🧘 Head Chef Wanted — Vegetarian & Ayurvedic Kitchen at a Yoga Retreat, Paradise Island, Bahamas

Hiring company: Sivananda Ashram Source: ChefJobs Abroad 🍽 Opportunity Founded in 1968 and still serving 100+ daily guests and residents on Paradise Island, the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat is hiring a Head Chef to run its kitchen around a strict yogic and Ayurvedic lacto-vegetarian diet — no meat, no fish, no eggs, built instead around nourishment that supports the retreat's yoga classes, meditation, and residential wellness programs. The hook: this isn't resort vegetarian cooking as a menu option, it's the entire operating philosophy, working alongside the Lead Head Chef/Culinary Operations Manager and stepping up to run the kitchen fully in their absence. 👨‍🍳 Role & Responsibilities Operate as chef in the retreat kitchen, holding food quality, consistency, and presentation to the Ashram's standards Develop diverse menus across cuisines within a strict yogic and Ayurvedic lacto-vegetarian framework Oversee cooking, prep, and presentation to maintain consistency across every service Train and supervise kitchen support staff for both meal prep and cleanup Oversee food service operations, ensuring food safety and availability throughout serving times Ensure kitchen and staff comply with all health and safety regulations Develop weekly meal plans with detailed recipes to support accurate food ordering Prepare special diets to specific guidelines as needed Maintain cleanliness, sanitation, and organisation across the kitchen, stewarding areas, and outlet coolers Forecast and order food, ensure proper receiving and storage, minimise waste, and conduct daily inventories Assist ashram leadership in developing new menu concepts that support the retreat's wider mission 🌎 ChefJobs Abroad Analysis Paradise Island puts this kitchen in the same postcard geography as Nassau's mega-resorts, but the day-to-day couldn't be more different — no casino floor, no à la carte service rush, just a rhythm built around yoga classes, meditation, and residential retreat guests who came specifically for this pace and this diet. Running an entirely lacto-vegetarian, Ayurvedic-informed kitchen for 100+ people daily is a genuine specialty, not a dietary accommodation bolted onto a standard menu, and it makes this a distinctive line for a chef's resume in an industry where vegetarian expertise at this depth is genuinely rare. This suits a chef who wants their cooking to serve a wellness mission rather than a hospitality brand, and who's comfortable working inside a religious institution's rhythms and values as part of the job. ✅ Best Fit Chefs with deep vegetarian cooking expertise across international cuisines, within a lacto-vegetarian, Ayurvedic-informed framework Chefs who want their kitchen work connected to a wellness or spiritual mission, not just hospitality service Experienced cooks comfortable stepping fully into a Head Chef role in the Lead Head Chef's absence Chefs able to adapt to and respect a religious institution's environment and daily rhythms Detail-oriented planners comfortable building weekly meal plans, forecasting, and inventory from scratch Bahamian nationals, or those with an existing right to work in the Bahamas — a hard eligibility requirement, not a preference Not a fit for chefs seeking a conventional restaurant or resort pace, or who aren't drawn to vegetarian cuisine specifically