Manager Culinary Standards - Arabic Cuisine

Overview

At Qatar Airways, we combine attention to detail, inventiveness, and efficiency to guarantee that every served meal achieves the highest levels of quality, flavor, and presentation. Our team operates behind the scenes to ensure a memorable dining experience for travelers by carefully selecting premium ingredients and coordinating with airline operations.

Role Purpose

This role is dedicated to overseeing all menu planning encompassing food and beverage, ensuring alignment with Qatar Airways' premium standards. The position emphasizes leading the creation and integration of genuine Arabic cuisine spanning multiple regional varieties, including Levantine, Gulf, North African, and Middle Eastern, aiming to enhance the inflight dining allure.

Key Responsibilities

• Direct the development of product strategies that align with company objectives, customer needs, and feedback, emphasizing authentic Arabic culinary identity within menu offerings.
• Identify and engage new suppliers specializing in Arabic ingredients to improve authenticity, consistency, and cost effectiveness throughout the network.
• Craft comprehensive Food and Beverage Plans integrating Arabic and international dishes, tailored for high-altitude service to elevate fine dining onboard.
• Manage and standardize menu planning processes and schedules to guarantee consistent food and beverage quality, particularly highlighting Arabic flavors across routes.
• Provide innovative leadership for culinary programming by spearheading new menu creations, refining concepts, and sourcing ingredients, especially for contemporary Arabic and regionally inspired cuisine.
• Develop, test, and assess menu items adhering to best industry practices to ensure Arabic dishes meet operational, sensory, and quality benchmarks appropriate for inflight service.
• Establish and enforce Culinary SOPs encompassing food safety, storage, recipe formulation, production, and service standards, ensuring compliance with halal and airline regulations.

Additional Information

Applicants will be part of an exciting journey offering vast opportunities for growth, skill-building, and working on impactful challenges within a global community. Qatar Airways values ambition and innovation, encouraging employees to exceed limits and embrace difficult challenges to achieve unprecedented success.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Hotel Management, Culinary Arts, or a related field with a minimum of 8 years practical culinary experience, particularly with Arabic cuisines across diverse regions such as Levantine, Gulf, North African, and Middle Eastern.
• Extensive understanding of worldwide culinary practices, Arabic food traditions, techniques, and trending flavors, ideally with airline catering experience, including adapting dishes for the altitude environment.
• Proven expertise in creating inflight menus combining Arabic and global cuisine, balancing taste, visual appeal, and operational practicality, while addressing dietary restrictions and allergens.
• Strong collaboration skills with suppliers focused on Arabic ingredients ensuring adherence to airline, halal, and regulatory compliance. Proficiency in managing costs, budgets, forecasts, and reports.
• Strong background in change management to foster culinary innovation, implementing modern Arabic culinary concepts, sustainability, and customer-centric improvements.
• Excellent command of English (spoken and written) with strong skills in negotiation, presentation, and influence; knowledge of Arabic is advantageous.
• Demonstrated leadership and strategic planning capabilities, with experience managing multicultural, cross-functional teams in fast-moving, volume-heavy catering or hospitality sectors.

About Qatar Airways Group

Starting from a modest fleet of four aircraft, Qatar Airways has expanded into twelve distinct business sectors combining to deliver excellence. The company prides itself on rapid growth, record-breaking achievements, trend-setting, and a fearless approach to innovation and ambition.

How to Apply

Candidates interested in joining a forward-thinking team with rewarding career prospects are encouraged to apply promptly by submitting their resume and completing the application process.