Job Description

Professional - Chef Manager

We are seeking an experienced and dynamic

Chef Manager

to take full operational and financial ownership of our school catering facility. This role is ideal for a creative and motivated leader with a passion for delivering high-quality food and exceptional service. You will play a key part in shaping the dining experience, driving standards, and inspiring your team to make a real impact within the school catering sector.

Key Responsibilities

Lead and inspire the catering team to deliver an outstanding dining experience for students and staff, in line with company standards. Oversee the preparation of fresh, nutritious, high-quality meals using sustainable ingredients. Drive menu development, ensuring creativity, seasonality, and nutritional value. Provide consistent guidance, coaching, and motivation to all kitchen staff. Take full responsibility for the catering operation, including stock control, food production, and effective labour management. Manage and improve all controllable costs to achieve financial targets. Increase sales through monthly promotions, themed events, and value-added initiatives. Build and maintain strong relationships with clients, customers, and school stakeholders. Ensure full compliance with company policies, procedures, and legislative requirements. Conduct regular audits to maintain the highest standards of food quality, safety, and hygiene.

About You - The Ideal Candidate

We are looking for someone who shares our commitment to excellence in school catering and brings the following qualities:

A natural, positive leader with strong teamwork and communication skills. Proven experience managing a team within a catering or hospitality environment. Craft-based cooking experience using fresh, high-quality ingredients. OND or HND qualification (preferred). Strong understanding of kitchen Health & Safety and food hygiene practices. Solid financial awareness, including gross profit management and meeting sales targets.

What We Offer

We provide every team member with the time, resources, and support they need to take pride in their work. In addition, you will benefit from:

Monday-Friday working pattern

- enjoy your weekends free.

35 hours per week

- 8am - 3pm, with

no late nights

.

39 term-time weeks

, giving you more time with friends and family. Competitive rate of

16 per hour

. Opportunities to grow within a fast-expanding company. Access to apprenticeships and development programmes through our dedicated Learning & Development team.
We are committed to safeguarding the welfare of children and young people. All successful applicants will be subject to an enhanced DBS check. Please note that this vacancy may close early depending on application volume.

About Us

We are a passionate school catering company with a mission to bring pride, creativity, and genuine care back into school kitchens across the UK. Our team is at the heart of everything we do--highly skilled, diverse, and united by a shared goal of raising standards in educational catering.

We maintain exceptional levels of food quality, kitchen safety, and operational efficiency through regular training and ongoing support. We welcome individuals with creativity, initiative, and ambition--people who want to grow with us and help shape the future of school dining.

If this sounds like you, we'd be excited to hear from you.

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Pay: 16.00 per hour

Expected hours: 35 per week

Work Location: In person