OCEAN - Chef de Cuisine

Viking was founded in 1997 and has grown to be the leading small ship travel company, offering destination-focused river, ocean and expedition voyages on all seven continents. Designed for experienced travelers with interests in science, history, culture and cuisine, Chairman Torstein Hagen often says Viking offers guests The Thinking Person’s Cruise® in contrast to mainstream cruises.

With more than 250 awards to its name, the company currently operates a fleet of state-of-the-art ships that have received numerous accolades since their launch from industry experts and travelers alike. For the second year in a row, Viking was voted the #1 River Line and the #1 Ocean Line by Condé Nast Traveler in the publication’s 2022 Readers’ Choice Awards. Viking was also named #1 for both Rivers and Oceans by Travel + Leisure in the 2022 World’s Best Awards making it the only cruise line to reach the top of its categories in both publications in the same year.

ROLE OVERVIEW

Part of our Galley team on our Ocean vessels, the Chef de Cuisine (CDC) supervises and manages the entire Galley of the venue assigned to them, ensuring the smooth operation of all events, food preparation, presentation and delivery, over the course of service in that venue, and that the quality standards & procedures are in line with Company Procedures and STAR Service Standards. The Chef de Cuisine (CDC) reports to Executive Chef.

WHAT YOU WILL DO ON BOARD

• Take ownership for the entire Galley of the assigned venue, which includes but is not limited to food safety, creativity, cleanliness, staff management, time management, repair & maintenance, public relations, and guest interaction.
• Visit the assigned Galley venue as often as possible during the course of service, in conjunction with the assigned Head Waiter, checking every table and ensuring that Guests are provided with the best meal/service possible; follow up on negative feedback received; monitor reports such as Voyage\\Cruise Report, to identify opportunities to improve Guest service and satisfaction.
• Assist the Executive Chef to prepare requisitions for all catering equipment to ensure a productive operation.
• Assist all Section Heads in areas of responsibility to countercheck all food requisitions and make the necessary adjustments; regularly collect and enter all meal count figures from the assigned galley, into the meal count system; monitor/control flagged and expensive item requisitions; check meat, fish & seafood ordering & thawing procedures; tour all storerooms frequently and assist the Provisions Team; conduct menu briefings every two days or as often as required.
• Countercheck daily deliveries from the Storeroom to ensure its accuracy.
• Ensure that all menus, recipes, methods and specifications are adhered to, and spot-check all venues serving food on a daily basis to ensure that all food outlets & displays are in line with the quality & cleanliness of Viking’s Standards and all Public Health Policies. Visit various food preparation stations & conduct random tastings to correct any discrepancies (quality/taste/appearance) immediately.
• Be familiar with the Human Resources Manual & Shipboard Training; have an in-depth understanding of the working hours policies & procedures; be familiar with crew contracts and work schedule hours/week, to maintain working hours paperwork and if necessary, correct entries for payroll.

WHY JOIN VIKING? 

Elevate Your Career 

Regardless of where you are on your career journey, Viking can help you in reaching new destinations with: 

• Paid training program in skills and approach to premium hospitality services
• On-the-job coaching to help you advance rapidly  
• A lifelong network of hospitality professionals from many different countries 
• Internal transfer opportunities to River, Ocean and Expedition ships 

On board our ship 

• Lodging, meals, unlimited Wi-Fi, uniforms, and laundry are free of charge for all crew members 
• Crew cabins with only 2 berths (you will have one roommate). 
• Travel to/from the ship provided by Viking 
• Crew-only deck, dedicated recreational spaces and activities 
• Access to use the guest fitness center during certain hours 

Employee benefits 

• Referral program 
• Loyalty bonuses
• No immediate tax deduction

ABOUT YOU

• Must have shipboard or premium hospitality experience with at least 2 years / 4 contracts in the same role; Previous haute-cuisine education is an advantage.
• Fluent in English - must have excellent English communication skills to clearly interpret and orate documents, such as menus and recipes.
• Must be able to effectively handle complex situations, including managing interactions with guests.
• Must have experience in leading multi-cultural teams; flexible, stress resistant, committed team player.
• Team builder with effective motivational skills and coaching abilities, with a demonstrable comprehensive knowledge of Public Health and Sanitation compliance
• Must be at least twenty-one (21) years old, able to physically handle 50+ lbs. (30KGs) on a daily basis, and work a minimum of eleven hours a day, seven days a week.

APPLICATION AND JOB RELEVANT INFORMATION

Our roles will be subject to our appearance standards (including in relation to visible tattoos) and employees are expected to project a professional image at all times. Visible tattoos are not permitted. Tattoos concealed with make-up, skin-colored sleeves or any covering other than the company uniform will still be considered visible for the purposes of our appearance standards. Exemptions to this may be considered on a case-by-case basis where appropriate. Tattoo removal may not result in successful employment and therefore is not encouraged and is the candidate’s personal decision. Furthermore, any offer of employment is subject to you passing all mandatory medical examinations as required by the company.  For further information, please contact our recruiting team.

DISCLAIMER

As part of any recruitment process, Viking collects and processes personal data relating to job applicants. We are committed to being transparent about how we collect and use that data and to meeting our data protection obligations. If you would like to find out more about how your information will be used, please view the privacy notice on our careers page.