Role Purpose
The Executive R&D Chef is a strategic culinary leader responsible for driving our newly acquired brand, Grandmama's menu innovation, product standardisation and brand-led food development in line with the Group's rebranding and expansion strategy.
This role ensures that Grandmama's heritage flavours are modernised, scalable, and commercially sustainable, supporting consistent execution across existing outlets while enabling rapid rollout for new locations.
Responsibilities
- Lead brand-led menu innovation to support Grandmama's rebranding while preserving signature identity.
- Develop differentiated products and focused menus that enhance brand clarity and competitiveness.
- Design scalable, standardised and execution-ready menus for multi-outlet expansion.
- Ensure all products are central-kitchen friendly, cost-efficient and operationally viable.
- Drive menu engineering to achieve target food cost, margins and pricing objectives.
- Oversee culinary governance through standardised recipes, SOPs and plating consistency.
- Act as culinary gatekeeper to ensure alignment with brand strategy and operational discipline.
- Collaborate cross-functionally with Marketing, Operations, Procurement and Training teams.
- Support new outlet openings with deployable menus, SOPs and training materials.
- Build and develop culinary talent, fostering a culture of structured innovation and ownership.
- Ensure compliance with Halal, food safety, and regulatory requirements.
Job Requirements:
- Diploma or Degree in Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management, or related field.
- Professional culinary certifications are an advantage.
- Minimum 1215 years of culinary experience, including senior R&D or executive leadership roles.
- Deep understanding of Malaysian and heritage-inspired cuisine, with the ability to modernize for today's market.
- Proven experience in menu rebranding, product refresh or concept evolution.
- Strong exposure to multi-outlet restaurant groups; expansion or regional rollout experience preferred.
