Hiring Now | Head Chef – Tinga Lodge | Skukuza, Mpumalanga | Permanent Position Available

MORE Collection, one of Africa’s most distinguished luxury hospitality groups, is seeking an accomplished, creative, and operationally strong Head Chef to lead the kitchen team at Tinga Lodge, part of Lion Sands in the Kruger National Park, Skukuza, Mpumalanga. Tinga Lodge is a world-class luxury safari property set against the extraordinary backdrop of the Kruger Park wilderness, and the Head Chef is the culinary leader responsible for delivering food experiences that are as exceptional as the surroundings. This is a senior kitchen management role that demands both technical culinary excellence and the leadership capability to manage, train, and develop a high-performing kitchen team in a remote, high-expectation lodge environment. If you are a skilled and passionate chef with proven mid-senior kitchen management experience, a deep understanding of food costing and stock control, and the personal qualities to lead with warmth and professional authority, MORE Collection invites you to apply. Don’t miss this opportunity — vacancies are filling fast. Apply today.

Job Overview

Field	Detail
Job Title	Head Chef
Division	Lion Sands – Kruger Park
Business Unit	Kitchen – Tinga Lodge
Department / Industry	Hospitality – Food & Beverage
Job Type	Permanent
Salary	Market Related
Location	Skukuza, Mpumalanga
Minimum Experience	Mid-Senior
Closing Date	31 July 2026
Application Status	Open – Accepting Applications Now

About the Role

Tinga Lodge, situated within the iconic Kruger National Park near Skukuza, is one of Lion Sands’ most celebrated properties — a place where guests arrive expecting not just extraordinary game experiences, but a culinary journey that matches the magic of their surroundings. As Head Chef, you will carry full responsibility for the kitchen operation at Tinga Lodge: managing and leading the kitchen team, driving food preparation to the highest standard, controlling costs and stock with precision, and ensuring that every dish — from a bush breakfast to a formal dinner — reflects the quality and creativity that defines the MORE Collection dining experience.

This is a role that requires exceptional culinary skill alongside genuine leadership ability. You will be expected to develop and implement menus across the property’s different outlets, maintain the highest standards of kitchen hygiene and food safety, and take complete ownership of the department’s profitability. Equally important is your role as a developer of people — identifying potential within your kitchen team, implementing structured training programmes, conducting meaningful performance appraisals, and driving the succession planning processes that ensure the department continues to grow in capability and confidence.

The ideal candidate brings sound knowledge of food preparation, menu compilation, international culinary trends, dietary and religious requirements, and kitchen stock and accounting systems. You will be as comfortable analysing a profit and loss statement as you are plating a signature dish, and you will lead your team with the tolerance, patience, and emotional intelligence that the MORE Collection brand values demand.

Please note: This position is based at Tinga Lodge within the Kruger National Park near Skukuza — a remote, bush-based environment. Candidates must be comfortable with the live-in, rotational nature of lodge-based employment in a wilderness setting.

Key Responsibilities

Kitchen Operations & Food Standards

• Manage, lead, and train the kitchen team in line with the property food directive, ensuring food preparation consistently meets the highest standard.
• Quality check the taste, presentation, and portioning of all dishes across every outlet and function, ensuring excellence at every service.
• Ensure that all food is prepared to the highest standards, with efficient work practices and a focus on completing each task within the time available.
• Check that meals and functions are set up to standard before every service, including banquets, bush dinners, breakfasts, and in-room dining experiences.
• Maintain fridges and stores in a clean, organised condition, stocked at the correct levels at all times.
• Ensure the kitchen is clean and hygienic to the highest possible standard, with constant rotation and cleaning procedures in place and adhered to.

Menu Development & Culinary Creativity

• Develop and implement menus across the different outlets and properties within the Lion Sands Kruger Park division.
• Apply sound knowledge of international culinary trends and current market developments to ensure menus remain contemporary, relevant, and aspirational.
• Ensure full accommodation of dietary and religious requirements across all menus and food preparation processes, without compromise to quality or presentation.
• Manage portion size and plating standards rigorously to maintain food quality while avoiding wastage.
• Bring creative flair and initiative to menu compilation and food presentation, elevating the dining experience in line with the MORE Collection standard.

Kitchen Administration, Stock Control & Financial Management

• Conduct effective kitchen administration to minimise shortages and wastage, assuming full responsibility for any shortages, discrepancies, and variances within the department.
• Meet mandated food cost targets through creativity, robust stock management, and sound accounting systems.
• Ensure that stock procedures and control systems are strictly followed, including stock takes, requisitions, and par level management.
• Manage staff food control in terms of cost, quality, and quantity, in line with company standards.
• Review and analyse monthly departmental accounts, highlight problem areas, and ensure appropriate corrective action is taken promptly.
• Take complete responsibility for the profitability of the kitchen department, including cost management, budget adherence, and financial reporting.
• Perform effective asset management, ensuring that all company kitchen assets are maintained in the best possible condition.

