Restaurant Associates UK
Head Chef - Monday - Friday
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Are you a creative and experienced Head Chef or Sous Chef looking for your next step, with a passion for delivering outstanding hospitality experiences?
We’re looking for a talented, hands-on professional to lead our kitchen team and elevate the dining experience in a prestigious corporate setting.
We are seeking an experienced and passionate individual to lead our kitchen team in delivering exceptional food and hospitality experiences for our prestigious clients. This role requires a hands-on leader who thrives in a fast-paced environment, managing both fine dining hospitality and staff restaurant services, while adapting to the natural peaks and troughs of an up-and-down business.
The role is primarily Monday to Friday, offering a great work-life balance, with some evening work required to support hospitality events and functions.
This is an exciting opportunity to showcase your culinary creativity, organisational skills, and ability to inspire and manage a team while maintaining consistently high standards.
Key Responsibilities
- Oversee the daily kitchen operations, ensuring high standards of food preparation, presentation, and hospitality delivery.
- Take a hands-on approach in the kitchen, leading by example during busy service periods.
- Develop and deliver innovative, seasonal menus, using fresh, locally sourced ingredients and responding to evolving food trends.
- Manage a diverse and dynamic workload, confidently adapting to periods of high-volume hospitality alongside quieter service times.
- Lead, train, and inspire a team of chefs and kitchen staff, fostering a positive, supportive, and high-performing team environment.
- Effectively plan staffing and resources to meet the demands of a fluctuating business model.
- Ensure full compliance with health & safety regulations and food hygiene standards.
- Manage kitchen budgets, food costs, and stock control to maximise profitability.
- Work closely with front-of-house teams to deliver a seamless and high-quality hospitality experience.
- Continuously drive standards, creativity, and innovation across all food offerings.
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Qualifications
- Proven experience as a Head Chef, Sous Chef, or in a senior culinary role, ideally within contract catering or high-volume hospitality environments.
- Strong hands-on leadership style with the ability to motivate, develop, and manage a team effectively.
- Demonstrated experience working within hospitality-focused environments, delivering high-end food and service.
- Ability to adapt to changing business levels and manage workload accordingly.
- Excellent culinary skills combined with a creative and innovative approach to menu development.
- Strong organisational and communication skills.
- Solid understanding of health & safety and food hygiene standards.
- Experience managing budgets and controlling costs effectively.
Benefits
We ensure you're rewarded for all your hard work, which is why we offer a comprehensive benefits package which includes but is not limited to:
- Contributory pension scheme
- Grow your career with our Career Pathways and MyLearning programmes
- Quick access for you and your immediate family to a Digital GP, and wider healthcare benefits
- Exclusive travel discounts with TUI, Expedia, Booking.com and many more
- Save money on your food shop with discounts on Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons and many more
- Up to 44% off cinema tickets to enjoy your favourite blockbuster
- Receive cash rewards every time you spend and use them on a wide range of brands
- Un-wind with us with free wellness, mindfulness and exercise classes
- You can share all discounts and offers with your friends and families
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About Us
Restaurant Associates provides brilliant hospitality through our food, drink and services. We work with our partners and collaborate with our clients to achieve great things together. Every day, our teams of passionate hospitality professionals strive for excellence in delivering employee dining and hospitality to some of the UK's leading workplace as well as inspiring exceptional experiences in iconic cultural and heritage destinations.
Job Reference: com/2406/75270001/52757964/SU #RA Group
Compass Group UK&I is committed to fostering an environment where every individual can truly be themselves at work and has equal opportunities to advance in their careers. We strive to build a culture that respects and celebrates the unique talents, beliefs, backgrounds, and abilities of all our team members. We want our colleagues to feel valued, empowered to reach their full potential, and to thrive - because diversity is our strength!
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