Job Purpose

The Head – Food & Beverages (F&B) will lead the entire food service operations of the hospital with a commitment to delivering nutritious, hygienic, patient-appropriate meals while bringing in luxury hospitality standards of quality, service, presentation, and customization. This role blends clinical nutritional sensitivity with five-star service experience, ensuring excellence in all aspects of patient, attendant, staff, and guest food services.

Key Responsibilities:

1. F&B Operations Management

• Lead and manage daily operations of patient meals, cafeteria services, staff dining, VIP meals, doctors’ lounges, and visitor F&B areas.
• Ensure timely, diet-compliant, and hygienic food delivery to patients in coordination with the Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics team.
• Implement standard recipes, presentation norms, portioning, and packaging practices aligned with clinical needs.

2. Premium Hospitality Service Standards

• Integrate luxury hotel service standards in food presentation, tray setups, staff grooming, and patient engagement.
• Design premium menus and service protocols for VIP suites, international patients, and hospital events.
• Build and maintain a "Room Service" style patient F&B model while maintaining compliance with clinical prescriptions.

3. Quality, Hygiene & Safety Compliance

• Ensure 100% adherence to FSSAI norms, hospital infection control standards, NABH/JCI requirements, and internal hygiene SOPs.
• Conduct regular audits of food production, storage, transport, and service areas to ensure zero compromise on quality.
• Implement pest control, personal hygiene, and kitchen sanitation protocols in coordination with Infection Control and Quality teams

4. Menu Design & Nutritional Collaboration

• Collaborate with Clinical Nutritionists to plan therapeutic menus across all medical diets including diabetic, renal, cardiac, soft, and enteral nutrition.
• Develop rotational menus for patients, staff, and guests with a focus on taste, nutrition, and variety.
• Innovate on seasonal, regional, festive, and immunity-boosting menus for special occasions or patient recovery themes.

5. Vendor & Kitchen Operations Management

• Manage kitchen infrastructure (central kitchen or unit kitchen), including equipment upkeep, layout efficiency, and HACCP practices.
• Liaise with F&B vendors, raw material suppliers, and outsourced food service partners, if applicable, ensuring cost-effective procurement and service SLAs.
• Monitor food cost, yield management, inventory levels, and recipe standardization.

6. People Leadership & Training

• Lead a disciplined, well-groomed, and service-oriented F&B team (chefs, stewards, kitchen assistants).
• Design and deliver training programs in food safety, customer service, menu knowledge, and empathy in patient interaction.
• Recruit and mentor talent with hotel background sensibilities, upskilled to deliver in a hospital environment.

7. Guest & Patient Experience Management

• Develop patient feedback loops, satisfaction surveys, and meal customization processes.
• Handle special dietary requests, meal complaints, and service recovery with discretion and personal follow-up.
• Ensure personalization and dignity in service, especially for long-stay, critical, and palliative care patients.

8. Budgeting, Planning & Reporting

• Develop and manage the annual F&B budget including Capex and Opex planning.
• Track and report F&B KPIs – patient meal satisfaction, food cost percentage, wastage control, and hygiene audit scores.
• Align food services planning with hospital occupancy forecasts, festival calendars, and operational needs.

Candidate Profile:

Education:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Hotel Management, Culinary Arts, or Hospitality Administration
• Certifications in FSSAI, HACCP, or Hospital Food Service Management (preferred)

Experience:

• 12 plus years of experience in Food & Beverage operations
• At least 2–5 years in a senior leadership role in luxury hotel F&B operations
• Exposure to hospital, healthcare, airline catering, or institutional food services is an added advantage

Preferred Background:

• Professionals from Taj, Oberoi, Leela, ITC, Marriott, Hyatt or Hilton (A Five Star rated Property) will only be considered

Key Competencies:

• Service orientation with empathy for patient needs
• Strong culinary knowledge and ability to innovate within therapeutic constraints
• High standards of hygiene and food safety
• Leadership presence, discipline, and people development skills
• Operational excellence with a sharp eye for detail
• Collaborative mindset with clinicians, nutritionists, and hospital staff