Executive Chef

Holroyd Howe; England; On-site; GBP 42,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading contract catering company is seeking an experienced Executive Chef to lead the culinary team at a prestigious college. Responsibilities include creating innovative menus, managing kitchen operations, and ensuring food quality. Ideal candidates will have experience in contract catering, strong leadership skills, and a passion for quality ingredients. This role offers a competitive salary and benefits including 28 days of holiday, training opportunities, and career development.

Benefits

28 days holiday

3 volunteering days

Pension and life insurance

Free meals while at work

Career development opportunities

Qualifications

• Experience as an Executive Chef or Head Chef in a contract catering environment.
• Strong leadership and team management skills.
• Passionate about fresh, quality ingredients and innovative menus.
• Excellent organizational, communication, and financial management skills.
• Knowledge of food trends, sustainability, and allergen control.

Responsibilities

• Lead kitchen operations ensuring food quality and safety.
• Create innovative menus tailored to the school's requirements.
• Manage kitchen staff recruitment and development.
• Control budgets, stock, and supplier relationships.
• Ensure compliance with food safety and health policies.
• Collaborate with catering and school teams for customer experiences.

Skills

Leadership

Team management

Organizational skills

Communication

Financial management

Job description

Overview

Job Title: Executive Chef
Location: Ellesmere College
Contract Type: 52 weeks full time Contract
Salary: £42,000pa

Why Join us?

• 28 days holiday (including bank holidays)
• 3 volunteering days to give back to causes you care about
• 3 days grandparent leave for those special family moments
• 24 weeks enhanced maternity leave
• Bespoke training & development opportunities
• Pension & life insurance
• Discounts on high street brands, cinema & holidays via the Perkbox App
• Wellbeing hub & access to employee assistance programme
• Free meals while at work
• Career development & HIT Apprenticeships for all experience levels

About the role

We are seeking a passionate and experienced Executive Chef to lead the culinary team at Ellesmere College. You will be responsible for creating exceptional menus, managing kitchen operations, and delivering outstanding food experiences to our pupils, staff, and visitors. Ellesmere caters for 152 boarders, 310 daytime students and a team of 150 staff on site, with lots of hospitality events.

You will be joining Holroyd Howe, one of the UK’s leading contract caterers, providing fresh innovative food services solely to independent schools and colleges. We are a team of experienced professionals who tailor our catering service provision specifically to suit children of all ages in order to meet the bespoke requirements of each school.

Our mission is simple: To provide our teams with the right skills to succeed in their jobs, we invest in their training and development. Our exceptional teams of seasoned specialists customise our catering services to fit children of all ages and satisfy the unique needs of our clients.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead kitchen operations ensuring the highest standards of food quality, safety, and presentation
• Create innovative and seasonal menus tailored to the school’s requirements
• Manage kitchen staff recruitment, training, and development
• Control budgets, stock, and supplier relationships efficiently
• Ensure compliance with all food safety, health & safety, and safeguarding policies
• Collaborate with the wider catering and school teams to deliver outstanding customer experiences

Qualifications

Candidate Profile:

• Ideally, you will have experience as an Executive Chef or Head Chef within a contract catering environment, preferably in independent education, or a high-profile business and industry setting.
• Strong leadership and team management skills
• Passionate about fresh, quality ingredients and innovative menus
• Excellent organisational, communication, and financial management skills
• Knowledge of current food trends, sustainability, and allergen control

Additional Information

We pride ourselves on:

People first
We’re a company of individuals, united in doing our best for our clients.

Great food, always
Using only the best ingredients, our food is fresh, authentic and tailored to each school, age group, and specific needs and preferences.

Food education
We educate pupils through food, encouraging them to understand and develop their own personal tastes and make informed food choices.

Respect in everything we do
Our respectful codes of conduct inform how we behave towards our clients and customers, suppliers and business partners, and each other.

Fresh thinking
New ideas for food, service and ways of working help us maintain our position as creative leaders in school catering.

In order to be considered for this role you must be able to demonstrate that you have the Right to Work in the UK.

Holroyd Howe is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all employees to share this commitment. All roles within Holroyd Howe involve regulated activity. It is a criminal offence for individuals barred from working with children to apply for such roles. An Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, including a Barred List check will be required for all successful applicants. Shortlisted applicants will be asked to provide information about relevant criminal offences and will be subject to an online search of publicly available information. This search helps identify any issues that may affect suitability to work with children.

This appointment is offered on the return of satisfactory professional references.