Head Chef

Suffolk County Council; Ipswich; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 37,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Free lunch

Pension scheme

Staff gym and swimming pool access

Job summary

Ipswich School is seeking a Head Chef to lead its busy Catering Department, serving over 1100 lunches daily for pupils and staff. You will line-manage Assistant Chefs and oversee Senior, Prep, and Boarding House kitchens, ensuring high standards for all school functions and events.

The role requires delivering a 3-week termly menu, controlling budgets, and maintaining food safety, hygiene, and welfare policies across all sites.

Qualifications

• Relevant qualification such as NVQ Level 3/City and Guilds 706/1 and 2 or equivalent.
• Manual driving licence for the use of our catering vehicles.
• Experience of leading a busy kitchen team.
• Experience of catering in a large and busy institution.
• A demonstrable passion for food and customer service.
• Ability to work calmly under pressure.
• Good interpersonal skills, with the ability to relate well to pupils, colleagues, staff and visitors.

Responsibilities

• Manage kitchen staff on all sites, complete performance reviews, and coordinate chef cover for daily ops, evenings and weekends.
• Lead the Senior School kitchen and assist with breakfast/lunch/dinners and events as required.
• Take the lead on purchasing for the Senior School and liaise with suppliers as needed.
• Develop termly menu cycles for the senior school, accounting for allergies and dietary needs.
• Support preparation of breakfast and lunch per daily/weekly menus and delegate tasks.
• Control the catering budget to balance cost and customer expectations.
• Manage stock levels to minimise waste and ensure cost efficiency.
• Collaborate with the Catering Director on summer camps and out-of-term lettings.
• Ensure catering for events in collaboration with Hospitality Manager.
• Place orders before cutoff times and ensure on-site delivery of ingredients.
• Assist in stocktakes and breaks during high-activity periods.
• Drive catering vehicles when required to ensure supplies are in the right place.

Skills

Kitchen leadership

Staff management

Food safety

Catering in schools

Customer service

Staying calm under pressure

Education

NVQ Level 3/City & Guilds 706/1 & 2

Job description

• Ipswich School
• Address: Ipswich, Suffolk IP1 3SG
• Salary: £33,291 per annum
• Hours: Full time, Monday-Friday 9am-5pm (with some flexibility), 42 weeks per year
• Contract: Permanent. Required as soon as possible
• Reference: 5486

Ipswich School is looking for a Head Chef.

The Head Chef is a highly visible, key member of our busy Catering Department. The department caters for over 1100 lunches each day for pupils and staff. We serve breakfast, lunch (and dinner to our Boarding House residents), and cater for daytime, evening and weekend functions and sporting fixtures.

We are looking for someone to drive our Chef team forward and who will show commitment, flair and innovation to ensure that the catering services supplied by the department are consistently of a high standard.

You will line manage the Assistant Chefs and will lead the catering team each day to ensure lunch service runs smoothly and on time. You will primarily be responsible for running the Senior School kitchen but will oversee, and be the first point of contact for, the Prep School and Boarding House kitchens.

You will ensure all school functions and events are catered for, including sports teas.

You will provide an agreed level of management cover in the absence of other members of the Catering Management team.

You are expected to work in a clean and hygienic way and to comply with the School’s Health, Safety and Welfare Policy.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

• you will be responsible for managing kitchen staff on all sites, completing performance reviews, and coordinating chef cover when needed for daily operations, evening services, and weekend shifts
• on a daily basis, you will manage the kitchen team at the Senior School and assist with the preparation for breakfast/lunches/dinners and events when required
• take the lead on all purchasing for the Senior School through Pelican Pi and attend meetings with suppliers when required with the Catering Director
• you will be responsible for producing a 3 week termly menu cycle for the senior school alongside the Catering Director, ensuring an attractive range of choices and that all allergies and dietary requirements are catered for, while checking with the Boarding chef for any clashes of dishes
• assist with the preparation of breakfast and lunch in accordance with the daily and weekly menus, delegating tasks as appropriate
• effectively manage the allocated catering budget to achieve best value whilst meeting the high expectations of your customers
• manage and control stock levels to minimise waste and ensure cost efficiency
• collaborate with the Catering Director to ensure the smooth running of summer camps and other out-of-term lettings
• collaborate with the Hospitality Manager to ensure catering requirements are met for all events
• ensure orders for all suppliers are placed before the cut off times and make sure ingredients are on site when needed
• assist with the half-termly stocktake
• assist in the running of summer camp and Easter revision camp
• support other members of the Catering team with their duties as needed, or arrange for appropriate delegation
• where required, drive our catering vehicles to ensure supplies are in the right place at the right time.

Deliveries and Storage:

• order food and supplies as directed by the Catering Director
• ensure deliveries are put away as soon as is practicable
• operate safe storage by using the first in, first out system
• ensure all opened packages are stored correctly in sealed containers
• ensure all date stamped food is monitored
• ensure that portions of food for freezing are covered, labelled and dated
• ensure all food storage areas are kept clean, and any spillages are wiped up immediately
• ensure food is stored correctly in the fridge with raw food always stored at the bottom
• ensure all food preparation areas, handles, surfaces etc are sanitized daily.

Hygiene, Health and Safety:

• adhere to uniform requirements as directed by the Catering Director
• adhere to responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
• you should maintain the work areas for which you are responsible in a safe and hygienic manner
• adhere to the cleaning rota
• ensure all food equipment is clean and in good condition, and report any defects immediately
• use correct cleaning materials and abide by COSHH regulations.

Security:

• ensure that the kitchen is secure after each shift, returning the key to the correct place at the end of the shift
• ensure all lockable items are secured after each shift.

This list is not exhaustive, and duties may be changed or added to as determined from time to time.

This is a busy operational role and therefore a degree of flexibility around duties and working arrangements is to be expected.

Reporting

The Head Chef reports to the Catering Director and also works closely with the Hospitality and Personnel Manager and the rest of the Chef team.

Qualifications and skills required

Essential:

• relevant qualification such as NVQ Level 3/City and Guilds 706/1 and 2 or equivalent
• manual driving licence for the use of our catering vehicles
• experience of leading a busy kitchen team
• experience of catering in a large and busy institution
• a demonstrable passion for food and customer service
• ability to work calmly under pressure
• good interpersonal stills, with the ability to relate well to pupils, colleagues, staff and visitors.

Desirable:

• an intermediate food hygiene certificate
• experience of catering in a large institution/school.

Hours of work, salary and benefits:

• you will usually work Mondays - Fridays 9am - 5pm, with a 30-minute break for lunch each day. This is 7.5 hours per day, 37.5 hours per week. You may be required to vary your start and finish times as required, for example to receive deliveries or oversee a function
• you will be required to work 42 weeks per year. 35 weeks are worked during Ipswich School term times, and 7 weeks as required during the school holidays, including one or two days prior to the start and after the end of each term (as instructed by the Catering Director) to carry out a deep clean
• the annual salary for this post is £33,291.38 per annum (for the hours above, worked for 42 weeks per year) and includes holiday pay in accordance with the Working Time Regulations
• salaries are reviewed annually and are paid over 12 months in arrears on the last working day of each month by BACS
• uniform is provided and should be worn at all times
• holiday may only be taken during weeks in which you are not required to work
• the appointment is subject to satisfactory completion of a 6-month probationary period.
• after 3 months’ service and/or in line with workplace pension legislation, you will be entitled to join our generous pension scheme offering 10% employer contributions
• free lunch is provided during term time whilst the kitchen is in operation, and staff are able to use the school’s swimming pool and fitness gym (in compliance with appropriate rules and regulations).

Ipswich School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff to share this commitment. Applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service. Having a criminal record will not necessarily be a bar to obtaining the position. The Ipswich School Policy on the recruitment of ex-offenders and the Code of Practice relating to the Disclosure and Barring Service are available on request.

Ipswich School’s employees are responsible for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children and young people they are responsible for or come into contact with. The post holder must adhere to and ensure compliance with the School’s Safeguarding Children Policy at all times. If, in the course of carrying out his/her duties the post holder becomes aware of any actual or potential risks to the safety or welfare of children in the School he/she must report any concerns to the School’s Safeguarding Children Officer (the Senior Deputy Head [Pastoral] for Senior School pupils and the Prep Deputy Head for Prep pupils and The Nursery Manager for The Lodge Day Nursery).

Ipswich School’s employees are expected to attend training in safeguarding children as directed.