Head Chef - Harpenden Springs-Catering

Oakland Care; Hatching Green; On-site; GBP 46,000 - 48,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Free meals

Uniform provided

Enhanced Bank Holiday pay

Extra annual leave

Cycle to Work scheme

Birthday time off

Sick pay above statutory

Refer a Friend scheme

Staff recognition

Long service awards

Health cash plan

Death in service

Job summary

Oakland Care is seeking an exceptional Head Chef for our Harpenden home to elevate the residents’ dining experience. You will lead a talented kitchen, craft exquisite menus, and ensure every meal is a masterpiece with strong leadership and a passion for quality service.

You will oversee a busy kitchen, manage budgets, ensure HACCP and health & safety compliance, and mentor a team to deliver nutritious options and therapeutic diets for residents with diverse dietary needs.

Qualifications

• 3+ years experience as a Senior Chef/Chef in a high-quality service setting.
• Understanding of HACCP, nutrition and therapeutic diets.
• Impeccable leadership and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Kitchen and Dining service across the home in line with health, safety and hygiene regulations.
• Deliver safe, nutritious and appealing menu options including therapeutic diets.
• Order, receipting and monitor catering spend within the allocated budget.
• Manage stock levels and conduct catering audits; oversee rota and team coverage.

Skills

Leadership

Menu planning

Budget & cost control

Stock management

Health & safety

Education

3+ years Senior Chef experience

Intermediate food hygiene certificate

Job description

We are looking for an exceptional Head Chef to elevate our residents' dining experience! You’ll lead a talented kitchen, craft exquisite menus, and ensure every meal is a masterpiece! If you have outstanding leadership skills and a passion for quality service, we want YOU!

We offersome excellent rewards and benefits including:

• We offer all team members 1 freemeal per shift.
• Uniform provided.
• EnhancedBank Holiday pay.
• Increased Annual Leave entitlement. Team members who work with us for 3 years or more, get extra annual leave.
• Cycle to Work scheme – Why not save money on commuting costs and improve your health at the same time.
• Milestone Birthdays - get EXTRA time off to celebratethat special birthday.
• Company sickpay which is over and above the statutory entitlement. (subjectto length of service).
• Refer a FriendScheme for successfulreferrals- for all permanentroles within Oakland Care (T&C's apply).
• Recognition and staff appreciation initiatives.
• Long service awards.
• Health Cash Plan (subject to T&Cs).
• Death in Service Benefit (subject to T&Cs).

And much more……….

Location:Harpenden Springs, 22-24 Grove Road, Harpenden AL5 1PX

Hours: 40 hours per week

Pay: £46,000 per annum (Depending on experience)

Contract: Permanent

Shift: Days

We are an award-winning Care Home provider who deliver high quality, kind and compassionate care. For our residents, joining one of our Homes is like joining our family - and we make that no different for our new colleagues. The Head Chef is a role model within the Home and has a real opportunity to add value to our resident experience by managing all aspects of the dining experience.

What you will be doing:

• Leading the Kitchen and Dining service across the home in line with Health, Safety, Food Hygiene and COSHH regulations.
• Deliver safe, nutritious and appealing menu options including therapeutic diets.
• Ordering, receipting and accurately maintaining and monitoring catering spend within the allocated food budget.
• Responsibility for managing, maintaining and recording stock levels and completing catering audits.
• Managing your team's rota to ensure sufficient coverage including during absence to maintain operational continuity.

What you need to succeed:

• At least 3 years experience in working as a Senior Chef/Chef within a high quality service, ideally within a setting where you have had to deal with different dietary requirements and allergens.
• Good understanding of HACCP, nutrition and therapeutic diets.
• Impeccable leadership and communication skills.
• Possess Intermediate food hygiene certificate.
• Experience of recruiting, inducting and training your own team.
  Can do attitude and willingness to work, ensuring we support our residents with the best quality service.

“Our mission”is to provide exceptional homes for people to live, love and be loved where everyone is part of our family.

• Family
• Integrity
• Respect
• Exceptional
• Sustainable