Head Chef

Young'S Pubs; Wedmore; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 52,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Autonomy to create menus

Apprenticeship scheme & development

Culinary masterclasses

Food trips with suppliers

Chef forums

Free meals

Staff discounts: 20% in Young's Pubs;

Discount on overnight stays

Share save scheme

Enhanced pension scheme

28 days holiday

Job summary

The Dunstan House Inn, part of Young's Pubs, is seeking a Head Chef to lead the kitchen and craft seasonal menus in a vibrant pub with rooms. You will own the culinary direction, drive quality, and manage a skilled kitchen team, delivering exceptional guest experiences daily.

You will work with fresh seasonal produce, develop dishes, and mentor apprentices while enjoying a supportive, growth‑driven environment within Young's Pubs.

Qualifications

• Experience creating and costing seasonal menus and specials.
• Proven ability to lead and develop a kitchen team.
• Strong focus on food quality and guest satisfaction.
• Ability to manage GP, labour costs and kitchen controls.
• Excellent communication with front of house and kitchen teams.
• Hands-on, proactive chef with creative flair.

Responsibilities

• Inspire and lead the kitchen team to deliver seasonal menus.
• Develop and cost menus to align with the business vision.
• Oversee kitchen operations and health and safety compliance.
• Manage the kitchen rota, training and staff development.
• Collaborate with suppliers and front of house to drive growth.

Skills

Menu creation

Team leadership

Food quality

Costing & GP

Communication

Hands-on kitchen

Job description

Head Chef

About us:

The Dunstan House Inn is a fantastic pub with rooms, situated in the heart of the local community. We're all about the good things, nostalgic British food, real ale, wines from around the world and an enviable range of gins. Our team are ambitious, positive and all about putting our guests first. Upstairs, there are six stunning en-suite guest bedrooms, and we're just a stone's throw from the gorgeous seaside and town centre. In the Summer we're bustling, we've got the best beer garden around and all day sunshine, with an outdoor bar and our coveted burger shack serving up proper burgers all season long. In the Winter, we transform into a cosy winter retreat, with roaring log fires, candles simmering and hearty pub classics served from our talented kitchen team all week long. We love to see our team grow their skills and develop their career whilst they are with us, and actively encourage our team to partake in as much training as possible.

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 ourHead 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