AYUSH THAKUR
Auckland,AUK
Summary
A culinary professional and Quality-driven Chef with deep commitment to high standards and delivering quality results. Leveraging years of experience in kitchen management to foster collaborative and efficient team environment. Known for adaptability and reliability, with strong emphasis on culinary creativity and leadership. Maintains complete understanding of kitchen operations, equipment and sanitation. Hires, trains and manages staff to provide employees with adequate guidance and resources to accomplish established objectives. Dedicated to sourcing high-quality ingredients from local sources to drive farm-to-table menus. Proactive and adaptable team leader passionate about sustainable cuisine. Talented at creating exciting and innovative menus based on in-season ingredients.
Overview
10
10
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
HEAD CHEF
VIVACE AT DEBRETT
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
10.2025 - Current
- Developed innovative menu items to enhance dining experiences and attract diverse clientele.
- Led culinary team in executing high-quality dishes while maintaining consistency and presentation standards.
- Streamlined kitchen operations, improving efficiency and reducing food waste through effective resource management.
- Mentored junior chefs, fostering skill development and promoting a collaborative kitchen environment.
- Implemented food safety protocols, maintaining compliance with health regulations and ensuring guest safety.
- Oversaw inventory management, ensuring optimal stock levels and minimizing spoilage through strategic purchasing decisions.
- Conducted regular staff training sessions to enhance culinary skills and maintain high service quality standards.
- Placed orders to restock items before supplies ran out.
- Managed food costs effectively with careful menu planning, accurate portion control, and utilization of seasonal ingredients.
- Inventoried food, ingredient, and supply stock to prepare and plan vendor orders.
- Oversaw scheduling, inventory management, and supply ordering to maintain fully stocked kitchen.
- Maintained well-organized mise en place to keep work consistent.
- Implemented new recipes and modern cooking techniques to continuously improve the menu offerings and overall dining experience for guests.
- Trained junior chefs in advanced culinary techniques and food safety procedures, helping them grow professionally within the industry.
- Optimized ingredient usage through meticulous waste tracking procedures, significantly reducing overall food waste levels within the establishment.
- Engaged with customers to gather feedback, using insights to refine dishes and service.
- Ensured optimal food quality and safety, rigorously adhering to health and sanitation guidelines.
- Maintained high standards of kitchen cleanliness, consistently passing inspections with exemplary ratings.
- Worked closely with front-of-house staff to facilitate excellent customer service.
- Monitored food production to verify quality and consistency.
- Evaluated food products to verify freshness and quality.
- Trained and managed kitchen personnel and supervised related culinary activity.
- Modified recipes to accommodate dietary restrictions and allergies.
- Developed new recipes and flavor combinations to enhance customer dining experience.
- Trained and mentored new staff members in kitchen safety, sanitation and cooking techniques.
- Utilized culinary techniques to create visually appealing dishes.
- Disciplined and dedicated to meeting high-quality standards.
SENIOR SOUS CHEF
DEBRETT KITCHEN
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
07.2024 - 10.2025
- Developed and implemented seasonal menu offerings, enhancing guest satisfaction and dining experience.
- Supervised kitchen operations, ensuring adherence to safety and sanitation standards.
- Trained and mentored junior culinary staff, fostering skill development and teamwork.
- Collaborated with front-of-house team to optimize service efficiency during peak hours.
- Streamlined inventory management processes, reducing food waste and costs.
- Created innovative dishes using local ingredients, elevating hotel's culinary reputation.
- Conducted regular quality control checks to maintain consistent food presentation and taste.
- Increased customer satisfaction through consistent delivery of exceptional dishes, resulting in positive reviews.
- Ensured compliance with all health department regulations while maintaining a well-organized workspace for optimal efficiency.
- Collaborated with Executive Chef to design seasonal menus that showcased diverse flavors and techniques.
- Developed kitchen staff through training, disciplinary action, and performance reviews.
- Developed new recipes and flavor combinations to enhance customer dining experience.
- Disciplined and dedicated to meeting high-quality standards.
- Requisitioned food, selected and developed recipes and standardized production recipes for consistent quality.
- Oversaw business operations, inventory control, and customer service for restaurant.
- Maintained high food quality standards by checking delivery contents to verify product quality and quantity.
- Trained and mentored new staff members in kitchen safety, sanitation and cooking techniques.
JUNIOR SOUS CHEF
SOHO HOTEL AUCKLAND , NEW ZEALAND
Auckland, NEWZEALAND
01.2024 - 07.2024
- Oversaw daily kitchen operations, ensuring high standards of food quality and presentation.
- Assisted in menu planning, incorporating seasonal ingredients to enhance guest experiences.
- Trained and mentored junior kitchen staff, fostering skill development and teamwork.
- Implemented efficient food preparation techniques, reducing waste and optimizing resource use.
- Collaborated with front-of-house teams to synchronize service flow and enhance guest satisfaction.
