Head Chef

Dakota Hotels; Glasgow; Hybrid; GBP 49,000 - 59,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Staff discounts on stays and dining

Employee mental health support

Annual bonus potential

Flexible working options

Meal on duty

Training & development

Job summary

Dakota Hotels in Glasgow is seeking a forward‑thinking Head Chef to lead the Kitchen team in a high‑performance, brand‑led environment. The role offers a permanent contract, 45 hours weekly across 4 days out of 7, and a competitive annual salary with a potential incentive bonus.

As Head Chef, you will drive culinary excellence, manage rota planning, stock, and procurement, and ensure compliance with food hygiene and safety standards.

Qualifications

• Minimum 8 years professional cooking experience in a high-calibre restaurant.
• Minimum 2 years as Sous Chef or above.
• Minimum 2 years experience in stock management and purchasing.

Responsibilities

• Ensure all dishes are prepared and presented in line with the Dakota menu SOPs, maintaining consistency.
• Introduce seasonal specials to enhance the guest experience within brand guidelines.
• Lead kitchen health and safety, HACCP compliance, and high hygiene standards with the team.
• Provide daily guidance, coaching, interviews and appraisals, and manage performance.

Skills

Leadership

Food Hygiene

HACCP

Menu development

Stock management

Procurement

Rota planning

Coaching

Interviewing

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Dakota Hotel based in GlasgowCity Centre are seeking a forward-thinking anddriven Head Chef to drive our Kitchen team. This is a rare opportunity for aculinary professional who combines technical excellence with creative flair,and who thrives in a high-performance, brand-led environment.

CONTRACT AND PAYRATE

The gross annualsalary is expected to earn £54,000 (inclusive of the anticipated tronc paymentand tronc surplus) plus an annual incentive bonus to earn up to £5,000.

The role carries a permanent contract of a minimum of 45 hours per week, working any 4 days out of7.

PRIMARY ROLERESPONSIBILITIES

Ensure all dishes are prepared and presented in alignment withDakota’s menu SOPs, maintaining consistency in quality, portioning, and visualappeal across all service periods.

Introduce seasonal specials that complement the core menu, enhancingthe guest experience while staying within brand guidelines.

Be ultimately responsible for adhering to bestpractice in Food Hygiene/Safety legislation as well as Health and Safety in thekitchen and leading the team to do so consistently. This includes maintainingthe highest standards of cleanliness in the kitchen and strict food safetyprocesses, writing HACCP’s, and maintaining the completion of due diligencedocumentation to maintain our high food audit scores.

Carry out managerial responsibilities includingproviding daily guidance and coaching to the team, attending meetings andcommunicating with other departments, holding interviews and trial shifts,holding appraisals, and performance management.

Drive kitchen profitability through effective rota planning, stockcontrol, and supplier management. Monitor GP margins and ensure procurementaligns with quality and cost expectations.

Work closely with the General Manager and F&B Manager to ensurethe food offering consistently meets guest expectations and reflects Dakota’sbrand identity. Support FOH training to ensure exceptional menu knowledge andservice delivery.

Be committed to working wholeheartedly as partof the wider hotel team, effectively and positively communicating with allmembers of the kitchen and front of house team.

Have a passion and display a willingness totrain junior Chefs and apprentices in an open working environment ofongoingimprovement.

Display a willingness to continuously learn andimprove your skills as a professional Chef, responding to guest feedback.

BENEFITS

In addition to beingpart of a culture infused with positivity and opportunity for ongoingdevelopment, tangible benefits you could enjoy when you join our teaminclude:

• Special discounts on stays and dining atany Dakota
• Access to our Employee Assistance Programwhich includes free private mental health support and counsellingsessions, video GP consultations and private prescription services, aswell as access to daily rewards to be cashed out for shopping vouchers
• Support from our inhouse Mental HealthChampions
• Additional holiday day on the firstanniversary of your employment
• Family‑friendly flexible workingoptions
• Meals on duty and uniforming
• Bonuses to recommend a friend to join ourteam and every time you are mentioned on Trip Advisor
• Accredited, certified compliance traininggiven on employment
• Access to a suite of external, certifiedresources via our Learning Management System
• Supportive continuous professionaldevelopment culture with an annual appraisal and objectives, or a PersonalDevelopment Plan
• Opportunities to undertake both internaland external training courses, including potential for in-houseApprenticeships

Full terms on ourbenefits can be found in our Handbook.

ABOUT DAKOTA HOTELS

Dakota is a growingUK-based lifestyle brand, known for our stylish hotels, bustling brasserieGrills and upscale cocktail Bars. Dakota’s story started with two boutiquehotels 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 withmore in our pipeline.

Dakota is synonymousfor delivering attentive and genuine guest service. We attract hard‑workingindividuals who are passionate about working to the highest standards and havebeen voted within The Caterer’s Top 15 Best Employers in Hospitality for the last five years in a row. We were also featured within the Top 10 employers in the 2024 Sunday Times Best Places to Work in the UK, as well as being awarded theSpotlight Award for Best Places to Work for LGBTQIA+ employees.

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 ongoingtraining. As a result, over 75% of our leaders have been promoted internally and, for four consecutive years, a member of our team has won a prestigious Acorn Award awarded by The Cater to the ‘Top 30 under 30’ in the industry, demonstrating our success in developing talent.

Eurocentral |Edinburgh | Glasgow | Leeds | Manchester | Newcastle

Our location, 179 WRegent St, Glasgow G2 4DP, is easily accessible by bus and train, being lessthan a 15min walk from Buchannan St Bus Station, Queen St and Central Station.With discounted car parking for both guests and team members at Charing Cross and Cambridge Street car parks.

We are an 83-bedroomluxury hotel boasting a destination cocktail bar, Jack’s Bar, cigar terrace,champagne room, and brasserie-style Grill.

APPLICANTREQUIREMENTS

The successfulapplicant will have/be:

• A minimum of 8 years professional cookingexperience in restaurant of a high calibre.
• A minimum of 2 years experience as a Sous Chefor above.
• A minimum of two years experience in stockmanagement and purchasing, and cooking to high standards.
• Trained and knowledgeable in food hygiene tolevel 2 or above, HACCP and allergens.
• Experience in using rota writing and usingprocurement systems.
• Experience in preparing a kitchen for foodhygiene audits and maintain food safety documentation.
• Demonstrate a passion for quality food andpreparation.
• Be computer literate with an ability to useMicrosoft Office programs.
• An enthusiastic individual who willpromote our culture of positivity.
• Be task oriented with a great pride forthe work they do and attention to detail.
• Flexible with shift patterns and availablearound the needs of our business.
• Successful candidates must demonstratehaving researched our brand and a genuine desire to be part of ourteam.