Head Chef

Restaurant Associates UK; Greater London; On-site; GBP 36,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Contributory pension

Career Pathways

Digital GP access

Travel discounts

Grocery discounts

Cinema discounts

Cash rewards

Wellness classes

Job summary

Restaurant Associates UK is seeking an exceptional Head Chef to lead the culinary operation at our flagship Canary Wharf site in London. You will oversee a diverse, high-profile food operation spanning hospitality and colleague dining, delivering outstanding food and service.

Working with the General Manager, you will manage a brigade, control costs and ensure top quality, safety and sustainability across the operation.

Qualifications

• Previous Head Chef or senior culinary leader experience.
• Experience leading high-volume, multi-offer operations.
• Strong understanding of premium workplace hot food offers.
• Excellent leadership and people development skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead all kitchen operations across colleague dining and hospitality.
• Develop seasonal, innovative menus alongside the wider culinary team to delight clients, colleagues and guests.
• Inspire, coach and develop a high-performing kitchen team.
• Ensure exceptional food quality, presentation and consistency.
• Take ownership of food safety, compliance and kitchen standards.
• Manage food costs, labour, stock and waste to deliver strong commercial performance.
• Drive sustainability and continuous improvement across the operation, aligned with UK culinary best practice.

Skills

Leadership

Head Chef experience

High-volume operations

Food cost management

Sustainability

People development

Job description

Head Chef required at flagship contract catering site in Canary Wharf

Earn up to £60,000

We are looking for an exceptional Head Chef to lead the culinary operation at one of our new flagship London locations. This is a unique opportunity to oversee a diverse, high-profile food operation spanning hospitality and high-volume colleague dining, with a market-leading food offer at its core. Working closely with the General Manager, you will lead a talented brigade to deliver outstanding food, excellent service and consistently high standards across the site.

Employee Dining: Supporting approximately 1,500 colleagues on-site, with an offer that includes breakfast, coffee shop bakery, innovative lunches, our signature salad bar and a high-quality hot food operation.

Hospitality: Delivering premium catering across meeting rooms and events, including working lunches, hot buffets, bowl food and multiple daily hospitality requirements.

What You'll Be Doing

• Lead all kitchen operations across colleague dining and hospitality.
• Develop seasonal, innovative menus alongside the wider culinary team to delight clients, colleagues and guests.
• Inspire, coach and develop a high-performing kitchen team.
• Ensure exceptional food quality, presentation and consistency.
• Take ownership of food safety, compliance and kitchen standards.
• Manage food costs, labour, stock and waste to deliver strong commercial performance.
• Drive sustainability and continuous improvement across the operation, aligned with UK culinary best practice.

What You'll Need To Succeed

• Previous experience as a Head Chef or senior culinary leader within hospitality, hotels, restaurants, quick-service restaurants or premium contract catering.
• Experience leading high-volume, multi-offer, quality-driven food operations.
• Strong understanding of premium workplace hot food offers and hospitality working lunches.
• Excellent leadership and people development skills.
• Commercial awareness with experience managing food costs and labour.
• Passion for food innovation, sustainability and delivering exceptional guest experiences.

If you are a hands-on culinary leader with a passion for outstanding food, commercial excellence and developing great teams, this is an opportunity to lead one of London's

We offer a comprehensive benefits package which includes but is not limited to:

• Contributory pension scheme
• Grow your career with our Career Pathways and MyLearning programmes
• Quick access for you and your immediate family to a Digital GP, and wider healthcare benefits
• Exclusive travel discounts with TUI, Expedia, Booking.com and many more
• Save money on your food shop with discounts on Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons and many more
• Up to 44% off cinema tickets to enjoy your favourite blockbuster
• Receive cash rewards every time you spend and use them on a wide range of brands
• Un-wind with us with free wellness, mindfulness and exercise classes
• You can share all discounts and offers with your friends and families

About Us

Restaurant Associates provides brilliant hospitality through our food, drink and services. We work with our partners and collaborate with our clients to achieve great things together.Every day, our teams of passionate hospitality professionals strive for excellence in delivering employee dining and hospitality to some of the UK's leading workplace as well as inspiring exceptional experiences in iconic cultural and heritage destinations.

Job Reference: com/0408/97901001/52824583/SU #RA Group

Compass Group UK&I is committed to fostering an environment where every individual can truly be themselves at work and has equal opportunities to advance in their careers. We strive to build a culture that respects and celebrates the unique talents, beliefs, backgrounds, and abilities of all our team members. We want our colleagues to feel valued, empowered to reach their full potential, and to thrive - because diversity is our strength!