinary offer. At launch, the role takes hands-on charge of the kitchen in the first store as Lead Chef, embedding standards in live operation. As the group grows, the role progressively transitions away from single-site responsibility into a brand-wide culinary leadership position, supporting consistency, quality, and culinary development across every store. As the group expands, the role may also include some travel within Ghana and the broader region to support new and existing stores.

HOW THE ROLE EVOLVES

This is a single role that changes shape as the brand develops. The successful candidate must be comfortable working hands-on through a demanding start-up phase and then scaling their focus from one kitchen to the entire network.

Phase 1 — Pre-Opening & Product Development

• Lead all product, recipe, ingredient, and procedure testing for the brand
• Develop and sign off the full menu across the casual dining, bakery, and café offers
• Establish recipes, specifications, portioning, plating, and quality benchmarks
• Define kitchen workflows, prep systems, and standard operating procedures
• Work with suppliers to source, test, and approve ingredients
• Provide culinary input into kitchen design, layout, and equipment specification
• Recruit, train, and prepare the opening kitchen team

Phase 2 — First Store Launch & Lead Chef

• Take full hands-on charge of the kitchen in the first store as Lead Chef
• Execute the menu to the standards set during development
• Stabilise daily operations, preparation levels, and speed of service
• Coach the kitchen team and embed discipline, hygiene, and consistency
• Refine recipes and procedures based on live trading
• Establish the first store as the working model for the brand

Phase 3 — Brand-Wide Culinary Support

• Progressively transition from single-store responsibility to brand-level support
• Act as custodian of culinary standards across all stores
• Lead culinary training, audits, and quality control across the network
• Support new store openings and kitchen team onboarding
• Drive menu evolution, seasonal development, and product innovation
• Partner with supply chain to maintain ingredient quality and consistency at scale

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

The following responsibilities apply across the life of the role, with emphasis shifting as the brand moves from pre-opening to multi-store operation.

Culinary Development & Menu Validation

• Own the development of the full menu across casual dining, bakery, and café offers
• Create, test, and standardise recipes that are repeatable across multiple sites
• Balance culinary quality with operational practicality and target food cost

Standards, Recipes & Procedures

• Document recipes, specifications, portioning, and plating standards
• Write and maintain kitchen standard operating procedures
• Set quality benchmarks and ensure they are met consistently
• Ensure no unauthorised recipe changes or ingredient substitutions are made

Kitchen Operations & Service

• Lead daily kitchen operations in the first store at launch
• Provide input into kitchen equipment selection, layout, and design for new stores
• Manage preparation levels, readiness, and consistency across every daypart
• Monitor ticket times and support fast, accurate service delivery
• Maintain a clean, organised, and disciplined kitchen at all times

People Leadership & Training

• Recruit, train, and develop kitchen teams for the opening and beyond
• Build training materials and onboarding for new kitchen team members
• Lead daily briefings and build a proud, efficient kitchen culture
• Manage performance and support corrective action where required

Suppliers, Ingredients & Cost Control

• Work with Supply Chain and procurement team to source, test, and approve ingredients and suppliers
• Work with approved product specifications and central supply where available
• Control stock usage, wastage, over-production, and spoilage
• Support food cost targets across the brand

Food Safety, Hygiene & Compliance

• Ensure full compliance with food safety and hygiene standards
• Monitor storage, labelling, dating, rotation, and cooking temperatures
• Ensure cleaning schedules and safe working practices are followed
• Keep kitchens audit-ready at all times

 

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

• Proven experience as a Head Chef, Executive Chef, or Senior Chef in casual dining, bakery, or café-style operations
• Demonstrated menu and product validation experience, including recipe creation and standardisation
• Experience setting up kitchens and/or opening new restaurants (pre-opening experience)
• Strong understanding of bakery, breakfast, café, and casual dining production
• Proven ability to write and implement recipes, specifications, and SOPs
• Strong food safety and hygiene knowledge
• Strong stock, cost, and supplier management ability
• Proven ability to recruit, train, and lead kitchen teams
• West Africa and Ghana market experience (strongly preferred)
• Ability to work hands-on through a demanding start-up phase
• Strong communication skills in English
• Willingness to be based in Ghana
• Willingness to travel within Ghana and the broader region as required

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE

• Experience with multi-site or franchise restaurant brands
• Experience with brands such as Mugg & Bean, Paul, Maison Kayser, or similar established casual dining or bakery concept
• Experience training kitchen teams for a new market
• New store opening experience across multiple sites
• Experience working with central kitchens, commissaries, and approved supplier specifications
• Experience scaling a culinary offer from a single site to a multi-store network

KEY COMPETENCIES

• Strong culinary creativity and product development skill
• Excellent palate and quality focus
• High attention to detail and consistency
• Strong systems and process thinking
• Hands-on leadership
• Calm under pressure
• Strong trainer and people developer
• Commercially aware
• Organised and disciplined
• Adaptable through start-up and scale-up phases

SUCCESS MEASURES

• Menu and product range developed, tested, and signed off ahead of opening
• Recipes, specifications, and SOPs documented and in use
• First store launched to standard and operating consistently
• Trained, capable kitchen team in place
• Consistent food quality and brand standards across stores as the brand grows
• Kitchen speed of service targets consistently met
• Controlled food cost and wastage
• Strong food safety and audit results
• Smooth new store kitchen openings

WHAT WE OFFER

• A role within one of the largest Ghanaian-owned hospitality groups, backed by an established supply chain and logistics network and a strong mandate for growth
• The opportunity to build the culinary foundation of a new brand from the ground up
• A clear progression from start-up lead to brand-level culinary leadership as the network expands
• The platform and resources of a group operating an established multi-format restaurant business across Ghana and West Africa