Head Chef - Stowe Group

WSH Group; Buckingham; On-site; GBP 43,000 - 58,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

28 days holiday

Volunteering days

Grandparent leave

Enhanced maternity leave (24 weeks)

Training & development

Pension & life insurance

Perkbox discounts

Wellbeing hub & EAP

Free meals at work

Apprenticeships for all levels

Job summary

Holroyd Howe is seeking a Head Chef for the Stowe Group, based at Stowe School in Buckingham. You will lead catering across multiple school sites, drive culinary excellence, and develop kitchen teams to deliver high-quality, nutritious meals.

This role focuses on fresh, seasonal menus, allergen safety, and effective financial management within a prestigious educational setting. A chance to shape school catering across locations with a supportive team.

Qualifications

• Experience as Head Chef in contract catering, preferably in independent education or a high-profile setting.
• Strong leadership and team management skills.
• Passionate about fresh ingredients and innovative menus.
• Excellent organisational and financial management abilities.
• Knowledge of current food trends and allergen control.

Responsibilities

• Lead kitchen operations ensuring the highest standards of food quality, safety and presentation.
• Create innovative and seasonal menus tailored to the school’s requirements.
• Manage kitchen staff recruitment, training and development.
• Control budgets, stock and supplier relationships efficiently.
• Ensure compliance with all food safety, health & safety, and safeguarding policies.
• Collaborate with wider catering and school teams to deliver outstanding customer experiences.
• Accountability for allergen controls.

Skills

Leadership

Menu planning

Budgeting

Food safety

Allergen controls

Team management

Culinary excellence

Job description

Job Title:Head Chef - Stowe Group
Location:Buckingham
Contract Type:Full Time
Salary:£50K

Why Join us?

• 28 days holiday (including bank holidays)
• 3 volunteering days to give back to causes you care about
• 3 days grandparent leave for those special family moments
• 24 weeks enhanced maternity leave
• Bespoke training & development opportunities
• Pension & life insurance
• Discounts on high street brands, cinema & holidays via the Perkbox App
• Wellbeing hub & access to employee assistance programme
• Free meals while at work
• Career development through apprenticeships for all experience levels.

About the role:

Head Chef - Stowe Group

Are you an experienced Head Chef looking for a unique leadership opportunity? Join the prestigious Stowe Group and take responsibility for catering across multiple school sites, driving exceptional food standards, team development, and culinary excellence throughout the group.

Based within the stunning grounds of Stowe School, you'll work closely with kitchen teams across the schools, delivering fresh, modern, and nutritious food while ensuring consistency, innovation, and outstanding service. This is a high-profile role within a prestigious educational environment, offering the chance to influence catering across multiple locations and make a lasting impact.

More than just a Head Chef position, this is an opportunity to lead, inspire, and shape the future of catering within one of the UK's most respected school groups, all while working in a beautiful setting with a supportive and ambitious team.

You will be joining Holroyd Howe, one of the UK’s leading contract caterers, providing fresh innovative food services solely to independent schools and colleges. We are a team of experienced professionals who tailor our catering service provision specifically to suit children of all ages in order to meet the bespoke requirements of each school.

The safety and wellbeing of the people we serve is at the heart of everything we do. A key element is effective allergen management; achieved through training, communication, and care, we create mealtimes where every pupil has a safe experience. Our mission is simple: to provide our teams with the right skills to succeed in their job and our exceptional teams of seasoned specialists customise our catering services to fit children of all ages and satisfy the unique needs of our clients.

Job Description

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead kitchen operations ensuring the highest standards of food quality, safety, and presentation
• Create innovative and seasonal menus tailored to the school’s requirements
• Manage kitchen staff recruitment, training, and development
• Control budgets, stock, and supplier relationships efficiently
• Ensure compliance with all food safety, health & safety, and safeguarding policies
• Collaborate with the wider catering and school teams to deliver outstanding customer experiences
• Accountability for following and championing allergen controls

Qualifications

Candidate Profile:

• Ideally, you will have experience as an Head Chef within a contract catering environment, preferably in independent education, or a high-profile business and industry setting.
• Strong leadership and team management skills
• Passionate about fresh, quality ingredients and innovative menus
• Excellent organisational, communication, and financial management skills
• Knowledge of current food trends, sustainability, and allergen control

Additional Information

We pride ourselves on:

People first
We’re a company of individuals, united in doing our best for our clients.

Great food, always
Using only the best ingredients, our food is fresh, authentic and tailored to each school, age group, and specific needs and preferences.

Food education
We educate pupils through food, encouraging them to understand and develop their own personal tastes and make informed food choices.

Respect in everything we do
Our respectful codes of conduct inform how we behave towards our clients and customers, suppliers and business partners, and each other.

Fresh thinking
New ideas for food, service and ways of working help us maintain our position as creative leaders in school catering.

In order to be considered for this role you must be able to demonstrate that you have the Right to Work in the UK.

Holroyd Howe is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all employees to share this commitment. All roles within Holroyd Howe involve regulated activity. It is a criminal offence for individuals barred from working with children to apply for such roles. An Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, including a Barred List check will be required for all successful applicants. Shortlisted applicants will be asked to provide information about relevant criminal offences and will be subject to an online search of publicly available information. This search helps identify any issues that may affect suitability to work with children.

This appointment is offered on the return of satisfactory professional references.