Executive Chef - London

Legends Global; City of Westminster; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent hospitality company in the City of Westminster is seeking an experienced Executive Chef to lead culinary operations. In this role, you will design innovative menus and ensure the highest standards of food quality and service. Your tasks include managing kitchen operations, training a diverse team, and ensuring compliance with food safety regulations. Join us for competitive benefits, including 28 days of annual leave, a pension scheme, and health support services.

Benefits

28 days annual leave

Life Assurance policy

Pension contribution

Healthshield support

Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)

Qualifications

• Experience in a senior culinary leadership role within a high-volume venue.
• Proven track record of designing high-quality, diverse menus.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement creative, seasonal, and cost-effective menus.
• Oversee daily kitchen operations ensuring food quality and timely service.
• Lead, train, and mentor the culinary team.

Skills

Culinary creativity

Leadership

Financial management

Food safety compliance

Team building

Education

Formal culinary training

Job description

As our Executive Chef, you will be responsible for overseeing all culinary operations within the venue, ensuring the highest standards of food quality, presentation, and service. You will lead the kitchen team in the development and execution of innovative menus that align with the venue's brand and guest expectations. This is an exciting, strategic role, you will be accountable for cost control, food safety compliance, and staff training and development. It will be your mission through planning, hands‑on leadership, and a passion for excellence to play a key role in delivering a memorable dining experience that enhances the overall success and reputation of the venue.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement creative, seasonal, and cost-effective menus tailored to the venue's clientele and event types, ensuring consistency with the venue's brand and culinary vision.
• Oversee daily kitchen operations, ensuring food quality, consistency, hygiene, and timely service for all events, functions, and la carte services.
• Lead, train, and mentor the culinary team, fostering a positive kitchen culture focused on collaboration, high performance, and professional growth.
• Ensure strict adherence to food safety regulations, hygiene standards, and occupational health and safety requirements across all culinary operations.
• Manage food and labour costs through inventory control, waste reduction, portion management, and vendor negotiation to maximize profitability without compromising quality.
• Work closely with the events and front-of-house teams to ensure seamless execution of large-scale events, adapting menus and service styles as needed.

Qualifications

• Formal culinary training with a recognised qualification.
• Experience in a senior culinary leadership role, ideally within a high-volume venue, hotel, resort, or event-driven environment.
• Proven track record of designing and delivering high-quality, diverse menus across multiple event types.
• Strong background in kitchen financial management, including food costing, budgeting, and supplier negotiation.
• Exceptional culinary skills with a passion for creativity and innovation.
• Strong leadership and team-building capabilities; able to inspire, train, and manage a diverse kitchen team.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills; able to collaborate effectively with front-of-house, event planners, and senior management.
• Passionate about cuisine, hospitality and delivering exceptional guest experiences.

What's in it for you? You will work hard with us, but you will be rewarded with lots of time to relax and rest with 28 days annual leave. We understand that you have a life outside of work and want to ensure that your loved ones will always be taken care of whilst you're contributing to our success with our Life Assurance policy. A healthy contribution of % Pension so that your golden years are spent ticking off the items on your bucket list. Got a dental bill? Need to book a counselling session? Or even help with Physio costs? With the support of Healthshield; we will support you with these unexpected costs for you and any children. We understand that from time to time you might need a bit of support to get you back to feeling your best, so we have teamed up with AXA Health to provide our people with an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support mental health in the workplace.