- Planned and directed high-volume food preparation in fast-paced environment.
- Collaborated with fellow team members to ensure timely completion of tasks and excellent execution of all dishes.
- Consistently met high standards of quality control by conducting thorough taste tests before serving each dish to customers.
- Monitored recipe portioning to control food costs.
- Trained kitchen staff to perform various preparation tasks under pressure.
- Utilized culinary techniques to create visually appealing dishes.
- Disciplined and dedicated to meeting high-quality standards.
SOUS CHEF
FOUR POINTS BY SHERATON
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
09.2022 - 01.2024
- Ensured food preparation and presentation met high standards of quality and sanitation.
- Assisted in menu development and recipe testing.
- Coordinated ordering, receiving, storage, and distribution of food items.
- Monitored inventory levels to ensure adequate supplies on hand.
- Directed kitchen staff in day-to-day operations including food production, sanitation, safety practices, and personnel management.
- Developed daily specials utilizing seasonal ingredients.
- Trained new hires in proper cooking techniques and recipes.
- Maintained accurate records for cost analysis purposes.
- Collaborated with Executive Chef to create innovative dishes for special events.
- Contributed to the successful execution of catered events from start to finish.
- Supervised cooks and other kitchen personnel during meal services.
- Created a positive work environment by encouraging teamwork among staff members.
- Adjusted recipes as needed to accommodate dietary restrictions or allergies.
- Analyzed customer feedback to identify areas of improvement in service or product quality.
- Conducted regular performance reviews with line cooks while providing constructive feedback where necessary.
- Ordering ingredients for morning, lunch and dinner service on daily basis.
JUNIOR SOUS CHEF
FOUR POINTS BY SHERATON
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
05.2021 - 09.2022
- Organized and maintained the daily mise en place for all stations.
- Trained and supervised junior cooks in proper culinary techniques.
- Ensured accurate completion of prep lists and production sheets on a daily basis.
- Supervised team members during meal services ensuring orders are accurate and delivered timely.
- Assisted in developing recipes for special events or catering functions.
- Coordinated with front-of-house staff when necessary regarding timing of meals during service hours.
- Evaluated performance levels of team members providing feedback where needed.
- Supervised kitchen food preparation in demanding, high-volume environments.
- Directed staff in restaurant kitchen and field to maintain department objectives, standards, guidelines and budget.
- Helped staff adhere to tough restaurant requirements through practical discipline and motivation.
- Managed purchasing of supplies and ingredients for normal operations and special events.
- Assisted restaurant in meeting financial targets by achieving food quality objectives.
SENIOR CHEF DE PARTIE
FOUR POINTS BY SHERATON
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
06.2020 - 03.2021
- Responsible for daily food preparation and duties assigned by the senior chef to meet the required standard.
- Following the instructions and recommendations from the senior chef to complete the daily tasks and coordinating daily tasks with the junior and senior chef.
- Monitoring grill, pan and cold larder section for daily breakfast lunch and dinner service.
- Organising, planing, executing and commanding the team for daily kitchen operation to make sure all the tasks must be done in required standard to maintain the high quality and consistency of food.
- Supervise junior chefs by delegating them proper instruction to complete a particular task within required timeframe by providing them training to finish the task in required standard in order to maintain the quality, quantity, consistency and flavour of food.
- Monitoring daily production needs and checking the quality of raw and cooked food products to ensure that standards are met and managing the par level and ordering of stock.
- Ensuring the production, preparation and presentation of food are of the highest quality at all times by supervising and helping junior chefs on daily basis. Ensuring effective communication between staff by maintaining a secure and friendly working environment.
- Operate and maintain all department equipment and reporting of malfunctioning to senior chef and maintenance team.
CHEF DE PARTIE
FOUR POINTS BY SHERATON
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
03.2020 - 06.2020
- Monitoring grill, pan and cold larder section for daily breakfast, lunch and dinner service and daily food preparation and responsible for organising and executing the work to junior chefs in order to maintain the smooth operation of kitchen on daily basis.
- Supervising stock rotation, FIFO, section setup for the service to ensures that all stations are set appropriately for the service and maintaining high industry standard of food hygiene, inspecting portion size of food, plating and garnishing.
- Preparing, cooking and presenting dishes according to required standard.
- Managing and training demi-chef de parties or commis for daily kitchen operation and food service.
- Helping the sous chef and head chef to develop new dishes, menus and delivering.
- Assisted with menu planning activities by suggesting creative ideas for dishes based on seasonal ingredients.
DEMI CHEF DE PARTIE
FOUR POINTS BY SHERATON
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
01.2019 - 03.2020
- Handling pan and grill section for daily afternoon and dinner service and daily food preparation.
- Guide and Monitoring junior chefs during cooking and preparation of food process to maintain the quality, quantity and consistency to meet the required standard of food.
