Executive Chef

Bristol - 4 days a week, with the flexibility to travel to our restaurants across the UK.

We’re on the lookout for a talented Executive Chef with a genuine passion for Caribbean cuisine.

Turtle Bay:

Turtle Bay is a unique place which brings you the warmth, welcome and relaxed vibes of the Caribbean. We are a Mid-Market restaurant brand with big ambitions to redefine the experience with our innovative, fresh, menu with an obsession for quality, and a deep love of food culture.

Our inspiration has always, and will always, come from the magic of the Caribbean Islands.

Our success is achieved through an obsessive focus on guest experience and a passion for exciting and interesting food and drink, all at an accessible price point.

The role:

This is an exciting, creative role with the opportunity to change up the casual dining scene.

The Executive Chef needs to be creative, a visionary and own the food strategy. This role is all about innovation and implementation of high-quality food menus. The Executive Chef needs to inspirational and passionate about food and developing amazing creations.

From creative menu development to supplier partnerships, kitchen operations, and quality assurance — this is a hands-on role at the heart of our brand DNA.

You’ll work closely with founders, operations, marketing, regional head chefs and chefs to inspire and deliver a food offer that’s distinctive, scalable, and delicious.

Qualities:

You’re a natural leader with strong communication and influencing skills. You’ll bring Turtle Bay’s values to life and inspire others to do the same.

With strong culinary skills and a deep understanding of current food trends and Caribbean flavour profiles, you’ll be passionate about innovation and continual improvement — in flavour, authenticity, and results.

You’re organised, capable of managing multiple projects, and detail-focused. You’ll bring a meticulous approach to recipe development, testing, and documentation.

You’ll also understand food safety and regulatory standards, including allergen labelling and nutritional analysis, and bring creativity and flair to every dish you design.

Key Responsibilities

Food Strategy & Innovation

Develop and lead the brand’s food strategy in line with commercial goals and guest expectations
Create innovative, trend-led, crave-worthy menus with a clear identity
Keep the senior team up to date on food trends
Use performance data and feedback to identify improvements
Lead development of seasonal changes, LTOs, and NPD across dine-in, takeaway, and delivery.

Quality & Consistency

Maintain high food standards across all sites via the Operations Team
Write briefs for new menu items and gain stakeholder sign-off
Design specs that deliver value and meet food GP targets
Host food shows to gather feedback and finalise dishes
Collaborate with Training on spec documentation and support tools
Work with Ops to implement and monitor kitchen SOPs, recipes, and training
Conduct regular site visits, mystery reviews, and tastings

Supplier & Product Development

Build relationships with suppliers to source quality, authentic ingredients
Engage with artisan and market-leading producers
Work with supplier networks for menu development
Understand sustainability and sourcing impacts
Work closely with our Central Kitchen to maximise its potential
Manage supply chain risks and compliance with safety and allergen standards

Team Engagement & Culture

Communicate clearly to ensure successful dish execution
Be the face of Turtle Bay food development across teams and marketing
Inspire and mentor chefs across all locations, driving passion and consistency
Visit sites regularly to support and coach senior chefs
Support video and photo shoots to showcase the menu
Run an annual Chef Competition to spotlight talent and innovation
Host food forums and workshops to develop chef capability

Commercial Accountability

Own food cost performance — balancing quality with margin
Support Ops with kitchen design and workflow
Champion Procure Wizard — resolve issues and highlight improvements
Use our tech platforms to cost dishes and ensure they hit margin targets
Lead our food safety systems and contribute as a member of the HACCP team

Other

Support brand and external events
Be confident sharing digital content on social media
Be hands-on — we’re a small team, and we all pitch in when needed

How will we measure success?

Ability to deliver inspiring Caribbean dishes and smooth menu launches.
Providing innovative edits and updates to improve cost and taste of current dishes.
Quality of training documentation created.
Food Sentiment scores in line with company target.
Achievement of Turtle Bay food sales budget.
Engagement survey responses around menu design and implementation.
Budgeted gross profit % within the context of theoretical GPs driven by sales mix.

Turtle Bay jobs

Executive Chef