Festive Commis Chef

Dakota Hospitality Limited (Dakota Hotels); Leeds; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Part time

Job summary

A UK-based luxury hotel in Leeds is seeking a Commis Chef for the festive season, offering a zero-hour contract. Responsibilities include preparing and cooking dishes to standard and maintaining the kitchen's cleanliness. Candidates should have at least one year of cooking experience and demonstrate a passion for quality food. Flexible availability is essential, especially for Christmas and New Year's shifts.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 1 year of professional cooking experience in a full service restaurant.
• Passion for quality food and preparation.
• Physical ability to stand for long shifts.

Responsibilities

• Carry out prep work throughout the kitchen.
• Prepare, cook, and present all dishes to standard.
• Maintain a clean working environment.

Skills

Knife skills

Multi-tasking

Cooking and presentation

Health & Safety adherence

Teamwork

Education

Level 2 NVQ or Apprenticeship in Professional Cookery

Job description

Dakota Hotel based in LEEDS CITY CENTRE are seeking eager and hard-working individuals to join our Kitchen Team for the role of Commis Chef this festive season.

Our location, 8 Russell St, Leeds LS1 5RN, ideally located on Greek Street, we are just a 5min walk from Leeds Train Station. We are also easily accessible by bus, close to the east parade bus link and within a 10min walk from Leeds Bus Station.

We are an 94-bedroom luxury hotel boasting a destination cocktail bar with a champagne room, and brasserie-style Grill.

CONTRACT AND PAY RATE

The role carries is a zero-hour, fixed-term contract (17th Nov 2025 – 2nd Jan 2026)
Pay rate is national minimum wage plus tronc payments which are at least £1.09 per hour
Typical shifts will start at 3pm including working weeks
You must be available to work Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve

PRIMARY ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES

• Carry out prep work throughout any allocated section of the kitchen with the ability to maintain excellent knife skills.
• Be able to multi-task and work through busy service times.
• Prepare, cook, and present all dishes to the Dakota standard.
• Carry out a full clean down of the kitchen and maintain an immaculate working environment.
• Adhere to Health & Safety and Food Hygiene legislation.
• Display a willingness to learn and support across different areas of the Kitchen.

HOW TO APPLY

To join us this festive season at Dakota Leeds!

We’re hosting walk-in interviews on Friday 31st October, between 14:00 and 17:00 - no appointment needed! Just bring your CV and proof of right to work (ID).

Prefer to plan ahead? Apply via this advert to secure a pre-booked interview slot for Friday 31st October, between 14:00 and 17:00.

If successful, you’ll need to be available for induction and training on Thursday 13th November, from 10:30 to 17:00.

We’re excited to meet you and kick off the festive season together!

ABOUT DAKOTA HOTELS

Dakota is a growing UK-based lifestyle brand, known for our stylish hotels, bustling brasserie Grills and upscale cocktail Bars. Dakota’s story started with two boutique hotels on the outskirts of Edinburgh, in South Queensferry, and Glasgow, in Eurocentral. We have now expanded into prime city centre locations in Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle with Manchester Airport coming soon and more in our pipeline.

Dakota is synonymous for delivering attentive and genuine guest service. We attract hard-working individuals who are passionate about working to the highest standards and have been voted within The Caterer’s Top 15 Best Employers in Hospitality for the last six years in a row. We were also featured within the Top 10 employers in the Sunday Times Best Places to Work in the UK for the last two years, where our inclusive culture was spotlighted.

As recent winners of The Cateys ‘People Team of the Year’, we have award-winning internal training programmes within Dakota Academy fostering continuous development and ongoing training. As a result, over 75% of our leaders have been promoted internally and, for five consecutive years, a member of our team has won a prestigious Acorn Award awarded by The Caterer to the ‘Top 30 under 30’ in the industry, demonstrating our success in developing talent.

Eurocentral | Edinburgh | Glasgow | Leeds | Manchester | Newcastle| Manchester Airport (coming soon)

APPLICANT REQUIREMENTS

The successful applicant will have/be:

• A minimum of 1 year of professional cooking experience in a full service restaurant or a Level 2 NVQ or Apprenticeship in Professional Cookery.
• Demonstrate a passion for quality food and preparation.
• Previous qualifications in Food Safety are preferred, although training in Health & Safety, Allergens, and Food Hygiene standards and procedures will be given.
• Be able to be physically active in your role, standing for much of your shift and working at pace.
• An enthusiastic individual who will promote our culture of positivity.
• Be hardworking and a team-player.
• Flexible with shift patterns and available around the needs of our business.
• Successful candidates must demonstrate having researched our brand and a genuine desire to be part of our team.

MORE DETAILS

For more information on our luxury hotel, visit our Careers page to learn about current opportunities and find your #DreamRolesAtDakota – we’d love to hear from you! Alternatively please visit:

• Website
• Dakota Hotels Instagram