Head Chef – Award-Winning Coastal Venue | Leadership Role

Finlay's Kalbarri is seeking an experienced Head Chef to lead our kitchen team in a high-volume, award-winning coastal brewery on WA's Coral Coast.

This is a senior leadership opportunity for a professional chef who values great food, strong teams and a well-run kitchen. You'll be joining an established operation with systems and standards already in place, along with a positive team that is developing well and ready to benefit from the experience and leadership of a strong Head Chef.

We're looking for someone who can bring their knowledge and ideas to the role, work effectively within our established systems, refine them where appropriate, and confidently lead the kitchen into its next stage.

About Finlay's Kalbarri

Finlay's Kalbarri is a well-established premium casual dining venue with an on-site brewery and a strong reputation for quality, consistency and community connection.

Our open kitchen is busy and energetic without being enormous, providing the opportunity to lead a close-knit team while catering for significant numbers during our busiest periods.

Our menu has a strong seafood focus, and we're passionate about using Australian seafood and sourcing locally wherever practical. We do not use imported seafood. While we have an established menu that our customers know and enjoy, there is plenty of opportunity for our Head Chef to introduce new ideas through seasonal dishes, specials, greater menu variation and some of their own favourites.

The Opportunity

As Head Chef, you will be responsible for the day-to-day leadership and performance of the kitchen, supported by ownership and management.

You'll inherit an established team with good morale and a willingness to learn. They have been developing well, but they need an experienced kitchen leader who can continue building their skills, provide direction and help them become an even stronger team.

Your responsibilities will include leading and developing the kitchen team; working within and refining established systems; delivering consistent, high-quality food through busy services; maintaining food safety, cleanliness and compliance; managing food costs, ordering, rosters and kitchen organisation; and working collaboratively with management and front-of-house.

You'll also have the opportunity to contribute your own experience and creativity to our food offering. We want a Head Chef who respects what already works while also seeing opportunities to improve, evolve and keep the menu interesting.

You will be trusted to lead the kitchen with professionalism, accountability and calm, setting clear expectations and bringing out the best in your team.

About You

You may already be an experienced Head Chef, or you may be a strong Senior Sous Chef ready to take the next step in your career.

More than anything, we're looking for someone who genuinely enjoys leading a kitchen and developing people.

You value consistency, communication and teamwork. You're comfortable working within established systems but experienced enough to recognise where something could be improved. You understand food costs and the commercial side of running a successful kitchen, and you can lead a high-volume service with organisation and confidence.

You'll also share our enthusiasm for quality produce and seafood and understand the importance of treating good ingredients with care.

What You'll Find at Finlay's

We understand that a great Head Chef needs both responsibility and support.

You'll have an established kitchen, systems and team to work with, while still having genuine scope to influence how the kitchen develops. Ownership will support you in the role, including further training and professional development where it will help you or your team succeed.

For the right person, we see this as a long-term opportunity. There is scope to develop the food offering, strengthen an already promising team and build your own reputation as the chef leading one of Kalbarri's best-known hospitality venues.

Life in Kalbarri

This opportunity is also about what life can look like outside the kitchen.

Kalbarri offers a relaxed coastal lifestyle without traffic or long commutes. Depending on where you live, work can be just a five-minute walk away, leaving more of your day for yourself.

It's an incredible base for exploring WA's Coral Coast and the wider region, with the ocean, river and national park on your doorstep. We also recognise that balance matters and aim to provide flexibility in working hours wherever the needs of the kitchen allow.

If you're looking for a Head Chef position where the foundations are already in place but your experience, leadership and ideas can genuinely make a difference, we'd love to hear from you.