Chef De Partie

John Lewis Partnership; Cookham Rise; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

John Lewis Partnership is seeking an experienced chef to lead the kitchen team, ensuring exceptional food quality and presentation across shifts. You will train junior chefs, manage stock and orders, and uphold all hygiene, allergen, and safety standards in a fast-paced environment.

With a customer‑focused mindset, you will drive sales through menu accuracy and front‑of‑house collaboration, while representing the Partnership with professionalism and care for guests and fellow Partners.

Qualifications

• Proven chef qualifications (City & Guilds, BTEC HNC) and professional cookery training.
• Ability to instruct kitchen team and give clear feedback to front‑of‑house.
• Maintain high hygiene and safety standards in a fast-paced kitchen.
• Ability to foster mutual trust and respect within a team.
• Quick, confident decision-making to resolve kitchen issues.

Responsibilities

• Plan and deliver a food offer that aligns with current trends and customer demand, maintaining exceptional presentation standards.
• Train and develop junior chefs and kitchen porters, including specialised skills like fishmongery and butchery.
• Ensure all legislative requirements are met, including allergen management, food safety policies, and health & safety standards.
• Conduct daily compliance checks (fridge temperatures, cleaning schedules, PPE) and manage kitchen operations in the absence of senior chefs.
• Help achieve sales targets by managing food availability and upselling knowledge to front‑of‑house staff.
• Manage food orders with accuracy to minimise wastage and maximise profit margins.
• Represent the Partnership and provide a consistently outstanding guest and colleague experience.

Skills

Team leadership

Food safety

Decision making

Staff coaching

Allergen management

Education

City & Guilds diplomas in professional cookery

BTEC HNC in professional cookery

Job description

About the role

Hours of work - 45 hrs per week, Earliest start time 06:00 and latest finish time 21:30. Working 5 out of 7 days including weekends 11:00 - 21:00.

Key Responsibilities

• Assisting the Head and Sous Chef to plan and deliver a food offer that aligns with current trends and customer demand, maintaining exceptional presentation standards.
• Using your expertise to train and develop junior chefs and kitchen porters, including specialised skills like fishmongery and butchery.
• Ensuring all legislative requirements are met, including allergen management, food safety policies, and health & safety standards.
• Conducting daily compliance checks (fridge temperatures, cleaning schedules, and PPE) and taking charge of the kitchen operation in the absence of senior chefs.
• Helping to achieve sales targets by managing food availability and equipping the front‑of‑house team with the knowledge to upsell effectively.
• Managing food orders with accuracy to minimise wastage and maximise profit margins.
• Acting as a representative of the Partnership, providing a consistently outstanding experience for our guests and fellow Partners.

Essential skills/experience you'll need

• - Relevant professional chef qualifications, such as City & Guilds diplomas in professional cookery, BTEC HNC in professional cookery, or equivalent.
• - Excellent skills to instruct the kitchen team and deliver clear feedback to front‑of‑house staff.
• - The ability to deliver high‑quality results in a fast‑paced environment while upholding strict hygiene and safety standards.
• - Ability to foster mutual trust and respect within a team, ensuring every Partner feels valued.
• - Quick and confident decision‑making skills to resolve kitchen issues efficiently.

Desirable skills/experience you may have

• - Level 3 Food Safety qualification.
• - Experience in coaching or developing junior kitchen Partners.
• - Experience working in a hotel or high‑volume quality dining environment

The partnership

We’re the largest employee owned business in the UK and home of our cherished brands, John Lewis and Waitrose. We’re not just employees, we’re Partners, driven by our purpose to build a happier world. As we look to our future, there’s never been a more exciting time to join us.

We’re ruthlessly focused on being brilliant at retail. We continue to innovate, adapt and diversify. Never Knowingly Undersold on price, quality and service in John Lewis and passionately serving food‑lovers in Waitrose.

As Partners we all share the responsibility of ownership and in its rewards. We use our voices to contribute to our success, working together through the good and challenging times, holding true to our behaviours and treating everyone with kindness and respect.

We all own making the Partnership somewhere we belong. Embracing our differences and creating an environment where we’re free to be ourselves and can THRIVE. Growing ourselves individually, and as a collective.

As Partners, we make all the difference. And, we all own it.

Important points to note:

It’s important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre‑employment vetting (which may include DBS checks for successful candidates). If required, you’ll be informed and provided with information about vetting during the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays. Any DBS checks required will be carried out by a third‑party registered body and financial probity checks may also be required for some of our roles.

We want all of our Partners to have a good work‑life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where possible. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview.