Head Chef

The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust; Harlow; On-site; GBP 31,000 - 38,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare organization in Harlow is seeking a dynamic Head Chef to lead its catering team. The role involves ensuring high-quality meal preparation, managing food hygiene standards, and adhering to budget control measures. Ideal candidates will have NVQ in Catering and previous catering experience. The position offers an annual salary of £31,049 to £37,796 plus a high cost area supplement.

Qualifications

• Experience in a large retail or hospitality environment.
• Previous hospital catering experience is preferred.
• Ability to manage food stock levels and safety standards.

Responsibilities

• Lead the kitchen team in preparing and cooking meals.
• Ensure food safety and hygiene standards are adhered to.
• Manage budget control measures to minimize waste.

Skills

Food hygiene knowledge

Team leadership

Budget control

Catering experience

Education

NVQ in Catering level 2 or equivalent

Level 3 food hygiene

Job description

The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust

Head Chef

The closing date is 24 October 2025

The Catering team are looking for a dynamic New Head Chef to lead the team to excellence.

We are expanding our team to meet the needs of our Patients, staff and Visitors in our on site fresh cook production kitchen.

We are looking for someone with a passion for food, knowledge of the latest trends in food and a drive to push the team forward as we look to deliver on the day ordering and cooking. The candidate will need to be organised, have flexibility due to operational issues and be prepared to excite and educate the team.

Main duties of the job

Kitchen Operations & Food Service Management

• Lead the kitchen team in preparing and cooking high-quality meals for patients, staff, and visitors.
• Oversee special dietary requirements, ensuring allergen compliance and minimal risk of cross-contamination.
• Monitor food hygiene standards, portion control, and presentation, ensuring consistency in quality.
• Ensure all food service processes adhere to NHS Trust guidelines, HACCP protocols, and legal food safety regulations.
• Supervise meal service in patient dining areas and staff restaurants, ensuring timely and professional delivery.
• Act as a point of escalation for operational issues within the catering team.

Stock Control & Resource Management

• Maintain accurate stock levels, ensuring FIFO (First-In, First-Out) principles are applied.
• Oversee ordering, receiving, and storing ingredients, ensuring compliance with food safety standards.
• Manage budget control measures, minimizing food wastage and maintaining cost efficiency.
• Ensure all food items are stored at the correct temperatures, and labelling procedures are followed.
• Support the automation of catering processes, including software integration for improved efficiency.

Full duties on attached Job Description.

About us

Our Organisation

The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust (PAHT) provides a full range of general acute, outpatient and diagnostic services at The Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, the Herts and Essex Hospital in Bishop's Stortford, and St Margaret's Hospital in Epping.

We employ 3,500 staff and serve a local population of around 350,000 people living in west Essex and east Hertfordshire, centred on the M11 corridor and the towns of Harlow, Bishop's Stortford and Epping. Our extended catchment area incorporates a population of up to 500,000 and includes the areas of Hoddesdon, Cheshunt and Broxbourne in Hertfordshire.

Our Values

The Princess Alexandra Promise to our patients as identified by our 3 values which will contribute to improving our patient experiences:

Patient at heart - Always holding the patient and their wellbeing at the centre of our thoughts and efforts

Everyday excellence - Sharing and celebrating our successes, being honest when we get it wrong, giving us the ability to learn from both

Creative collaboration - Knowing strength comes from diversity, we combine our experiences, skills and talents, working together to find new and better ways to care

The Trust believes in investing in all our staff and rewarding high standards of care whilst building for excellence and in return we expect our staff to uphold the Trust values to the highest level.

Job responsibilities

Please see the attached Job description and person specification for the full job details. This is available to download at any time.

Person Specification

Experience

Qualifications and experiance

• level 3 food hygiene
• Previous experience in Large Retail/Hospitality environment
• NVQ in Catering level 2 or equivalent
• 3 GCSE Passes
• level 2 food hygiene
• Previous Hospital catering experience
• Electronic ordering experience

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer name

The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust

£31,049 to £37,796 a year, per annum, plus 5% high cost area supplement