Head Chef

Care Concern Group; Romford; On-site; GBP 20,000 - 29,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

£18.00 per hour

Contracted to 40 hours per week

Paid DBS, pension, uniform provided

5.6 weeks annual leave

No late evenings or split shifts

Job summary

Willows Care Home in Romford is seeking a Head Chef to lead the kitchen, delivering nutritious, high quality meals tailored to residents’ needs. You will drive menu planning, stock control and budget management, while maintaining food safety and a patient‑focused dining experience.

You will lead a team, foster development, and ensure consistent quality with a strong emphasis on workplace balance and efficiency.

Qualifications

• Leadership experience in a kitchen environment.
• Compliance with food safety and dietary requirements.
• Proactive approach to quality and cost control.

Responsibilities

• Take full ownership of the kitchen and lead from the front to deliver high quality meals.
• Drive all kitchen operations: menu planning, food prep, stock control and compliance.
• Manage budgets, waste reduction and supplier relationships.
• Lead and develop the kitchen team to a high performing standard.

Skills

Proven experience leading or managing

Strong leadership

Dietary requirements and food safety

Proactive, reliable and quality focus

Education

City & Guilds 706/1 and 706/2 or equivalent

Basic Food Hygiene Certificate

Job description

As Head Chef, you will take full ownership of the kitchen, leading from the front to deliver high quality, nutritious and enjoyable meals that are central to daily life. This is a role where your leadership and standards will shape the entire dining experience, creating meals that residents look forward to every day. You will drive all aspects of kitchen operations, from menu planning and food preparation to stock control, compliance and team performance. Working with fresh ingredients, you will ensure meals are tailored to individual dietary needs while maintaining consistently high standards of presentation, nutrition and food safety. With a strong focus on efficiency and cost control, you will manage stock, ordering and budgets effectively, minimising waste while ensuring quality is never compromised. Leading and developing your team, you will build a well organised, motivated and high performing kitchen. This role offers a rare opportunity to combine strong leadership, quality food and a better work life balance.

Qualifications

• City & Guilds 706/1 and 706/2 or equivalent, or working towards
• Basic Food Hygiene Certificate
• Proven experience leading or managing a kitchen
• Strong leadership and organisational skills
• Good understanding of dietary requirements and food safety

A proactive, reliable and quality focused approach

About the Home

Willows Care Home is a friendly, modern nursing home in a residential area of Romford, providing person-centred nursing, dementia, palliative and short-term care. The home combines comprehensive facilities with a warm, homely atmosphere to ensure comfort, dignity and compassionate support for all residents., Willows Care Home is part of Care Concern Group, a family owned, market leading care provider with a strong and growing presence across the United Kingdom. We are committed to delivering high quality care and developing supportive, rewarding workplaces where our teams can thrive.

Our five core values Trust|Respect|Passion|Kindness|Inclusivity are at the heart of everything we do, shaping the care we deliver and the environments we create. If you share these values and want to build or develop your career in care, we would love to hear from you.

Benefits

• £18.00 per hour
• Contracted to 40 hours per week
• Paid DBS, pension, uniform provided
• 5.6 weeks annual leave (based on a full time contract)
• No late evenings or split shifts, offering a consistent working pattern and genuine work life balance, alongside ongoing training, development and clear opportunities for career progression within a well structured and supportive environment.