Head Chef

Harri; Tonbridge and Malling; On-site; GBP 41,000 - 50,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Free meals

20% discount in Young's Pubs

30% discount on overnight stays

Share save Scheme

Enhanced Company Pension Scheme

28 Days Holiday per year

Apprenticeship Scheme

Development Programmes

Culinary masterclasses

Regular Chef Forums

Job summary

The Carpenters Arms is seeking a creative and passionate Head Chef to lead the kitchen and shape our seasonal menu in a countryside pub setting near Tonbridge, Kent. You will drive quality, consistency and guest satisfaction while managing a small team and delivering exciting specials.

We offer autonomy to craft menus, access to apprenticeship and development programmes, masterclasses, and staff perks including free meals and generous staff discounts.

Qualifications

• Experience leading a kitchen team at a pub or restaurant.
• Ability to develop, cost and produce fresh seasonal menus.
• Strong passion for quality food and consistent service.

Responsibilities

• Lead the kitchen team and manage daily operations.
• Shape the menu with seasonal dishes and daily specials.
• Maintain high standards of quality, consistency and freshness.
• Oversee food cost, GP and labour controls and scheduling.

Skills

Team leadership

Menu development

Creativity

Cost control

Communication

Job description

Head Chef

HEAD CHEF £45,000 basic + TIPS & SERVICE CHARGE Typicalearnings of £52,000 + overtime

The Carpenters Arms | Countryside Pub | Tonbridge, Kent

Set amongst the beautiful farmland surrounding Tonbridge, The Carpenters Arms is a charming countryside pub with 9 cosy hotel rooms, a welcoming atmosphere and a real passion for good food!

We’re looking for a creative and passionate Head Chef to join our team and help us continue to develop our food offering.

Our approach to food is simple: good ingredients, properly cooked, delicious food and no unnecessary fuss.

We love classic pub favorites, seasonal dishes, daily specials and, of course, a cracking Sunday roast with all the trimmings. We also run regular themed food events, bringing a little excitement to the pub and giving our chefs the chance to have some more fun with food.

As Head Chef, you’ll have the opportunity to shape our menus, develop daily specials and introduce seasonal dishes, working with the best ingredients available.

We’re looking for someone who enjoys being creative but also understands the importance of consistency, quality and delivering food that our guests genuinely want to come back for.

You’ll lead the kitchen team, help develop our food offering and play an important part in creating the experience our guests enjoy.

Our philosophy is simply we CARE:

• Community
• Attention to detail
• Reliable
• Engaging

This forms the foundation for every thing we do!

We believe hard work should be rewarded

Alongside your £45,000 base salary:

• Service charge and tips typically add around £7,500 per year
• Overtime is paid on top of contracted hours
• We encourage a 4-day working week for our chefs wherever possible
• You’ll have genuine input into the development of our food offering and team

And we’re serious about work-life balance. We want our chefs to enjoy their time at work without feeling that the kitchen has to take over their whole life.

The Carpenters Arms, nestled in the beautiful farmland surrounding Tonbridge in Kent, offers to showcase the best of British' seasonal menu alongside a range of premium old & new world wines, international lagers, well-conditioned ales and fantastic personal service from our small, friendly & professional team. We're a busy pub serving great food every day and have a busy bar serving locals, ramblers,visitors, and their four-legged friends alike.

Being a Head Chef at Young's:

We believe every pub should be different. This means that you'll be writing your own recipes that match the food vision of your business using fresh seasonal ingredients. The food vision could be all about showcasing local produce, country pub classics, seafood, small plates and sharers, dry-aged meat - each pub is different and its up to you as head chef to put your own creative stamp on that vision. We work with fresh, seasonal produce, so the menu should constantly evolve to showcase these fantastic ingredients when they are at their best. Premium fresh food crafted by skilled chefs in Premium Pubs .

What we offer our Head Chefs:

• Head Chefs get to have full autonomy to create your own menus and specials
• Access to our Apprenticeship Scheme and Development Programmes
• Access to regular culinary masterclasses covering topics such as Game, Butchery and Shellfish
• Access to inspirational food trips with our top quality suppliers
• Regular Chef Forums with other Head Chefs to inspire and develop
• Free meals
• 20% discount in all Young's Pubs and 30% discount on overnight stays in our Pubs with Rooms
• Share save Scheme
• Enhanced Company Pension Scheme
• 28 Days Holiday per year

What we look for in a Head Chef:

This role requires someone that can inspire a team, to bring out the potential and lead by example whilst being able to develop, cost and produce fresh seasonal menus for the variety of revenue streams within the business.

• Have experience championing excellent service through quality food either as a Head Chef or in the position of Sous Chef
• Demonstrate a passion for leading and developing a team
• Be an active hands-on team player with excellent communication skills
• Be responsible and able to manage the kitchen staff rota, training and all health and safety effectively at all times
• Be able to demonstrate your creativity and ability to design and deliver new dishes for our menus and daily specials
• Demonstrate great planning and organisational skills, necessary to maintain effective controls with regard to both GP and labour
• Have a pro-active approach to driving sales and delivering growth, through engagement with both kitchen and front of house teams