Head Chef – Luxury Airport F&B Leader

Swissport-8ea42602; Greater London; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Excellent salary package

Holiday purchase scheme

Free parking on duty

CPD opportunities and memberships

Complimentary meals during shifts

Pension scheme

Employee assistance programme

Eye care vouchers

Discounts within the airport

Wardrobe provided

Saturday evenings off

Job summary

Aspire Lounges at London City Airport is seeking a Head Chef to lead daily F&B and kitchen operations, ensuring high-quality food, safety compliance, and efficient performance. You will train, coach, and manage the kitchen team, collaborating with Global/Regional F&B managers to maintain brand standards and guest experience.

The role combines hands-on leadership with strategic cost management and menu development, offering a competitive salary and industry CPD opportunities in a premium travel

Qualifications

• Hands-on leadership in busy kitchen environments across multiple culinary disciplines.
• Proven culinary leadership in premium hospitality lounges, hotels or restaurants.
• Strong communication, interpersonal, organisational and time-management skills.
• Basic IT skills and familiarity with stock or ordering systems.
• Willingness to undertake iLead and Level 3 training qualifications.
• Strong understanding of food safety regulations and kitchen best practices.
• Clear communication to help teams understand company strategy and goals.
• Ability to build positive relationships across teams under pressure.
• Embrace ideas culture to enable an agile edge.
• Fluent spoken and written English.
• Constructive feedback to culinary team on operational results.

Responsibilities

• Ensure full compliance with Food Safety, HACCP, COSHH, and hygiene regulations.
• Conduct kitchen checks and maintain records to support audits.
• Promote strong food safety culture and maintain high cleanliness standards.
• Ensure allergen procedures and safe handling practices are followed.
• Recruit, onboard and train kitchen staff.
• Lead and supervise F&B/kitchen team for smooth operations.
• Plan tasks, maintain productivity and service standards.
• Coach and support team performance and development.
• Coordinate kitchen and front-of-house alignment.
• Maintain consistent food prep and presentation to brand standards.
• Monitor stock, rotation, waste, and cost of sale.
• Conduct stock takes and manage inventory records.
• Ensure kitchen equipment is maintained and operational.
• Drive menu innovation and operational procedures.
• Monitor food costs and waste, seek efficiency improvements.

Skills

Hands-on leadership

Culinary leadership

Communication

Organisational skills

Time management

IT literacy

Stock systems

iLead training

Food safety knowledge

Team collaboration

English fluency

Feedback provision

Tools

Microsoft Office

Learning Management Systems

Job description

Aspire Lounges at London City Airport is seeking a Head Chef to lead daily F&B and kitchen operations, ensuring high-quality food, safety compliance, and efficient performance. You will train, coach, and manage the kitchen team, collaborating with Global/Regional F&B managers to maintain brand standards and guest experience.

The role combines hands-on leadership with strategic cost management and menu development, offering a competitive salary and industry CPD opportunities in a premium travel