Cafe Head Chef

Head Chef – Sydney CBD Cafe (Temporary/Extended Parental Leave Coverage)

No nights. No weekends. Plenty of creativity.

We’re Pablo & Rusty’s, a purpose-driven coffee roaster with a flagship cafe in the heart of the Sydney CBD. We’re looking for a hands-on Head Chef to lead our kitchen while our current Head Chef takes extended parental leave. This isn’t a placeholder role. It’s your chance to shape a seasonal, modern Australian cafe menu and lead a small, passionate team in a cafe that values people, creativity and calm leadership.

Why you’ll love this role

• No nights. No weekends
• Creative freedom over a fresh, local, seasonal menu
• Competitive salary with performance bonuses
• A supportive, ego-free kitchen and Team culture
• Work with a B Corp certified, carbon neutral business

The role

You’ll be leading by example, designing menus, cooking and plating, mentoring your team and managing everything from cost control to supplier relationships. You’ll work closely with the Cafe Manager and front-of-house and coffee team to deliver a consistent and memorable hospitality experience for every guest!

This is a full-time role, 40 hours per week, temporary position (extended parental leave coverage), based at our Sydney CBD cafe at 161 Castlereagh Street.

What we’re looking for

• 2 or more years in a Head Chef or senior kitchen leadership role
• Strong cooking, plating and prep skills
• Experience designing and costing seasonal menus
• Confident with suppliers, ordering and kitchen systems
• A great communicator who leads by example
• A passion for hospitality, sustainability and (bonus) coffee

What we value

We’re big on:

• Passion for coffee, i.e. it’s more than just a pre-service pick up
• Teamwork and humility, we all mop the floors
• Creativity and curiosity, we want you to grow together, not burn out
• Quality and consistency, from knife work, plating to menu creation

Ready to take the lead?

Click apply or reach out directly. Even if you’re not actively job hunting, we’d love to chat.

PS, expect we’ll ask you about your favourite coffee, cafe and hospitality experiences. And we’d love it if you could share a story in your application. We can’t wait to hear from you.