Head Chef — Italian Restaurant

Responsibilities

• Lead kitchen for Oaxaca's Italian restaurant serving the city's international food tourists
• Design menus balancing authentic Italian preparations with local Oaxacan ingredient integration
• Source imported Italian pantry essentials alongside extraordinary local Oaxacan produce
• Manage small brigade of 4–8 kitchen staff
• Engage with Oaxaca's internationally connected food community — visiting chefs, food journalists, culinary tourists

Requirements

• 5+ years kitchen experience with Italian cuisine
• Curiosity and respect for Oaxacan culinary culture — cooking Italian in Oaxaca requires cultural humility
• English required — Oaxaca's international tourist base communicates primarily in English
• Creative flexibility — ingredient crossovers between Italian and Oaxacan traditions require imagination

Benefits

• IMSS, Aguinaldo, vacation + premium
• Staff meals, uniform
• Immersion in one of the world's great food cities
• Creative and internationally connected work environment

Work environment

Small Italian restaurant in Oaxaca's historic center. Boutique scale — intimate team, very high quality expectation per plate. Clientele of sophisticated food travelers from US, Europe, and LATAM.

About the role

Italian cooking in a Oaxacan context is one of the most interesting creative challenges in Mexican cuisine. Your Italian training and Oaxaca's ingredients are two great systems encountering each other. The results can be extraordinary.