Arcade Food Director

Arcade; Greater London; On-site; GBP 81,000 - 99,000; Full time

Job summary

Arcade is seeking a Food Director to own and lead our food brand portfolio across multiple sites and emerging brands. This role focuses on scouting the next wave of chefs and creators, ensuring every dish aligns with Arcade’s culinary vision and elevates guest experiences.

The Food Director will lead culinary teams, drive innovation, and maintain high standards while balancing creativity with profitability in a dynamic, multi-site environment.

Qualifications

• Proven leadership experience in senior culinary roles (Food Director or higher).
• Track record scouting and partnering with chefs and food brands in the UK and internationally.
• Strong commercial and financial acumen with ability to scale multi-site food businesses.

Responsibilities

• Curate a global Brand Pipeline: scout and onboard high-potential food brands for Arcade’s portfolio.
• Shape a Global Food Vision: craft and evolve Arcade’s culinary landscape across locations.
• Drive Product Creation: collaborate with chefs to create new products and roll out across sites.
• Lead Kitchen Culture: foster a high-performing, collaborative kitchen environment.
• Uphold Exceptional Standards: ensure best-in-class food quality and presentation across all sites.
• Create and Evolve Menus: design menus with chefs for seasonal updates that are commercially effective.
• Own Financial Performance: manage budgets and food costs balancing creativity with profitability.
• Develop Leadership: mentor senior kitchen leaders to deliver Arcade’s vision across brands.

Job description

Salary: £90,000 Per Year

We’re Hiring a Food Director at Arcade

Salary: £90,000 Per Year

Join Our Leadership Team - Lead The Next Wave Of Food Creation

About Arcade

Arcade is a collection of vibrant dining destinations and a platform for building the next generation of hospitality brands. Our landmark venues across London bring together chef-led restaurants, bars, and open kitchens in immersive, design-forward spaces where food, music, and atmosphere combine to create unforgettable guest experiences.

Alongside our venues sits Arcade Create, our brand development platform. Through Arcade Create, we partner with ambitious chefs and founders to turn original ideas into living, scalable brands-launching, testing, and growing concepts within our high-footfall locations. Brands developed through the platform include Manna, Solis, Hero, and many more, with successful concepts expanding beyond Arcade into standalone locations around the world.

Together, Arcade and Arcade Create form a unique ecosystem where talent is championed, ideas are realised, and guests experience what’s next in food.

The Role

We’re excited to be hiring a Food Director to own and lead our food brand portfolio. This role focuses on scouting the next wave of chefs and creators.

An essential requirement for this position, as the Food Director having a love and deep interest for food that extends well beyond your professional career is a must; food is an important part of how you live and who you are. We’re talking about having a fascination for global food and your finger on the pulse when it comes to popular food cultures, up and coming food brands and finding the next chef partners to work with.

The Food Director will be responsible for ensuring every dish delivers on our culinary vision, inspiring and challenging teams to continuously elevate the quality of our food and the overall guest experience across all locations.

About You

Proven Expertise: A true leader with extensive experience in senior culinary leadership roles (e.g. Food Director level and above) within a high-quality, multi-site, or multi-brand environment.

Track record in: Scouting, high potential chef partners and food brands with the UK and internationally.

Commercial Acumen: Strong operational and financial expertise, with a track record of running successful, scalable food businesses.

Creative yet Pragmatic: Ability to balance bold creativity with the demands of consistency, scalability, and profitability in a high-growth, multi-site operation.

Michelin Star Bonus: Experience in a Michelin-starred kitchen or equivalent high-Caliber setting is highly desirable, showcasing your ability to deliver excellence.

Key Responsibilities

• Curate a global Brand Pipeline: Scout, assess, and onboard high-potential food brands that strengthen Arcade’s portfolio, ensuring each concept aligns with our vision and market direction.
• Shape a Global Food Vision: Define and continually evolve Arcade’s food landscape, drawing from global cuisines and street-level food culture to keep our concepts bold, relevant, and forward-thinking.
• Drive Product Creation: Partner with chefs and collaborators to create new food products and ensure smooth rollout across all sites, maintaining brand clarity and consistency from development to execution.
• Lead Kitchen Culture: Build and maintain a high-performing kitchen environment that champions talent, collaboration, and accountability across all teams.
• Uphold Exceptional Standards: Guarantee best-in-class food quality, consistency, and presentation across every site, ensuring each dish reflects Arcade’s standards.
• Create and Evolve Menus: Work with chefs and brand partners to design menus, launch new offerings, and deliver seasonal updates that keep our portfolio fresh and commercially effective.
• Own Financial Performance: Manage budgets, food costs, and profitability while balancing creative ambition with commercial discipline and operational reality.
• Develop Leadership: Mentor and develop senior kitchen leaders, shaping a cohesive, scalable team capable of delivering Arcade’s vision across multiple brands and locations.