Head Chef

Lounges; Ringwood; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading restaurant chain in Ringwood is seeking a Head Chef to join their dynamic team. The successful candidate will be responsible for preparing high-quality dishes using fresh ingredients, ensuring kitchen standards are met, and leading kitchen staff. We're looking for a passionate leader with solid kitchen experience and the ability to maintain excellent hygiene practices. Enjoy benefits like overtime pay, discounts, and opportunities for personal development. Join us to make every customer leave happy through great food.

Benefits

Overtime pay

50% staff discount

Paid breaks

28 days holiday

Company pension scheme

Career progression opportunities

Qualifications

• Experience as Head Chef, Kitchen Manager, or Sous Chef.
• Ability to work with fresh ingredients and maintain high hygiene standards.
• Demonstrated leadership in a kitchen environment.

Responsibilities

• Prepare customer orders to specifications in a safe kitchen.
• Ensure prep and par are completed for each shift.
• Lead a high-performing kitchen team to deliver excellent standards.

Skills

Communication

Leadership

Food safety practices

Culinary skills

Job description

You love real cooking. We love real cooking. Customers love real cooking. It's a no-brainer so you wonder why so many other places don't do it. We do it, and you'll be doing it with us - fresh, customer led, and with high-quality ingredients. We also love our real people who run Lounges. The person who runs these brilliant people has to be super-brilliant, and that'll be you. Your standards will be as high as ours, but exactly how you do it will be unique to you.

You’ll be doing it your way. You’ll be part of a dedicated, supportive team, working from our flexible all-day menu to give people food that'll make their day. It’s your responsibility to make each dish to spec, in a clean and safe kitchen, and to make sure all prep and par is completed for each shift. You’ll be helping every customer leave happy. Which they tend to do. Thanks to your great food.

The Good Stuff

• Overtime pay for every hour worked over contracted hours!
• Staff food on every shift
• 50% off food and drinks (including alcohol) from day one at all three of our brands - Lounge, Cosy Club and Brightside
• Paid breaks
• 28 days holiday (inclusive of Bank Holidays) pro rata
• Enhanced maternity and paternity pay after 2 years service
• The most talked-about staff party in hospitality - Loungefest!
• Competitions and incentives (like jetting off on an all expenses paid trip with one of our suppliers)
• Company pension scheme
• Long service awards
Power over your pay with Wagestream
• Emotional and practical support via the Licenced Trade Charity
• Great opportunity for personal development and career progression in a fast growing business
• Achievable bonuses
• Tips shared equally across the team, based on hours worked
• Christmas and Boxing Day off!

What you’ll bring

• You are probably an existing Head Chef, Kitchen Manager or Sous Chef looking for your first step into a Head Chef role.
• You will have experience of working with fresh ingredients and be able to demonstrate good chef / kitchen skills (food prep hot and cold, cleaning, knife skills, good hygiene practices)
• Your work ethic is rolling your sleeves up and getting stuck in and leading from the front; playing an active role in delivering excellent kitchen and food standards as part of a high performing team.
• Familiar with managing through clear KPIs and making decisions considering labour; stock; food safety requirements plus others.
• You will have worked in kitchen environments where you're required to report on various metrics including GPs; labour / house; food preparation.
• You will have demonstrated successful delivery of training and recruitment for kitchen teams including Apprentices, KPs, Chefs, Junior Sous Chefs and Sous Chefs.

If you want to find out more about us, follow us on LinkedIn or @life.at.loungers on TikTok and Instagram