- Supervising stock rotation, FIFO, section setup for the service to ensures that all stations are set appropriately for the service and maintaining high industry standard of food hygiene, inspecting portion size of food, plating and garnishing.
- Assist senior chefs in regular service, helping them with new ideas and dishes in implementation for the menu and weekly specials.
- Maintain daily food and temperature logs record.
- Prepared sauces, soups and hot entrees according to set recipes.
- Maintained cleanliness and hygiene standards throughout the kitchen area.
- Performed periodic deep cleaning operations of all kitchen appliances.
- Performed assigned cooking tasks to float and relieve chefs throughout kitchen.
- Set up workstations with needed ingredients, utensils and cooking equipment.
- Monitored stocks of all food items, ensuring adequate supplies at all times.
DEMI CHEF
ADINA HOTEL BRITOMART
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
04.2018 - 01.2019
- Handling hot and cold section for daily afternoon and evening service.
- Daily food preparation, production and implementation of menus, setting up section mise-en-place, maintain consistency of product throughout the sections.
- Plating of all food items from hot and cold section, maintain high industry standard of food hygiene.
- Assist chef de partie and sous chef in regular service, handling barbecue during event nights, handling buffet.
- Assisted in the daily preparation of meals according to recipes.
- Organized ingredients to ensure quality of dishes served.
- Prepared sauces, stocks and soups for the kitchen.
- Ensured that all food items were prepared in a timely manner.
- Checked temperatures of freezers and refrigerators regularly.
- Provided guidance on techniques for improved food presentation.
- Making sure all the orders to be ready on time to maintain the smooth service in busy period.
- Utilising the time by planning prep levels for future in order to complete the assigned task on time.
COMMIS CHEF
ADINA HOTEL BRITOMART
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
08.2016 - 03.2018
- Ensured all food was stored properly in accordance with safety regulations.
- Prepared and cooked food items according to recipes, portioning, and presentation specifications.
- Cleaned and sanitized work areas, utensils, and equipment used for cooking.
- Followed proper plate presentation techniques when serving dishes.
- Assisted higher-level chefs in the preparation of more complex dishes.
- Monitored stock levels of ingredients and kitchen supplies.
- Maintained a clean working area at all times in compliance with health codes.
- Plated food according to restaurant artistic guidelines to promote attractive presentation.
- Handled food deliveries, processing items and accurately placing into inventory.
- Cleaned and sanitized kitchen equipment, utensils and work stations.
- Prepared variety of foods according to exact instructions and recipe specifications.
Education
Diploma - Culinary Arts
North Shore International Academy
Auckland, New Zealand03-2017
Bachelor - Commerce
DAV College
Dehradun, Uttrakhand, India04-2016
High School Intermediate - Commerce
K.V. Upper Camp High School
Dehradun, Uttrakhand, India09-2012
Skills
- Workflow Optimization
- Inventory Management
- Dish Preparation
- Food Preparation
- Employee Scheduling
- Cost Control
- Customer Service
- Staff Training
- Ordering and Requisitions
- Performance Improvement
- Menu Planning
- Supervising Food Prep
- Safe Food Handling
- Team Leadership
- Menu Development
- Positive and Professional
- Food Safety
- Team management
Accomplishments
- Employee of the month (December 2017) Was awarded employee of the month for my outstanding performance during peak season.
- Employee of the month (August 2019) Was awarded employee of the month for my hard work, exceptionally initiative and outstanding performance.
- Silver medal Nz chef salon 2017
- Certificate of merit (December 2016) C4-3 Final Practical Assessment
Certification
- New Zealand Certificate in Cookery Level 4
- New Zealand Diploma in Cookery (Advanced) L5
- City and Guilds certificate
- Food safety certificate
Timeline
HEAD CHEF
VIVACE AT DEBRETT
10.2025 - Current
SENIOR SOUS CHEF
DEBRETT KITCHEN
07.2024 - 10.2025
JUNIOR SOUS CHEF
SOHO HOTEL AUCKLAND , NEW ZEALAND
01.2024 - 07.2024
SOUS CHEF
FOUR POINTS BY SHERATON
09.2022 - 01.2024
JUNIOR SOUS CHEF
FOUR POINTS BY SHERATON
05.2021 - 09.2022
SENIOR CHEF DE PARTIE
FOUR POINTS BY SHERATON
06.2020 - 03.2021
CHEF DE PARTIE
FOUR POINTS BY SHERATON
03.2020 - 06.2020
DEMI CHEF DE PARTIE
FOUR POINTS BY SHERATON
01.2019 - 03.2020
DEMI CHEF
ADINA HOTEL BRITOMART
04.2018 - 01.2019
COMMIS CHEF
ADINA HOTEL BRITOMART
08.2016 - 03.2018
Bachelor - Commerce
DAV College
High School Intermediate - Commerce
K.V. Upper Camp High School
Diploma - Culinary Arts
North Shore International Academy