Head Chef

Alley Cats; Greater London; On-site; GBP 48,000; Full time

Job summary

An exciting opportunity awaits a talented Head Chef at a fast-growing restaurant known for its New York-style pizzas. Join a vibrant team dedicated to delivering high-quality dining experiences while mastering the art of pizza-making. You'll lead kitchen operations, ensure top-notch food quality, and manage staff training and recruitment. This role is perfect for those who thrive in a dynamic environment and have a passion for Italian cuisine. If you're ready to make a significant impact in a fun and driven atmosphere, we want to hear from you!

Qualifications

• Strong background in pizza-making and kitchen operations.
• Experience in staff recruitment and food costing management.

Responsibilities

• Lead the back-of-house team and oversee daily kitchen operations.
• Conduct weekly stock takes and manage kitchen costs.

Skills

Pizza-making

Staff recruitment

Inventory management

Food costing

Training

Job description

Head Chef – UP TO £48,000 inclusive of tronc

About us:

Alley Cats Pizza is a fast-growing restaurant brand celebrated for our New York-style pizzas and vibrant, welcoming atmosphere.

We’re on the hunt for a talented and experienced Head Chef to lead our back-of-house team and oversee daily kitchen operations. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in pizza-making, staff recruitment and training, as well as solid inventory and HR systems knowledge. Furthermore, experience with food costing is essential for controlling and reporting margins through weekly stock takes.

If you’re passionate about Italian cuisine, thrive in a high-energy kitchen, and love being part of a fun, driven team, we’d love to hear from you!

Head Chef Duties and Responsibilities:

• Demonstrate a strong commitment to mastering the menu, upholding brand standards, and delivering a consistently high-quality experience

• Conduct weekly stock takes, reporting on wastage, Top 5 variance, voids & discounts and any other reports needed

• Ensure all new BOH team members follow training plans to ensure they are properly welcomed and trained before going into designed role

• Assist with staff recruitment and onboarding procedures

• Work with FOH management to ensure all new FOH staff receive adequate training to maintain food standards

• Fill in rota based on forecast, needs of business, holidays and any other elements to ensure proper coverage for conducing smooth operations

• Manage all kitchen costs to achieve targets

• Oversee all EHO checks that are conducted daily (ie, Alert 65) to keep venue in 5* EHO standards

• Ensure all BOH areas along with kitchen are properly clean and maintained rota to support 5* EHO standards along with COSHH and HACCP policies, and report issues to the Operations team or Maintenance Department

• Ensuring there is good stock rotation, par level management and food storage to minimise food wastage

• Responsible for the receiving of goods and stock control, including invoice collation, price checking and date entry and transfer of stock

• Ensure food items; consistency, timings, presentation, and overall quality are always delivered every time

• Possibly support additional new restaurant openings

• Attend management and department meetings and briefings as and when require