Training, Development & People Management

• Earmark and develop individuals who show potential to grow into positions within the broader MORE Collection group, actively supporting internal succession.
• Implement and document training programmes for the kitchen team, facilitating the use of MORE-appointed internal and external trainers and ensuring continuous learning and skills development.
• Provide effective leadership through professional people management, encouragement, and mediation where required.
• Drive and monitor the effective implementation of MORE Performance Management and Succession Planning processes within the kitchen department.
• Conduct regular, meaningful performance appraisals in a manner that encourages open, two-way communication, and follow up to ensure that agreed action and developmental plans are being executed.
• Maintain discipline within the kitchen team according to company standards, addressing deviations with fairness and in line with the company’s disciplinary procedures.

Communication, Hygiene & Compliance

• Implement, monitor, and maintain constant communication between the Kitchen, Management, and Front of House staff to ensure seamless service delivery.
• Ensure full adherence to kitchen hygiene and HACCP standards at all times, across all food preparation and storage areas.
• Ensure that all cleaning, storage, and equipment maintenance procedures are consistently followed and that any equipment defects are reported and followed up on without delay.
• Attend management meetings as required, contributing to the broader operational planning of the property.
• Create, implement, and maintain written control documents and training manuals relevant to the kitchen department’s operations and standards.

Minimum Requirements

Qualifications

• A formal culinary qualification — such as a Professional Chef Diploma, City & Guilds, or equivalent — is strongly preferred
• Additional qualifications in kitchen management, food safety, or hospitality management would be advantageous

Experience

• Mid-Senior level kitchen management experience, ideally within a luxury lodge, hotel, or high-end restaurant environment
• Proven track record of managing and leading a kitchen team, including training, performance management, and succession planning
• Demonstrated experience in food costing, stock control, and departmental budget management
• Experience developing and implementing menus across multiple outlets or a multi-outlet property

Knowledge Requirements

• Sound knowledge of food preparation techniques and kitchen hygiene standards, including HACCP compliance
• Sound knowledge and understanding of all dietary and religious food requirements and their application in a luxury hospitality menu context
• Sound knowledge of menu compilation and international and current culinary market trends
• Sound knowledge and understanding of stock procedures, control systems, and par level management
• Sound knowledge of product and supply management relevant to a high-volume luxury kitchen
• Good knowledge of planning, budgeting, and departmental financial administration, including the ability to assess P&L statements and forecasts
• Good knowledge of creating, implementing, and maintaining written control documents and training manuals

Skills & Competencies

• Excellent attention to detail in both food preparation and kitchen administration
• Excellent communication skills — written and verbal — with a commitment to honest, professional communication at all levels
• Strong time management, self-discipline, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage a high-pressure kitchen environment calmly and effectively
• Leadership skills with a genuine passion for skills transfer, team development, and building culinary talent within the MORE group

Personal Attributes

• Guest focus philosophy — lives the MORE brand and actively drives the MORE experience through every food offering
• A team player with a positive attitude, enthusiasm, and emotional control, capable of leading a diverse kitchen team with warmth and authority
• Committed, loyal, adaptable, and flexible, responding to the demands of a 24-hour luxury lodge operation without compromising standards
• Tolerant, patient, and caring in people interactions, with the ability to receive and act on constructive feedback openly
• Proactive, with the initiative and creative flair to elevate the food offering continuously and responsively

Advantageous / Preferred

• Prior experience as a Head Chef or Senior Sous Chef in a luxury safari lodge, game reserve, or boutique hotel
• Exposure to bush dining, outdoor food service, and large-function catering in a remote hospitality environment
• Experience working within a multi-property or lodge group structure

Core Values

Be AWARE

In a kitchen that operates at the standard expected by MORE Collection, awareness is the difference between exceptional and ordinary. The Head Chef at Tinga Lodge arrives at every service fully present — eyes on the pass, attention on the team, sensitivity to the guest experience unfolding beyond the kitchen door. MORE Collection’s “thoughtful” value means noticing what needs attention before it becomes a problem, communicating honestly and proactively, and remaining human and accessible to the team at every stage of a demanding service.

Respond GENEROUSLY

Luxury hospitality kitchens are built on a mindset of abundance — giving more, doing more, and always finding a way to say yes to the guest experience. Whether it is accommodating a last-minute dietary requirement, supporting a colleague during a demanding function, or developing a new menu concept that elevates the dining offer beyond expectation, the Head Chef at Tinga Lodge leads with generosity of spirit, creativity, and effort. MORE Collection’s “more” value means the standard is never the floor — it is always the starting point.

Strength in DIVERSITY

The kitchen at a luxury safari lodge brings together people from different cultural, linguistic, and culinary backgrounds, and the Head Chef is the leader who makes that diversity a source of strength rather than friction. MORE Collection’s “family” value — act in harmony, work together, act inclusively — means building a kitchen team that respects and learns from each other, where every team member feels valued, and where the collective output is greater than the sum of its parts. A kitchen that works in harmony is a kitchen that performs at its peak, every service.

