Head Chef

Culinary Collective; Greater London; On-site; GBP 46,000 - 50,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

50% off food & drink

Cycle to work

Meal for you and guests

Formal qualifications paid for

Your Birthday off

Job summary

Heard. is a premium fast-casual smash burger concept from 2 Michelin-starred chef Jordan Bailey, seeking a Head Chef to lead our kitchen in London.

You will recruit and develop a high-performing BOH team, ensure peak product quality, and drive guest satisfaction in a high-volume setting. You will own shift planning, hygiene, and financial health, including COS and margins, while maintaining a warm, efficient service and a strong kitchen culture.

Qualifications

• Proven Kitchen Leadership: Head Chef or strong Senior Sous Chef in high-volume, premium fast-casual or high-standard restaurant.
• Development mindset: coach kitchen specs and techniques on the line.
• Genuine passion for great food and high-standard culinary execution.
• Strong commercial acumen with rota, stock, GP and cost management experience.

Responsibilities

• Represent the kitchen with pride, ensuring quality and specs in a fast-casual environment.
• Recruit, onboard, train, and retain a hospitality-led BOH team.
• Drive guest satisfaction with consistent product execution, presentation and taste.
• Lead daily kitchen briefings and post-shift debriefs to align service goals.
• Own the room and vibe, maintaining high-energy service with immaculate standards.
• Maintain kitchen hygiene and compliance with health and safety and audits.
• Manage BOH P&L, track food costs, labour, waste and margins.

Skills

Kitchen leadership

Team development

Guest satisfaction

Operational financial fluency

Job description

Burgers worth gathering for. Heard. is a premium fast-casual smash burger concept from 2 Michelin-starred chef Jordan Bailey, born from a desire to take an everyday classic and make it quietly exceptional. We combine top-quality, thoughtfully sourced ingredients with the rigour and technique of the world’s best kitchens. No gimmicks, no shortcuts - just maximum flavour done right.

Head Chef – Heard.

Burgers worth gathering for. Heard. is a premium fast-casual smash burger concept from 2 Michelin-starred chef Jordan Bailey, born from a desire to take an everyday classic and make it quietly exceptional. We combine top-quality, thoughtfully sourced ingredients with the rigour and technique of the world’s best kitchens. No gimmicks, no shortcuts - just maximum flavour done right.

After a massive year touring the UK’s biggest events, we opened our permanent home in Borough last year, pairing our signature burgers with considered natural wines, craft beer, and a warm, efficient service style.

Now, with our second site in Soho thriving, we are looking forward to our next chapter. We are actively eyeing up our third and fourth restaurants and are looking to bolster our leadership team with a Head Chef who strives for excellence.

The Heard Package

• Salary: £46,000 - £50,000 per year OTE (depending on experience).
• Benefits: Access to benefits platform from day one including 50% off food and drink in our sites, cycle to work scheme and high street discounts
• The Food: A monthly meal for you and four guests, on us.
• Professional Growth: Formal qualifications paid for, including Mental Health First Aid and H&S Level 3.
• Clear Progression: Genuine opportunities to progress; we will be looking to further bolster our senior/senior-culinary roles as the business grows.
• Your Birthday off!

What You’ll Do

• Be a Culinary Ambassador: Represent the kitchen with pride, ensuring quality and adherence to specs are executed flawlessly in a high-volume, fast-casual environment.
• Build, Lead and Develop the Team: You will recruit, onboard, train, and retain a hospitality-led BOH team. You'll keep team morale high, target kitchen retention at 90%+, and establish clear development and succession plans for your chefs.
• Drive Guest Satisfaction: Deliver absolute consistency. Ensure 90%+ of feedback from guests and mystery diners reflects excellence in product execution, presentation, and taste.
• Align the Shift: Run structured daily kitchen briefings and post-shift debriefs, ensuring the BOH team is completely aligned on service goals, speed of service, product provenance, and spec standards.
• Own the Space & Vibe: Ensure everything in the room - from the lighting and setup to the playlist - remains deliberate, welcoming, and natural. Lead the restaurant to consistently deliver high-energy service while maintaining immaculate standards across every shift.
• Maintain Total Compliance: Take full ownership of kitchen hygiene. Keep the BOH fully compliant across EHO regulations, Food Safety/HACCP, Health & Safety, and internal and external audits (5 stars every time).
• Manage the Kitchen P&L: Take full ownership of BOH financial health. Actively track and manage food costs (COS), kitchen labour, food waste, stock control, and kitchen GP margins.

What You Bring

• Proven Kitchen Leadership: Solid experience as a Head Chef or strong Senior Sous Chef in a high-volume, premium fast-casual or high-standard restaurant environment. You are a leader who leads from the front, is hands-on, and stays calm under pressure.
• A Development Mindset: The ability to coach kitchen specs and techniques in real time—correcting and reinforcing our non-negotiable food standards right on the line.
• Genuine Passion: You love great food, and the art of effortless, high-standard culinary execution.
• Operational & Financial Fluency: Strong commercial acumen with direct experience managing kitchen rotas, stock takes, ordering systems, GP tracking, and BOH cost management.

This is an opportunity to help shape a growing brand, not simply manage a kitchen.