Chef — French Cuisine
Gooseberry French Restaurant Location: Uluwatu / Pecatu, Bali Employment Type: Full-time Hiring: Local hire only — No expatriate package Language: Good English communication skills required
About the Role Gooseberry is looking for an experienced, hands-on Chef — French Cuisine to join our existing kitchen team. The successful candidate will bring complementary French culinary expertise, share the daily workload, and help maintain consistently high standards. Gooseberry is a premium French restaurant serving breakfast, brunch, lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner. Our menus are carefully developed, with precise expectations for preparation, cooking, portioning, and presentation. The incoming chef will work alongside our existing chef, who remains the kitchen’s main point of reference. Respect for this working relationship and the established team is essential. The role focuses on practical culinary expertise, daily execution, and team support. Initial Priorities During the first six months, the focus will be on:
- Mastering our existing menus
- Reinforcing recipe consistency
- Supporting team training
- Improving daily kitchen organisation
New dish development is not part of the initial brief.
Key Responsibilities
- Master approved recipes, ingredient specifications, preparation methods, cooking times, yields, portions, and plating.
- Reproduce dishes accurately and consistently during service.
- Check mise en place, seasoning, cooking accuracy, and presentation.
- Coordinate preparation and service responsibilities with the existing chef.
- Support colleagues through practical demonstrations, patient coaching, and constructive feedback.
- Anticipate shortages, preparation delays, and quality issues.
- Maintain accurate recipe documentation and clear shift handovers.
- Monitor ingredient quality, stock rotation, production quantities, and waste.
- Maintain strict hygiene, food storage, and allergen procedures.
- Coordinate effectively with pastry and front-of-house teams.
- Follow management-approved recipes, ingredients, portions, and presentation standards.
Any changes to recipes, ingredients, portions, or presentation require management approval. Candidate Profile
- Proven experience cooking French cuisine in a quality restaurant.
- Strong practical knowledge of stocks, sauces, emulsions, braising, confit, and meat and fish cookery.
- Confidence handling premium beef cuts, including precise doneness, resting, and finishing.
- Experience following detailed recipes and helping colleagues reproduce them.
- Positive, calm, organised, and proactive.
- Comfortable joining an established team, accepting feedback, and following an existing culinary direction.
- Good English communication skills, including the ability to understand recipes and communicate clearly with management.
- Takes pride in consistent execution and supportive teamwork.
- Comfortable working with an established menu and maintaining its standards.
Selection Process Shortlisted candidates should provide:
- CV
- Availability
- Salary expectations
- Relevant references
The selection process will include a practical assessment using Gooseberry’s recipes and plating standards.
Skills: French Cuisine, Cooking Techniques, Fast Food Preparation, Meat & Fish Cookery, Culinary Skills, Premium Beef Handling, Stocks & Sauces, Recipe Execution & Consistency