Working closely with catering partners, suppliers, procurement, product development, quality assurance, and operational teams, you will drive culinary innovation while ensuring every menu can be consistently executed at scale across an international catering network.
Responsibilities
- Develop and implement a culinary vision that reflects the company's premium brand and customer experience objectives across all cabins and routes.
- Lead the planning and governance of network-wide menu cycles, ensuring consistency in menu structures, timelines, and culinary standards.
- Drive culinary innovation through the development, testing, evaluation, and refinement of new menu concepts for onboard service.
- Conduct product tastings, menu trials, and performance evaluations to ensure food quality, presentation, and customer satisfaction.
- Partner with global catering providers to deliver consistent culinary standards while considering regional sourcing and operational capabilities.
- Develop supplier capabilities and maintain strong relationships with catering partners to drive quality, innovation, and continuous improvement.
- Collaborate with Procurement on ingredient sourcing, supplier selection, and food cost optimisation.
- Develop, implement, and maintain Culinary Standard Operating Procedures covering food preparation, storage, handling, presentation, and onboard service.
- Ensure compliance with HACCP, food safety regulations, and international quality standards across all catering operations.
- Conduct supplier audits and performance reviews, identifying improvement opportunities and driving corrective actions.
- Monitor customer feedback, culinary trends, and competitor offerings to continually enhance the onboard dining experience.
- Work closely with Product Development, Operations, Quality Assurance, and Commercial teams to ensure culinary concepts are operationally viable and commercially successful.
- Support the successful rollout of new menus and culinary initiatives across the global network.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management, Food Science, or a related discipline, or equivalent professional experience.
- Fluent in both Arabic and English.
- Significant experience within airline catering, premium hospitality, luxury hotels, cruise lines, or large-scale food service operations.
- Proven experience developing premium menus and culinary concepts within complex, multi-site environments.
- Strong knowledge of global cuisines, menu development, fine dining standards, portioning, plating, and large-scale meal production.
- Experience managing international catering partners, suppliers, and large-scale food production operations.
- Strong understanding of menu planning across multiple routes, cabin classes, and regional customer preferences.
- Comprehensive knowledge of HACCP, food safety legislation, ISO standards, and quality assurance best practices.
- Experience developing and implementing culinary SOPs and operational standards.
- Strong commercial awareness with the ability to balance customer experience, operational feasibility, and cost optimisation.
- Excellent stakeholder management, communication, and supplier relationship skills.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities with a continuous improvement mindset.
- Ability to manage multiple projects and deliver results in a fast-paced, international environment.
- Experience within the aviation industry is highly desirable.