Lead Chef – Café and Catering

Location: Annfield Plain
Working pattern: 35 hours per week, with flexibility to work additional hours as required
Salary: £25,480 per annum

About the role

We're looking for an experienced Lead Chef to oversee all aspects of our café kitchen and catering operations at Greenhouse Business Centre. This is a hands-on role where you'll lead by example, preparing fresh, high-quality food for daily café trade and conference or meeting catering. You'll manage kitchen operations, ensure full compliance with food safety regulations, and lead a small team to deliver excellent food and service standards.

What you'll be doing

Lead all kitchen operations for the café and catering services
Prepare and cook a variety of dishes including sandwiches, soups, bakes, and hot lunches
Design, plan, and cost seasonal menus for the café and catering events
Ensure all food is prepared to high quality, taste, and presentation standards
Maintain consistency, efficiency, and attention to detail during service
Plan and deliver catering for on-site conferences, meetings, and special events
Liaise with business centre staff to meet client requirements and event timelines
Ensure catering deliveries are accurate, on time, and professionally presented
Take full responsibility for kitchen hygiene, cleanliness, and safety
Implement and maintain HACCP procedures and food hygiene records
Conduct and document all required daily, weekly, and monthly checks
Ensure all staff follow food safety, allergen, and cleaning protocols
Manage ordering, delivery, and storage of food and supplies
Monitor stock levels, control wastage, and operate within agreed budgets
Supervise and support Catering Assistant(s) and any temporary staff
Provide on-the-job training, guidance, coaching and feedback
Foster a positive, efficient and customer-focused kitchen culture
Conduct regular one-to-one meetings and performance reviews for team members
Take ownership of operational issues, complaints and service challenges
Communicate issues, risks and proposed solutions to management

What you'll bring

Proven experience as a Lead Chef or Senior Chef in a café, hospitality or catering environment
Strong culinary skills with the ability to design, cost and deliver varied menus
Excellent understanding of food hygiene, allergen control and HACCP systems
Strong leadership, communication and interpersonal skills
Excellent planning, organisation and time management skills
Ability to balance café service, catering orders, administration, stock management and staff supervision
Strong administrative and record-keeping skills with attention to detail
Competence in Microsoft Office applications, particularly Outlook, Word and Excel
Food Hygiene Level 3 (minimum)
A proactive, solution-focused approach with the ability to work independently and take ownership

What's on offer

35 hours per week with flexibility to work additional hours as required
A hands-on role leading a small catering team
Opportunity to design and deliver varied menus for café and catering clients
Work within a community-focused organisation

Additional information

You'll comply with all organisational policies and procedures, including safeguarding responsibilities for children, young people and vulnerable adults. You may be required to work outside normal office hours.

You may have experience of the following: Head Chef, Senior Chef, Kitchen Manager, Catering Manager, Executive Chef, Sous Chef, Chef de Partie, Food Service Manager, Culinary Lead, Catering Supervisor

REF-(Apply online only)