FINE DINING · CASUAL DINING · QSR · CLOUD KITCHENS · BAR & BEVERAGE
Premium Restaurants & F&B
Executive Search
46+ F&B Leadership Placements — with an average 88 Days time-to-placement and a 12-month candidate guarantee.
46+
F&B Leadership Placements
88 Days
Avg. Time-to-Placement
89%
Offer Acceptance Rate
12 Months
Candidate Guarantee
Specialisation withinHospitality & Travel·Crafting World-Class Experiences
Premium restaurants and F&B in India span fine dining (Indian Accent, Masque, Bombay Canteen, Americano, Megu, Wasabi, Seefah, Le Cirque Signature, Veda, Bukhara), Michelin-inspired / World-50-Best-aspiring (Gaggan Anand–affiliated, ZLB 23, Kitchen Table), premium-casual chains (Social / SOCIAL Lite, Smoke House Deli, Olive, Togai, Yauatcha India, Hakkasan India, KOKO, Toast & Tonic, Mustard), QSR (McDonald’s India — WestLife, HRPL / Hardcastle, KFC India — Devyani / Sapphire, Burger King India, Jubilant FoodWorks — Domino’s, Dunkin’, Hong’s Kitchen, Starbucks India — TATA Starbucks, Pizza Hut — Devyani, Subway), cloud-kitchen / delivery-first (Rebel Foods — Faasos, Behrouz, Oven Story, Wendy’s India, EatClub, Box8, Biryani By Kilo), casual-dining chains (Barbeque Nation, Speciality Restaurants — Mainland China / Oh! Calcutta, SFX Azure, Mahesh Lunch Home, Sagar Ratna), premium bars and pubs (1Q1, Sidecar, Soda Bottle Opener Wala, Bar Bar, Toit).
Is This Your Situation?
If any of these sound familiar, you're speaking to the right practice.
→A QSR master-franchisee sought a new CEO for multi-brand expansion — placed in 94 days
→A cloud-kitchen platform hired a COO to improve unit economics — closed in 86 days
→A fine-dining restaurant group needed a Culinary Director — placed in 78 days
→A listed restaurant group needed a CFO post-IPO — closed in 92 days
Our Premium Restaurants & F&B Track Record
Situation:
A QSR master-franchisee sought a new CEO for multi-brand expansion across 1,200 existing stores.
Outcome:
Placed a candidate from a rival QSR master-franchisee in 94 days; store count grew by 320 in year one; SSSG recovered to +8% from flat.
Situation:
A cloud-kitchen platform needed a COO to tighten unit economics after investor P&L review.
Outcome:
Placed a candidate with prior QSR and cloud-kitchen leadership in 86 days; contribution margin improved 380 bps in 9 months; kitchen-utilisation lifted from 58% to 78%.
All client details anonymised. Specific mandates available for reference under NDA upon request.
Our Premium Restaurants & F&B Practice
Premium restaurants and F&B in India span fine dining (Indian Accent, Masque, Bombay Canteen, Americano, Megu, Wasabi, Seefah, Le Cirque Signature, Veda, Bukhara), Michelin-inspired / World-50-Best-aspiring (Gaggan Anand–affiliated, ZLB 23, Kitchen Table), premium-casual chains (Social / SOCIAL Lite, Smoke House Deli, Olive, Togai, Yauatcha India, Hakkasan India, KOKO, Toast & Tonic, Mustard), QSR (McDonald’s India — WestLife, HRPL / Hardcastle, KFC India — Devyani / Sapphire, Burger King India, Jubilant FoodWorks — Domino’s, Dunkin’, Hong’s Kitchen, Starbucks India — TATA Starbucks, Pizza Hut — Devyani, Subway), cloud-kitchen / delivery-first (Rebel Foods — Faasos, Behrouz, Oven Story, Wendy’s India, EatClub, Box8, Biryani By Kilo), casual-dining chains (Barbeque Nation, Speciality Restaurants — Mainland China / Oh! Calcutta, SFX Azure, Mahesh Lunch Home, Sagar Ratna), premium bars and pubs (1Q1, Sidecar, Soda Bottle Opener Wala, Bar Bar, Toit).
Gladwin’s Premium Restaurants & F&B practice places Restaurant Group CEOs, Brand Heads, Head Chefs / Culinary Directors, Heads of Operations, Heads of Supply Chain, Heads of Marketing and Chief Financial Officers. Every mandate factors FSSAI compliance, state-excise architecture for bar programmes, cloud-kitchen unit-economics vs dine-in P&L and the post-pandemic recalibration of premium dining.
As a specialist CEO mandates in restaurant groups, our practice also covers CFO placements in listed F&B, our practice also covers Hospitality & Travel practice overview, and as a source for Hospitality — travel & tourism / destination.
The Premium Restaurants & F&B Landscape Today
Indian organised F&B crossed ₹2,80,000 Cr in 2025 with QSR and casual-dining leading unit growth, cloud-kitchens scaling despite 2023–24 consolidation, premium-dining rebuilding after pandemic reset, and bar-and-beverage programmes now 25–40% of fine-dining EBITDA. Jubilant FoodWorks (Domino’s) crossed ₹6,200 Cr; WestLife (McDonald’s West / South) ₹3,400 Cr; Devyani (KFC, Pizza Hut, Costa) ₹4,700 Cr; Sapphire (KFC North / East) ₹3,100 Cr; Restaurant Brands Asia (Burger King) ₹1,750 Cr. Speciality restaurants and Barbeque Nation operate mid-scale organised segments. TATA Starbucks crossed ₹1,400 Cr across 460+ stores.
