Head Chef – Lead a Daytime Café Kitchen from Launch

Chefs Ltd; Greater London; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 48,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary range

Performance bonus

Fixed shifts

Daytime operation

28 days holiday

Staff meals

Uniform provided

Pension

Founders collaboration

Leadership opportunity

Job summary

Chefs for Chefs is seeking a Head Chef to own the kitchen operation from day one in Kidbrooke, London. You’ll collaborate with the founders on menu development, recipe testing and kitchen systems while leading a new team and building strong station workflows.

This role blends hands-on cooking with leadership, cost control and food safety, ensuring consistent quality during busy services and helping shape a daytime-focused, premium casual dining concept.

Qualifications

• Two years’ experience as Head Chef, Senior Sous Chef or Kitchen Manager.
• Experience in a busy, quality-focused café, brunch, premium casual dining or fast-casual environment.
• Excellent pan, griddle and egg-cookery skills under pressure.
• Strong understanding of batch preparation, service flow and kitchen organisation.
• Experience managing food costs, stock and waste.
• High standards of food safety, hygiene and team training.

Responsibilities

• Lead the kitchen team through pre-opening, launch and ongoing service.
• Develop and test recipes, menus and seasonal specials.
• Establish efficient preparation systems and station workflows.
• Deliver consistent food quality, presentation and portion control.
• Oversee ordering, stock rotation, waste management and kitchen gross profit.
• Use modern kitchen equipment and digital recipe systems effectively.
• Implement HACCP procedures and maintain excellent food hygiene standards.
• Recruit, train and develop a reliable, high-performing kitchen team.
• Work closely with the founders to evolve the menu and improve the business.

Skills

Head Chef exp

Cafe/kitchen operations

Egg cookery

Batch prep

Food cost mgmt

Hygiene standards

Kitchen leadership

Modern kitchen tech

Tools

Combi-ovens

High-speed ovens

Digital recipe controls

Job description

Chefs for Chefs is seeking a Head Chef to own the kitchen operation from day one in Kidbrooke, London. You’ll collaborate with the founders on menu development, recipe testing and kitchen systems while leading a new team and building strong station workflows.

This role blends hands-on cooking with leadership, cost control and food safety, ensuring consistent quality during busy services and helping shape a daytime-focused, premium casual dining concept.