Development Chef: Innovative School & Commercial Catering

Nottingham City Council; East Midlands; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 46,000; Full time

Job summary

Nottingham City Council is seeking an experienced Development Chef to lead the development and continuous improvement of our education and commercial catering across school meals and other sites.

You will drive nutritious, seasonal menus, ensure compliance with nutritional standards, support income generation and lead audits, training and quality assurance across catering operations in Nottingham.

Qualifications

• Strong culinary and menu development skills.
• Experience of working within multi-site catering operations, ideally within education or large-scale catering.
• Sound knowledge of food hygiene regulations, food safety legislation and allergen management.
• Experience of undertaking audits and implementing service improvements.
• Ability to develop and deliver training and professional development to catering teams.
• Strong communication and influencing skills for relationships with schools and stakeholders.
• Commercial awareness with menu costing and budget management.
• Ability to analyse data and drive continuous improvement across catering operations.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development, implementation and continuous improvement of education and commercial catering offer across Nottingham.
• Drive menu innovation and enhance customer satisfaction, supporting income generation.
• Ensure services remain compliant, sustainable and commercially successful across multiple sites.
• Provide professional leadership on food safety, training, quality assurance and audits.

Skills

Culinary skills

Menu development

Food safety knowledge

Auditing experience

Training & mentoring

Communication

Commercial awareness

Data analysis

Job description

Nottingham City Council is seeking an experienced Development Chef to lead the development and continuous improvement of our education and commercial catering across school meals and other sites.

You will drive nutritious, seasonal menus, ensure compliance with nutritional standards, support income generation and lead audits, training and quality assurance across catering operations in Nottingham.