Head Chef Manager

Vanta Staffing; Marlow; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Weekday daytime hours

Permanent, full-time

No regular weekends

Hands-on leadership

Influence menus

Job summary

Vanta Staffing are recruiting for an experienced Head Chef Manager to run a busy workplace deli in Marlow. This role leads a small catering team, ensuring high standards of food quality, service, hygiene and cost control.

Working Monday–Friday daytime (7:00am–4:30pm) with no regular weekends, the permanent, full-time role pays £35,000–£42,000 depending on experience. You will oversee breakfast, lunch and grab-and-go service, stock management and staff training.

Qualifications

• Strong practical cooking and food-production experience.
• Experience leading or supervising a small team.
• Good knowledge of food safety, hygiene and allergen controls.
• Experience with stock management, ordering and waste control.
• The ability to plan menus and manage food costs.
• Excellent organisation and communication skills.
• A calm and hands-on approach to busy service periods.
• Confidence completing paperwork, digital records and compliance checks.
• Level 3 Food Safety qualification, or willingness to obtain it.
• Experience with workplace catering, PPDS/Natasha's Law, recipe cards and allergen matrices would be advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Managing the daily operation of the deli and leading the catering team.
• Preparing and overseeing breakfast, lunch, hot-counter and grab-and-go food.
• Planning practical, appealing and commercially controlled weekly menus.
• Managing stock, ordering, portion control and food waste.
• Maintaining excellent food presentation and customer-service standards.
• Ensuring full compliance with food-safety, hygiene and allergen procedures.
• Training and supporting team members to maintain consistent standards.
• Reviewing sales, customer feedback and waste to improve the food offer.
• Providing hands‑on support during busy service periods.

Skills

Leadership

Cooking expertise

Food safety knowledge

Menu planning

Cost control

Communication skills

Education

Level 3 Food Safety qualification

Job description

Head Chef Manager

Location: Marlow

Salary: £35,000-£42,000 per annum, depending on experience

Contract: Permanent, Full-Time

Hours: Monday-Friday, 7:00am - 4:30pm

Vanta Staffing are recruiting for an experienced Head Chef Manager to take responsibility for the day-to-day running of a busy workplace deli in Marlow.

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced chef, café manager or catering professional looking for a hands-on management role with consistent Monday-to-Friday daytime hours and no regular weekends or late nights.

The Role

You will lead a small catering team and oversee the daily breakfast, lunch and grab-and-go operation, ensuring high standards of food quality, service, food safety and commercial control.

Key responsibilities include:

• Managing the daily operation of the deli and leading the catering team.
• Preparing and overseeing breakfast, lunch, hot-counter and grab-and-go food.
• Planning practical, appealing and commercially controlled weekly menus.
• Managing stock, ordering, portion control and food waste.
• Maintaining excellent food presentation and customer-service standards.
• Ensuring full compliance with food-safety, hygiene and allergen procedures.
• Managing recipe cards, allergen matrices, PPDS labelling and daily compliance records.
• Monitoring deliveries, stock rotation, temperatures and food storage.
• Training and supporting team members to maintain consistent standards.
• Reviewing sales, customer feedback and waste to improve the food offer.
• Providing hands‑on support during busy service periods.

About You

We are looking for someone with previous experience as a Chef Manager, Head Chef, Cook, Café Manager, Deli Manager or Workplace Catering Lead.

You will ideally have:

• Strong practical cooking and food-production experience.
• Experience leading or supervising a small team.
• Good knowledge of food safety, hygiene and allergen controls.
• Experience with stock management, ordering and waste control.
• The ability to plan menus and manage food costs.
• Excellent organisation and communication skills.
• A calm and hands‑on approach to busy service periods.
• Confidence completing paperwork, digital records and compliance checks.
• Level 3 Food Safety qualification, or willingness to obtain it.

Experience with workplace catering, PPDS/Natasha's Law, recipe cards and allergen matrices would be advantageous.

What's on Offer?

• £35,000-£42,000 salary, depending on experience.
• Monday-Friday, 7:00am-4:30pm.
• Permanent, full-time position.
• No regular weekend working or split shifts.
• Hands‑on leadership role with genuine responsibility.
• Opportunity to influence menus and improve the catering operation.

If you're an experienced chef or catering professional looking for a stable weekday management role, we'd love to hear from you.