Culinary Development Manager – Inflight Dining (Western Cuisine)
Full Time @Qatar Airways posted 2 months ago in Hotel, Restaurant & Hospitality ShortlistAbout the job
About The Role
As the Culinary Development Manager – Inflight Dining, you will be responsible for shaping and delivering Qatar Airways’ world‑class inflight food and beverage strategy across its global network.
Leading menu strategy, development, and execution, you will translate the airline’s culinary philosophy into innovative, consistent, and high‑quality offerings that exceed customer expectations while remaining operationally and commercially viable.
Working closely with internal stakeholders, global catering partners, QACC, guest chefs, and suppliers, you will ensure culinary excellence, compliance with food safety and quality standards, and continuous enhancement of the onboard dining experience across all cabin classes.
It is a highly collaborative, hands‑on leadership role requiring strong creativity, strategic thinking, and the ability to deliver results in a fast‑paced, global operating environment.
As part of your role, your responsibilities will be inclusive of, but not limited to the following:
- Define and lead inflight dining strategy, ensuring alignment with Qatar Airways’ brand, culinary vision, and five‑star standards.
- Develop, analyze, refine, and implement inflight menus across all cabin classes, ensuring balance between taste, presentation, operational feasibility, and dietary and allergen requirements.
- Manage and oversee global catering partners, both onsite and remotely, to ensure consistent menu execution, quality, and service performance.
- Collaborate with suppliers, guest chefs, and sourcing teams to drive innovation, improve product consistency, and optimize cost effectiveness.
- Ensure full compliance with food safety, regulatory, and culinary SOPs in collaboration with QRCS compliance teams.
- Monitor customer feedback, market trends, and culinary innovation to continuously evolve and future‑proof the inflight dining proposition.
- Conduct audits, site visits, and performance reviews, preparing detailed reports and insights for senior management.
- Support change management initiatives, driving culinary transformation, sustainability, and continuous improvement across the network.
Qualifications About You
To be successful in this role, you will bring the following:
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Hotel Management, Culinary Arts, or a related field.
- Minimum 6–10+ years of hands‑on food and beverage experience in a senior culinary role, preferably within airline catering or inflight dining.
- Strong knowledge of global cuisines, culinary techniques, food trends, and premium food presentation.
- Proven ability to design and deliver inflight menus that balance creativity, customer appeal, cost efficiency, and operational requirements.
- Experience working with suppliers and catering partners, ensuring compliance with airline, regulatory, and food safety standards.
- Strong commercial and analytical acumen, including budgeting, forecasting, cost control, and performance reporting.
- Proven leadership, change management, and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to operate effectively in a fast‑paced, global, multicultural environment.