Key Leadership Challenges in Premium Restaurants & F&B
Unit-economics discipline — dine-in vs cloud-kitchen vs delivery P&L architecture
Premium-dining recovery — fine-dining must rebuild covers / ADR post-pandemic shift
Bar-and-beverage programme — state-excise navigation and alcohol-licence architecture
Chef franchise and celebrity-chef economics
Delivery-platform commission architecture (Swiggy / Zomato 20–30%) and direct-ordering investment
Supply chain for cold / frozen ingredients, imported fine-food and bar stock
What We Look For in Premium Restaurants & F&B Leaders
Across mandates, premium restaurants & f&b leadership tends to cluster into a small set of archetypes. We calibrate each search against the profile your board actually needs — not the one most commonly available.
The Restaurant-Group CEO
A senior leader with 15–22 years across QSR / casual-dining / premium-casual groups, multi-brand portfolio stewardship, unit-economics discipline and listed / PE-reporting governance rhythm.
The Brand Head
A brand president / brand head with single-brand-scale-up credibility, 50–800-store stewardship, marketing-and-operations dual fluency and franchisee-relationship discipline where applicable.
The Culinary Director
A chef-and-culinary-director with fine-dining / premium-casual menu-architecture credibility, kitchen-operations discipline and chef-and-supplier ecosystem franchise.
The Operations Head
An operations leader with multi-unit-restaurant-operations experience, store-level-P&L discipline, workforce-management credibility and SSC (Standard Service Charter) rollout stewardship.
The Supply-Chain Leader
A supply-chain leader with cold-chain / frozen-logistics credentials, supplier-development stewardship and multi-SKU inventory-optimisation discipline at scale.
The Cloud-Kitchen Operator
A cloud-kitchen leader with delivery-first unit-economics architecture, multi-brand-in-kitchen stewardship, Swiggy / Zomato partnership discipline and direct-ordering platform experience.
Regulatory & Compensation Context
Regulatory Backdrop
Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 with FSSAI licensing, labelling and advertising rules; FSSAI Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations 2011; state Shops & Establishments Acts; Factories Act where commissary / central-kitchen applies; state Excise Rules for bar / beverage operations (each state has distinct alcohol licensing — Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi, Telangana, Tamil Nadu); Fire-NOC (NBC 2016 + state rules); state Municipal / Health Department licensing; Legal Metrology for portion / weight / price displays; Trade Marks Act 1999 for brand / chef-name IP; Companies Act 2013; GST (5% for non-AC, 5% without ITC / 18% with ITC for AC restaurants, 18% for bar service); FDI 100% in F&B under automatic route; Bureau of Indian Standards for packaging.
Compensation Architecture
Restaurant Group CEOs: ₹4–12 Cr fixed + STI + ESOP (significant at listed platforms like Jubilant, Devyani, Sapphire, WestLife); Brand Presidents: ₹2.5–5 Cr + brand-P&L STI; Culinary Directors / Head Chefs: ₹1.5–5 Cr (premium on celebrity-chef franchise); Heads of Operations: ₹2–4.5 Cr + store-P&L-linked STI; CFO at listed groups: ₹3–7 Cr + ESOP; Heads of Supply Chain: ₹1.8–3.5 Cr; Cloud-kitchen operators: ₹2–4 Cr + ESOP (heavy variable).
Roles We Typically Place
Why Gladwin International Leadership Advisors for Premium Restaurants & F&B
Restaurant Group CEO / MD searches
Brand Head / Brand President searches at multi-brand groups
Head Chef / Culinary Director searches for fine-dining and premium-casual
Head of Operations (Restaurant / QSR / Cloud-Kitchen) searches
Head of Supply Chain searches
Head of Marketing / Brand searches
Chief Financial Officer at listed / PE-backed restaurant groups
Organisations We Serve
QSR master-franchisees — Jubilant FoodWorks (Domino’s), WestLife Development (McDonald’s), Devyani International (KFC / Pizza Hut / Costa), Sapphire Foods (KFC / Pizza Hut), Restaurant Brands Asia (Burger King), TATA Starbucks, TATA SmartFoodz
Casual-dining chains — Barbeque Nation, Speciality Restaurants (Mainland China / Oh! Calcutta), Sagar Ratna, Moti Mahal Delux
Cloud-kitchen platforms — Rebel Foods (Faasos / Behrouz / Oven Story), EatClub (Box8), Biryani By Kilo, Wow! Momo
Premium-casual / bar chains — Impresario (Social, Smoke House Deli, Salt Water Café), Olive Bar & Kitchen, SOHO House
Fine-dining / chef-led — Indian Accent (Old World Hospitality), Masque (IndigoKitchen-backed), Bombay Canteen (Hunger Inc), Gaggan Anand network, Tres-Dine
Global F&B brands expanding India — Hakkasan, Yauatcha, Zuma, Le Cirque, NOBU (planned)
Premium Restaurants & F&B leaders assessed on the Hospitality “PINNACLE” framework
Seven dimensions calibrated for hospitality and travel leadership. Dimensions are calibrated for premium restaurants & f&b mandates where relevant.
Parent Practice
Return to Hospitality & Travel
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