Head Chef

Young's; Esher; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A vibrant pub group in Esher is seeking a passionate Head Chef to lead the kitchen and create innovative seasonal menus. The role involves inspiring a team, managing kitchen operations, and maintaining high service quality. Ideal candidates will have experience in a head or sous chef role, strong leadership skills, and a creative approach to menu development. Offering full autonomy in menu creation and various professional development opportunities, this position is perfect for a chef looking to make their mark.

Benefits

Full autonomy to create menus

Access to Apprenticeship Scheme

Free meals

Discounts on stays

Enhanced Company Pension

28 days holiday

Qualifications

• Experience as a Head Chef or Sous Chef championing excellent service.
• Passion for leading and developing a team.
• Hands-on team player with excellent communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Inspire and lead a kitchen team while developing seasonal menus.
• Manage kitchen staff, training, and health and safety.
• Demonstrate creativity by designing new dishes for menus.

Skills

Team management

Menu development

Communication skills

Creativity

Planning and organizational skills

Job description

Head Chef

About us

We’re looking for a passionate and creative Head Chef to lead the kitchen, as we embark on an exciting new chapter.

This is a brilliant opportunity for a Sous Chef who is ready to take the next step in their career, or an early career Head Chef looking to make their mark. We’re evolving our food offering with a new vision, modern, social dining built around small plates, sharing plates and picky bits, whilst still upholding classic pub offer. All perfect for a vibrant Surrey pub that’s full of life.

The Bear Hotel, Esher is a community-focused High street pub with rooms in the affluent town of Esher, We’re ambitious and growing, with food playing a big part in our plans. This is a great opportunity for a Head Chef who wants to help build momentum and shape what we become.

You’ll have the freedom to bring your ideas to the table, help shape the menu, and work with a supportive management team as the Bear Hotel continues to evolve and grow. Tracy & the Team look forward to meeting you!

Being a Head Chef at Young's

We believe every pub should be different. This means that you'll be writing your own recipes that match the food vision of your business using fresh seasonal ingredients. The food vision could be all about showcasing local produce, country pub classics, seafood, small plates and sharers, dry‑aged meat - each pub is different and its up to you as head chef to put your own creative stamp on that vision. We work with fresh, seasonal produce, so the menu should constantly evolve to showcase these fantastic ingredients when they are at their best. Premium fresh food crafted by skilled chefs in Premium Pubs.

What we offer our Head Chefs

• Head Chefs get to have full autonomy to create their own menus and specials
• Access to our Apprenticeship Scheme and Development Programmes
• Access to regular culinary masterclasses covering topics such as Game, Butchery and Shellfish
• Access to inspirational food trips with our top quality suppliers
• Regular Chef Forums with other Head Chefs to inspire and develop
• Free meals
• 20% discount in all Young's Pubs and 30% discount on overnight stays in our Pubs with Rooms
• Share save Scheme
• Enhanced Company Pension Scheme
• 28 Days Holiday per year

What we look for in a Head Chef

This role requires someone that can inspire a team, to bring out the potential and lead by example whilst being able to develop, cost and produce fresh seasonal menus for the variety of revenue streams within the business.

• Have experience championing excellent service through quality food either as a Head Chef or in the position of Sous Chef
• Demonstrate a passion for leading and developing a team
• Be an active hands‑on team player with excellent communication skills
• Be responsible and able to manage the kitchen staff rota, training and all health and safety effectively at all times
• Be able to demonstrate your creativity and ability to design and deliver new dishes for our menus and daily specials
• Demonstrate great planning and organisational skills, necessary to maintain effective controls with regard to both GP and labour
• Have a pro‑active approach to driving sales and delivering growth, through engagement with both kitchen and front of house teams