zomato
Website:
zomato.com
Job details:
Head Chef — Donna Cucina, Kalyani Nagar, Pune
Donna Cucina is a fine-dining Italian restaurant in a converted bungalow in Kalyani Nagar, Pune, known for handmade pasta and wood-fired pizza cooked in an open show-kitchen. We started from a home kitchen six years ago and have grown into one of Pune's most distinctive Italian dining rooms — built on simplicity, technique, and consistency, not complexity.
The Role
We're hiring a Head Chef to take full command of kitchen operations — the person the entire brigade answers to on the floor, every service. This is a hands-on leadership role, not a desk role.
This is an execution and standards role. You will have complete authority over your kitchen team, workflow, hygiene, and consistency. Core recipes and menu direction are owned by the founder; your job is to protect and deliver that standard flawlessly, service after service, with the freedom to run your kitchen the way a professional kitchen should be run.
What You'll Own
• Full day-to-day command of the kitchen — BOH staff, scheduling, discipline, and workflow
• Consistency of every dish against our recipe specs and plating standards
• FSSAI compliance, hygiene, food safety, and storage protocols
• Vendor and produce quality checks, wastage control, kitchen budgeting
• Training and developing your line — this kitchen should run to standard with or without you on a given pass
• Proposing seasonal specials within our style — final sign-off sits with the founder
What We're Looking For
• 5+ years kitchen experience, at least 2 in a leadership role (Sous Chef or above) in a fine-dining or high-volume premium kitchen
• Real command presence — someone the team follows without hesitation
• Deep respect for technique and discipline over ego-driven reinvention
• Experience with Italian, Mediterranean, or handmade pasta technique is a strong plus, not mandatory — attitude and discipline matter more
• Comfortable working within a defined standard while having full authority over how the kitchen is run day to day
Process
Shortlisted candidates will do a paid working trial shift as part of the final round before any offer.
To apply, send your CV and a short note on the toughest kitchen you've run.
Click on Apply to know more.