Head Cafe Chef / Baker

Mereworth Wines; Maidstone; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a vibrant and award-winning wine producer as a Head Chef/Baker, where you will lead a passionate kitchen team in creating exceptional food offerings. This role offers the chance to influence the direction of a growing business and put your personal touch on a diverse product portfolio. With a focus on quality and creativity, you will manage all aspects of kitchen operations, from production and staffing to product development. Enjoy a competitive salary and perks in a beautiful setting in the Kent countryside, as you help elevate our culinary vision.

Benefits

Simply Health Healthcare

Free parking

Pension

Discounts on products

Beautiful setting in Kent countryside

Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience in a commercial kitchen.
• Experience in artisan baking and managing staff.

Responsibilities

• Manage catering production for café and events.
• Oversee food quality control and health & safety.
• Lead kitchen operations and staff training.

Skills

Commercial kitchen experience

Artisan baking

Staff management

Fermentation knowledge

Creativity

Quality control

Job description

Job Description

Mereworth is an award-winning wine producer with a vibrant cellar-door/café. Mereworth is looking to improve on its already successful food offering and increase our retail and trade offering by becoming increasingly bakery-led. We are looking for a Head Chef / Baker to drive this change and future growth.

We are searching for an established hands-on chef with bakery experience who will head up the kitchen team and be responsible for production, staffing, catering health & safety, ordering and product development.

Mereworth consists of a highly passionate team driven by quality. The vision we are working towards is creating a center of excellence for all things food and drink led. This is an exciting opportunity to join a creative team and put a personal stamp on the Mereworth product portfolio.

What Youll Be Doing:

• Managing catering production for our café, private hire events, retail and trade
• Lead day-to-day kitchen operations baking, brunch, lunch
• Oversee for all aspects of food quality control
• Oversee catering health & safety and food standards
• Ordering, stock control, wastage and working with management on cash-flow planning and profitability
• Manage staffing and staff kitchen training
• Product development
• Working with other departments such as Events to create bespoke catering packages and prices.
• Working with operations and bar manager to deliver a successful hospitality service.
• Covering operations manager / bar manager in their absences to oversee staff and running of the bar/retail

Were Looking For Someone Who:

• Has at least 3 years of experience in a commercial kitchen
• Experience in artisan baking
• Experience managing staff
• Knows fermentation inside out and can work with hydration, temperature, and timing with confidence
• Is reliable, creative, and able to lead by example
• Can balance quality and efficiency in a busy kitchen
• Has experience managing staff and purchasing
• Wants to be part of a small, passionate team

Bonus Points If You:

• Love experimenting with new recipes and flavours
• Have experience with deck ovens or steam-injected baking
• Have knowledge of sourdough
• Have experience with budgeting and planning
• Care about local sourcing, seasonality, and sustainability
• Have knowledge of wine and food pairings
• Have knowledge of retail

What Youll Get:

• Competitive salary
• Simply Health Healthcare
• Free parking
• Pension
• Discounts on the Mereworth product portfolio including award-winning English Sparking Wine
• A beautiful setting in the Kent countryside
• The chance to make changes and influence the direction of a growing business and to put a personal stamp on our product portfolio

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