Head Chef

Holroyd Howe; Dadford; On-site; GBP 52,000 - 68,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Volunteer days

Grandparent leave

Maternity leave (24 weeks)

Training & development

Pension & life insurance

Perkbox discounts

Wellbeing hub

Free meals at work

Apprenticeships

Job summary

Holroyd Howe, based at Stowe School, seeks a Head Chef to lead kitchen operations across the school group, delivering fresh, modern, and nutritious food with consistency and innovation.

You'll recruit and develop staff, manage budgets and supplier relations, and ensure allergen controls and food safety. This role sits within a prestigious educational catering team set in a beautiful setting.

Qualifications

• Strong leadership and team management experience.
• Passionate about fresh, high-quality ingredients and innovative menus.
• Excellent organisational, communication, and financial management skills.
• Knowledge of current food trends, sustainability and allergen control.
• Experience in contract catering or education sector is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead kitchen operations to maintain top food quality, safety, and presentation.
• Create innovative, seasonal menus tailored to school requirements.
• Manage recruitment, training, and development of kitchen staff.
• Control budgets, stock, and supplier relationships efficiently.
• Ensure compliance with food safety, health & safety, and safeguarding policies.
• Collaborate with catering and school teams to deliver outstanding experiences.
• Champion allergen controls across multiple sites within the group.

Skills

Leadership

Team management

Menu planning

Budget management

Allergen controls

Food quality

Job description

Head Chef - Stowe Group

Based within the stunning grounds of Stowe School, you'll work closely with kitchen teams across the schools, delivering fresh, modern, and nutritious food while ensuring consistency, innovation, and outstanding service. This is a high-profile role within a prestigious educational environment, offering the chance to influence catering across multiple locations and make a lasting impact. More than just a Head Chef position, this is an opportunity to lead, inspire, and shape the future of catering within one of the UK's most respected school groups, all while working in a beautiful setting with a supportive and ambitious team. 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. The safety and wellbeing of the people we serve is at the heart of everything we do. A key element is effective allergen management; achieved through training, communication, and care, we create mealtimes where every pupil has a safe experience. Our mission is simple: to provide our teams with the right skills to succeed in their job and our exceptional teams of seasoned specialists customise our catering services to fit children of all ages and satisfy the unique needs of our clients.

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
• Accountability for following and championing allergen controls, Our respectful codes of conduct inform how we behave towards our clients and customers, suppliers and business partners, and each other.
  Ideally, you will have experience as an Head Chef within a contract catering environment, preferably in independent education, or a high-profile business and industry setting.

Requirements and Qualifications

• 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
  Stowe Group and take responsibility for catering across multiple school sites, driving exceptional food standards, team development, and culinary excellence throughout the group.

Benefits

• 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 through apprenticeships for all experience levels.