Make it BETTER

The Head Chef’s role is never finished. There is always a dish that can be refined, a training programme that can be improved, a cost that can be better managed, or a kitchen system that can be made more efficient. MORE Collection’s “continuous improvement” value — positively influence, keep learning, own it — means approaching the kitchen operation with the restless curiosity of someone who believes the best is always still ahead. Owning the department’s performance fully, and consistently driving it toward a higher standard, is what defines an exceptional MORE Collection Head Chef.

Culinary Leadership with Heart

Technical excellence is table stakes for a Head Chef at a MORE Collection property. What truly distinguishes the leaders who thrive in this environment is the quality of the human connection they build with their teams — the patience they extend to a junior commis who is still learning, the recognition they give to a team member who has grown, the mediation they provide when kitchen pressures create conflict, and the mentorship they offer to the individuals they have earmarked for growth. Culinary leadership at MORE Collection is an act of care as much as an act of craft.

Career Growth Opportunities

MORE Collection actively develops its culinary leaders for broader roles within the group and the wider luxury hospitality industry. Head Chefs who demonstrate technical excellence, strong people leadership, and financial accountability can progress through the following stages:

• Head Chef → Executive Chef (Multi-Property)
• Executive Chef → Food & Beverage Manager
• Food & Beverage Manager → General Manager
• General Manager → Regional General Manager / Group Operations Executive

Your career path is in your hands.

Frequently Asked Questions

What salary and benefits does MORE Collection offer for the Head Chef position at Tinga Lodge? The salary for this position is market related and will be discussed and confirmed during the interview and offer process. MORE Collection benchmarks its Head Chef remuneration competitively within the South African luxury safari and lodge hospitality sector. Given that this is a lodge-based role within the Kruger National Park, the package will typically include accommodation and meals on property as part of the overall employment offer. The full details of the remuneration and benefits structure — including any additional allowances or incentives — will be outlined during the selection process.

Is this a live-in or rotational position, and what does the work lifestyle look like at Tinga Lodge? Tinga Lodge is located within the Kruger National Park near Skukuza — one of South Africa’s most iconic wilderness areas, but also a remote environment that requires kitchen management staff to be based on property on a rotational roster basis. The specific roster structure, leave cycles, and live-in arrangements will be confirmed during the interview process. Candidates must be genuinely comfortable with the remote, bush-based nature of lodge employment — including the physical environment, the self-contained property lifestyle, and the intensity of delivering luxury hospitality service in a wilderness setting.

What level of culinary and management experience is expected for this role? This is a mid-senior level position, and MORE Collection is looking for a candidate who can demonstrate a proven track record of leading a kitchen team at Head Chef or Senior Sous Chef level within a luxury hospitality environment. Beyond technical culinary ability, you must be able to show experience in departmental financial management — including food costing, stock control, and P&L analysis — as well as structured people development, training programme implementation, and performance management. Candidates whose experience is primarily culinary without a management and financial accountability dimension may not yet meet the full requirements of this role.

How important is food costing and financial management in this role? Financial accountability is a core and non-negotiable component of the Head Chef role at MORE Collection. You will be expected to take complete responsibility for the profitability of the kitchen department — managing food cost against mandated targets, controlling stock with robust systems, monitoring daily and monthly financial performance, reviewing P&L statements, and implementing corrective action where variances arise. Candidates who have not previously held full departmental financial accountability — including budget setting, cost reporting, and stock take management — should carefully consider whether they meet this dimension of the role.

What does the training and development responsibility involve? The Head Chef at Tinga Lodge is expected to be an active developer of culinary talent, not simply a kitchen manager. This includes identifying individuals with growth potential within the kitchen team, implementing and documenting formal training programmes using both internal and external MORE-appointed trainers, conducting regular performance appraisals with meaningful developmental follow-through, and driving succession planning in line with MORE’s company-wide processes. Candidates who are passionate about skills transfer and mentorship — and who can point to specific examples of team members they have developed — will be strongly preferred.

When does this vacancy close, and how should I apply? The closing date for applications is 31 July 2026. Applications should be submitted through the channel on which this vacancy is advertised, accompanied by a current CV and any relevant supporting documentation or culinary portfolio. Given the seniority of the role and the competitive nature of luxury lodge kitchen placements in South Africa, early submission is strongly recommended. Should you not receive a response within a reasonable period following the closing date, please consider your application unsuccessful.

How to Apply

To apply for the permanent Head Chef position at Tinga Lodge – Lion Sands Kruger Park, part of the MORE Collection, submit your current CV and supporting documentation through the job board on which this vacancy is advertised. Ensure your application clearly references the Head Chef role and the Lion Sands – Kruger Park / Tinga Lodge division.

Closing date: 31 July 2026. Applications received after this date will not be considered.

Should you not receive a response within a reasonable period following the closing date, please consider your application unsuccessful.

Apply early — this vacancy closes on 31 July 2026.

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