Leadership in the kitchen isn’t a personality trait – it’s a skill
/For decades kitchens have relied on an unspoken assumption that strong technical ability naturally leads to strong leadership. If you could cook under pressure, run a section and deliver during service, leadership would somehow follow.
We now know that assumption is wrong. Across Australian foodservice, many of the challenges kitchens face today such as staff turnover, burnout, poor communication and inconsistency are not skills problems. They are leadership problems. And leadership is not something you are born with. It is something you learn.
Leadership ‘shows up in small daily moments’
Being a good chef and being a good leader are two very different skill sets. One is about execution. The other is about people.
Recent workforce data shows more than 60 per cent of hospitality employees who leave a role do so because of management and workplace culture rather than pay or hours. That statistic should give the industry pause. It tells us that kitchens are not losing people because they cannot handle the work. They are leaving because of how they are led.
A technically strong chef who cannot communicate clearly, manage pressure or support a team creates stress, not standards. In contrast, a calm and capable leader who understands people, structure and accountability creates stability. And stability is exactly what kitchens need right now.
Leadership in the kitchen shows up in small daily moments. How instructions are given. How mistakes are handled. Whether feedback is constructive or reactive. Whether younger chefs feel supported or exposed. These moments shape kitchen culture far more than job titles or reputations ever will.
Leadership no longer optional in foodservice
The Australian Culinary Federation sees this firsthand across training kitchens, competitions and workplaces nationwide. Young chefs are motivated and eager to learn. Yet many leave the trade early, not because they lack passion but because they lack support. At the same time, many senior chefs are carrying leadership responsibility they were never trained for.
This is not about blame. It is about recognising a gap and addressing it properly.
Leadership training has long been treated as optional in foodservice. Something you pick up over time. Something you either have or you do not. That thinking no longer holds.
Today’s kitchens are more complex. Teams are more diverse. Expectations around communication, wellbeing and professionalism are higher and rightly so. Leadership must be taught with the same seriousness as knife skills, food safety and cost control.
“Strong kitchens are built on strong leadership”
Karen Doyle
ACF National President
As Australian Culinary Federation National President Karen Doyle says,
“Strong kitchens are built on strong leadership. If we want chefs to stay, grow and lead with confidence, we must invest in developing people skills alongside technical ability. Leadership is not a bonus skill in foodservice. It is essential to the future of our profession.”
The future of Australian foodservice depends not only on how well we cook, but on how well we lead. Leadership can no longer be left to chance. It must be learned, practised and supported like any other skill that truly matters.
