Head Chef

PGL; Woodbridge; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading outdoor education provider in Woodbridge is seeking a Head Chef to manage the catering team and ensure safe, nutritious meals are provided. The successful candidate will oversee food hygiene standards, manage financial aspects of the catering operation, and lead training initiatives. This role is ideal for someone passionate about food and education, offering a balance between career progression and personal time, including advantages like generous leave and development opportunities.

Benefits

25 days annual leave (+ 8 bank holidays)

Paid volunteering days

Access to Wellbeing Hub

PGL breaks for family

Discounts at 800+ retailers

Qualifications

• Experience as a Sous Chef/Head Chef in a mid-to-large scale dining environment.
• Experience and understanding of food mass production.
• Ability to manage financial aspects of catering operations.

Responsibilities

• Manage a team of Chefs & Catering Assistants.
• Ensure adherence to food hygiene and safety standards.
• Organize rotas and training for team members.

Skills

Leadership

Organisational skills

Food hygiene knowledge

Understanding of dietary requirements

Education

City & Guilds 7061/2 or equivalent

Level 3 or above in Food Safety and Allergen Management

Job description

Use your catering skills to fuel adventure

PGL creates extraordinary breakthroughs for children through active and life-affirming experiences in the great outdoors. But that’s not all… we’re part of something bigger. We’re powered by PGL Beyond, a group of inspiring companies with a shared purpose to deliver enriching and transformative experiences to the younger generation.

By joining PGL, you’ll play a key role in delivering on our mission to make outdoor education more impactful, sustainable, and inclusive for future generations. Excited? So are we!

A Head Chef position like no other…

What could be more important than fuelling the next generation for adventure? Our catering team are proud to serve tasty & nutritious meals, combining reassuring favourites and new cuisines to keep the adventure going. Our centralised team provides all the recipes, enabling you and your team to focus on executing our proven menus; delivering delicious as well as safe food by ensuring all health and safety, allergen safety & food safety standards are followed.

You will work limited late nights, with a Friday or Saturday evening off most weeks (especially outside of our peak season) and no working over Christmas - this could be the perfect role to progress your career in catering without sacrificing that all important social and family time!

As Head Chef, you’ll be reporting to the Catering Manager, and responsible for managing a team of Chefs & Catering Assistants; organising rotas, setting clear objectives and identifying any training needs. You will also ensure your team is following procedures to maintain exemplary levels of food hygiene, and confidently managing complex dietary requirements. Alongside managing financial aspects of the catering operation, production planning, waste and stock management.

Is this you?

• Experience as a Sous Chef/Head Chef in a mid-to-large scale dining environment
• Has experience and understanding of food mass production
• A confident leader of people with strong organisational and decision-making skills
• Excellent knowledge of food hygiene & handling complex dietary requirements including allergies and intolerances
• You will hold your City & Guilds 7061/2 (or equivalent) and Level 3 or above in Food Safety and Allergen Management

Above all, it’s our core values of FUN, SAFETY, QUALITY, INCLUSIVITY, TEAMWORK and RESPECT that unite us.

A place to thrive

No matter your background, ethnicity, age, neurodivergence or anything else … PGL is a place to be yourself, have fun, use your valuable skills for good and celebrate what makes you brilliantly unique.

Fair pay and benefits for all

• On top of your 25 days annual leave (+ 8 bank holidays), you’ll also enjoy your birthday off, have paid volunteering days to help worthwhile causes and the option to purchase additional holiday.
• A career with ongoing growth, aided development, mentoring, multiple pathways and opportunities to work across different UK or French locations.
• 24/7 access to our Wellbeing Hub alongside our Employee Assistance Program Sector leading family friendly policies and a contributory pension
• Access to our financial wellbeing platform where you can borrow or save directly from your salary.
• Free/discounted PGL breaks for your family & discounts at 800+ retailers.

We hire the best talent and value a diverse, inclusive team; so, we are dedicated to ensuring our application process is accessible to everyone and are happy to provide helpful adjustments to make it easier to complete. Simply email or call us with detail around the adjustments you need. However, our top priority is the safety of the guests on our centres. Therefore, all centre based employees and some specific Head Office employees must undergo an Enhanced criminal record check (known as DBS or PVG), which we pay for. You will need to provide a 5-year address history and ID (such as passport/birth certificate). Convictions related to violence, drugs, or safeguarding may affect your application. Not all convictions will disqualify you, as we assess each case individually.