Job Description

Head Chef for The Boxford Restaurant - Newbury

Location: Boxford / Newbury

Employment Type: Full-Time Approx. 45 hours per week

Salary Package: Negotiable and structured around any fantastic individual.

About the Role

The Boxford is a vibrant, ambitious Mediterranean restaurant where seasonal creativity, precision, and excellence are at the heart of our culinary identity. As Head Chef, you will lead and inspire a high-performing kitchen team to deliver exceptional food, memorable experiences, and operational excellence. This role requires strong leadership, technical expertise, an obsession with detail, and the ability to maintain calm, focus, and professionalism within a dynamic kitchen environment.

You will shape the culinary direction of The Boxford - driving innovation, developing menus that celebrate flavour, and ensuring consistent delivery of outstanding dishes. You will also cultivate a warm, respectful, and collaborative team culture that supports growth, learning, and long-term development.

Key Responsibilities:

Leadership & Team Development

Inspire, lead, and motivate the kitchen team to achieve business goals and exceptional service standards. Mentor, coach, and train team members through regular 1:1s, PDPs, and performance management. Manage recruitment, interviewing, hiring, onboarding, and succession planning. Create a culture of excellence, learning, and mutual respect; uphold grooming, professionalism, and hygiene standards. Ensure high morale and team engagement through positive daily leadership.

Kitchen Operations & Standards

Manage day-to-day kitchen operations to ensure smooth, efficient service for approximately 65 covers (up to 90 in peak service).

Oversee food preparation, plating, and consistency to a multiple Rosette-level standard

. Maintain impeccable mise en place, production, cleanliness, and adherence to hygiene and food safety protocols. Ensure the kitchen remains clean, efficient, and compliant with all H&S legislation (COSHH, food safety, legal regulations, environmental policies). Operate and maintain all kitchen equipment to ensure safe and effective 24/7 operation.

Menu Development & Culinary Creativity

Lead on menu development, bringing seasonal, innovative, modern British flavours to life. Drive innovation and continuously improve culinary standards, techniques, and processes. Guide team members to cook and present dishes of exceptional quality, ensuring consistent guest satisfaction.

Stock, Budget & Profitability

Manage all food budgets, recipe costing, GP targets, and overall kitchen profitability.

Plan and manage ordering in line with anticipated business levels.

Oversee stock rotation, storage, food utilisation, portion control, and waste minimisation.

Administration & Compliance

Complete and oversee all kitchen administrative tasks including due diligence logs, compliance documentation, and daily checklists.

Monitor adherence to all kitchen policies and procedures and implement improvements where required.

Attend and conduct departmental meetings to ensure smooth operational communication across the business.

Manage rotas, shift coverage, and resource planning across restaurant, school, and events operations.

Anticipate guest needs and manage challenging service situations with professionalism and calm authority.

Why Join The Boxford?

A nurturing, collaborative environment where talent is recognised, supported, and developed.

Genuine opportunities for progression into senior leadership roles.

Ongoing training and development to support personal and professional growth.

A culture that celebrates initiative, curiosity, creativity, and attention to detail.

Benefits

Complimentary meals on shift Life Assurance 28 days holiday, increasing with length of service Recommend-a-friend scheme with significant referral bonuses Access to Perkbox, offering discounts across gyms, travel, shopping, gadgets, and more Reward programmes, long service awards, staff recognition, and performance incentives Workplace pension scheme Employee Assistance Programme & wellbeing hub Cycle to Work Scheme
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Pay: From 45,000.00 per year

Application question(s):

Have you worked as head chef to a rosette standard? Have you cooked mediterranean cuisine before and are looking to continue developing your mediterranean cooking?
Work Location: In person