Casual Chef

The Dorchester; Greater London; On-site; GBP 22,000 - 32,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Complimentary stays

Hotel discounts

Pension plan

Apprenticeships

Social events

Referral bonus £1000

Well-being support

Job summary

The Dorchester Hotel in London is seeking a Casual Chef to join our luxury kitchen, offering development through our award-winning learning academy and a path to craft, service, and leadership excellence.

You will work in a fine dining environment, participate in daily food prep, stock control, and maintain high standards, with shift-based hours and opportunities to grow within the Dorchester Collection.

Qualifications

• Experience as a chef in fine dining or luxury hotel.
• Understanding of kitchen operations, stock control, and section management.
• Strong organisational and multitasking skills during high-volume service periods.
• Knowledge of food safety, hygiene regulations, and best kitchen practices.

Responsibilities

• Assist kitchen team in their section to maintain high standards of food production.
• Participate in daily food preparations including portioning and waste control while adhering to recipes and portion sizes.
• Demonstrate flexibility and creativity in handling special requests and challenges during service.

Skills

Food preparation

Kitchen hygiene

English communication

Fine dining experience

Education

Culinary training certificate

Job description

Join us as a Casual Chef at The Dorchester Hotel, recognized as one of 'The Sunday Times Top 10 Best Places to Work for' in 2024-2026 and 'Hotel of the Year - London' at the 2024 AA Hospitality Awards. We continually strive to build and nurture a culture where inclusiveness is part of our DNA, reflected in our values of passion, personality, respect, working together, and creativity. We believe that a variety of perspectives enriches our culture and drives our success.

We care about your career and are known for having the absolute best people in the industry. When you join us as Casual Chef, you start a unique opportunity to become celebrated as the very best in your field. You'll learn not only from your fellow Legends, but also through our award-winning learning academy, so that you can achieve the highest standards of craft, service, and leadership and become a legend in your own story.

What you'll do

As Casual Chef, you'll love what you do and take pride in taking care of our guests:

• You will be responsible for assisting the kitchen team in their section to ensure the highest standards of food production.
• You will be responsible for participating in daily food preparations during their day. This will include portioning food products, utilizing food surpluses to control food costs; and ensuring all food preparations meet outline recipes including portion size, quality and quantity all to ensure our guests receives nothing but the best experience.
• You will also show flexibility and creativity in dealing with special requests and challenges that may arise during the day.

The items shared are the essence of a day in the life of our Casual Chef, but we will make sure you are provided with specifics on how we care for our hotel.

The operational hours of work are shift-based and we would require flexibility. These shifts are currently set as:

• 6am-3pm
• 7am-4pm
• 2pm-11pm
• 3pm-12am

What you'll bring

• Our values of, Passion, Personality, Respect, Working Together and Creativity guide us each and every day. As a Chef you'll have the opportunity to bring these to life and continue to create our legacy.
• Communication is what keeps our departments running perfectly. You have great communication skills with a strong customer service ethic.
• English is the primary language used in our hotel. You can comfortably communicate in this language.
• Previous experience as a chef in a fine dining or luxury hotel environment.
• An understanding of kitchen operations, stock control, and section management.
• Proven ability to work independently and as part of a larger brigade.
• Strong organisational and multitasking skills during high-volume service periods.
• Knowledge of food safety, hygiene regulations, and best kitchen practices

What you'll get

• Complimentary Stays: Enjoy complimentary stays with breakfast at Dorchester Collection Hotels every year.
• Discounts with ourhotels, and benefit from discounts at various high street and online shops
• Employee Perks: Enrol from day 1 into the Royal London Private Pension scheme (we contribute 8% towards your pension); Benefit from seasonal ticket loan, rental deposit scheme, private financial advice, and eye care vouchers.
• Training and Development: Advance in your career by accessing various apprenticeships from Level 2 to Hospitality Degree Level 5. We partner with outstanding nationally recognised Apprenticeship providers.
• Social Events: Participate in vibrant social events, including a summer party, winter ball, pub quizzes, and cultural and milestone recognition celebrations.
• Referral Bonus: Earn a £1000 bonus when you recommend a friend.
• Well-being Support: Access immediate well-being advice because we care about our employees.

We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and applicants. If you need us to do anything to support you during the recruitment process (such as adjustments to how you apply, alternative formats of information, or adjustments to the assessment process itself), please do call People & Culture team on 02073197011 or email [e-mail] so that we can discuss how we can support you through this process.