Peak Edge Hotel
Head Chef
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Put your mark on Peak Edge
Peak Edge Hotel is a destination hotel and restaurant on the edge of the Peak District, home to the Red Lion Restaurant and a thriving weddings and events operation. At the heart of Peak Edge is a genuine passion for food.
We care about where our ingredients come from, how they are looked after and how they reach the plate. A significant part of our food identity comes from our own Walton Lodge Estate, where we rear and grow produce for our kitchens, including beef, lamb and pork, alongside seasonal ingredients from the estate and a trusted network of local suppliers.
The opportunity
We are now looking for an exceptionally passionate Head Chef to take ownership of our entire culinary operation. This is more than a role running a kitchen. It is an opportunity for someone to raise standards, develop people, shape our food and leave a lasting mark on Peak Edge.
You will lead two dedicated kitchens - the Red Lion Restaurant and our weddings, events and banqueting kitchen. Bringing them together through one clear food philosophy, strong leadership and consistently high standards.
We are looking for someone who takes genuine ownership. Someone who sees the bigger picture. The food, the people, the organisation, the commercial performance and the guest experience and who continually looks for ways to make each one better.
You will shape our menus and food direction while staying true to what matters most to us: seasonality, freshness, provenance and exceptional ingredients treated with respect.
You will create a kitchen culture where people care about what they do, understand what great looks like and are proud of the food they produce. Developing chefs and building a strong management team will be just as important as the food itself.
This remains a hands-on role. You will lead from the front when service demands it, while building the people, systems and standards that allow the operation to perform brilliantly every day. We are looking for someone who wants to build something, not simply manage something that already exists.
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Our food
Our approach starts with the ingredient. Through Walton Lodge Estate, we have a genuine connection to the food we serve. We rear and grow produce for our kitchens and work with trusted local suppliers to make the most of what is available throughout the seasons. Our cooking is seasonal, confident and ingredient-led, with strong classical foundations. Great produce should be treated with respect, cooked with skill and allowed to speak for itself.
In the Red Lion, that means delivering a refined restaurant experience worthy of our setting and our produce. Across weddings, events and private functions, it means delivering that same quality and care consistently, whatever the volume.
The role
You will have overall responsibility for the food direction, performance and people across both kitchens.
This will include:
- Developing seasonal, ingredient-led menus across the property
- Making the very best use of produce from Walton Lodge Estate
- Maintaining exceptional standards across restaurant dining, breakfast, weddings and events
- Leading, developing and retaining a strong kitchen team
- Building a culture of pride, professionalism, accountability and development
- Ensuring excellent organisation, preparation and communication
- Planning effectively around restaurant service, weddings and large events
- Managing food costs, labour, purchasing, stock and kitchen performance
- Working closely with suppliers, the Estate team and wider hotel management
- Maintaining excellent food safety and compliance standards
The expectation is not simply to maintain what is here. You will be expected to develop it.
About you
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You will already have significant experience in a quality-led kitchen environment and understand that an exceptional hotel food operation requires more than being an excellent cook. You may be an established Head Chef or Executive Head Chef, or an exceptional senior chef ready to take complete ownership of a larger operation.
You will be:
- Passionate about seasonal food, fresh ingredients and excellent British produce
- Experienced in leading and developing a strong kitchen brigade
- Comfortable overseeing multiple kitchens and different styles of service
- Experienced in quality restaurant cooking alongside weddings, events or banqueting
- Commercially aware and organised
- Hands-on, visible and calm under pressure
- Someone who sets high standards and has the consistency to maintain them
- A natural leader who enjoys developing people
- Proud of what they do and committed to making those around them better
Most importantly, you will care deeply about both the food and the people behind it.
A role for the long term
We are not looking for someone to simply fill a Head Chef position. We are looking for someone who sees the potential at Peak Edge and wants to build something they are proud of.
Someone who can take exceptional estate and local produce, create food people remember, develop talented chefs and establish standards that become part of our culture.
This is an opportunity to put your mark on Peak Edge and to shape our food, raise our standards and build a culinary operation with the quality, character and foundations to stand the test of time.
If you are an ambitious, experienced chef who wants genuine ownership, loves great ingredients and is looking for somewhere to make a lasting difference, we would love to hear from you. Peak Edge is ready for its next chapter. We are looking for the chef who wants to help lead it.
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