At The Design Group, we believe hospitality is about more than design. It is about the stories behind it. At the centre of those stories is the food. As we prepare to launch Waimarino Lodge beside Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown, we are on a quest to find a Group Lead Chef who will shape every aspect of our culinary vision.

A Role Like No Other

This is not a standard head chef position. The person we are looking for will design the kitchen from the stove up, creating a layout and flow that supports both creativity and fire-led cooking. They will oversee food across multiple venues including Waimarino Lodge, the Waimarino Residences, and The Theodore Hotel in Wanaka. From intimate in-villa meals to communal fireside dinners, this chef will lead it all.

They will also collaborate with our in-house creative studio and become the face of Crave, a documentary series celebrating the ingredient-led journey from lake to plate, from wild herbs to smoke and flame.

“We don’t just want someone to run a kitchen,” says Andrew McIntosh, Owner and Director of The Design Group. “We want someone who is bold enough to set the fire, connect with the land, and shape a philosophy that becomes the heartbeat of Waimarino Lodge.”

Who We’re Looking For

We want someone who is:

• Hands-on, instinctive, passionate and decisive around the fire
• Grounded in nature and respectful of ingredients, eager to forage, fish, preserve and plan with the seasons
• A leader from within who builds a strong kitchen culture and leads by example
• Comfortable designing a high-performance kitchen that encourages creativity and flow
• Excited by storytelling, where food is more than flavour and each dish carries a narrative

You do not need a Michelin star to shine here. You need heart, integrity, courage and vision.

“This role is for a chef who doesn’t need tweezers to plate food,” McIntosh says. “It’s for someone who finds as much joy in talking to a farmer in the field as they do serving a plate to a guest.”

If a day that starts with lighting fires and ends with tasting wild boar preserved over summer feels like the best day you can imagine, this could be your place.

Why This Role Matters

Food at Waimarino Lodge is not an amenity. It is the expression of place. Surrounded by native bush, alpine peaks and the morning mist of Lake Wakatipu, food here connects guests to nature, to the seasons, and to people. The fisherman who calls you when the trout are running. The grower whose white asparagus you have been waiting for all year. The peppers you preserved in summer because you knew wild boar season was coming.

“Food is the thread that ties together everything we’re building,” McIntosh explains. “The architecture, the land, the community — it all comes alive when our guests sit down to a meal that tells the story of this region.”

Our lodge represents a new benchmark in luxury accommodation, with green-roofed villas, sustainable materials, shared chef’s tables, a micro-distillery and fire pits under the Southern Cross. Food is the narrative thread that brings it all together.

Is This You?

If you wake up thinking about riverside trout, smokehouses and gardens. If you believe in food with provenance and soul. If you want to build your own kitchen, your own team and your own story in one of the world’s most remarkable locations, we want to hear from you.

Visit www.thedesigngroup.co.nz/chef to download the full role description and discover more.