Head Pizza Chef

Arcade Covent Garden; Greater London; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Refer a friend bonus

Internal wage advance

Restaurant recognition budget

50% off food at Arcade

50% off food at JKS restaurants

Counselling access

Hospitality Action support

Team parties

Job summary

Arcade Covent Garden is seeking a commercially minded Head Pizza Chef to lead Gracey’s Pizza in Covent Garden. You will own the Gracey’s brand day-to-day, running a kitchen like your own business and delivering top-quality, high-volume pizzas.

You will lead a small team, drive product quality, and manage costs and profitability while ensuring compliance with food safety and health standards. A strong leadership track record in fast-paced environments is essential.

Qualifications

• Experience as a Head Pizza Chef or senior leadership role in a busy kitchen.
• Strong commitment to food quality and consistency.
• Ability to manage a small team and drive performance.
• Understanding of sales, labour, and food cost management.

Responsibilities

• Deliver exceptional food quality and consistency in every service.
• Lead and inspire a small team, creating a positive and accountable kitchen culture.
• Drive weekly and monthly sales targets while identifying opportunities to maximise revenue.
• Manage labour budgets through smart scheduling and team deployment.
• Control food costs, stock levels, ordering and waste to deliver profitability.
• Ensure full compliance with food safety, health & safety, and hygiene standards.

Skills

Head Pizza Chef

Kitchen leadership

High-volume service

Quality focus

Commercial mindset

Job description

About Arcade:

Arcade incubates and scales exciting food brands in partnership with talented chefs and creators. We're redefining modern hospitality by combining entrepreneurial food concepts with operational excellence and high-volume delivery.

About Gracey's Pizza:

We're a growing pizza business bringing bold & characterful pizzas to the people of Hertfordshire & London and have carved a reputation for serving up distinctive Italian-American style crispy pizza pies.

From our respected St Albans pizzeria - where it all began - and our London kitchens reside in the buzzing Arcade restaurants we serve up thin, crispy pies made with an exceptional level of craft & care. We're all about flavour, consistency, and creating a workplace where people enjoy coming in every day.

About The Role:

We're excited to open applications for our Head Pizza Chef at Gracey's Pizza (Covent Garden). As a Head Pizza Chef, you will take ownership of the Gracey's brand, becoming the driving force behind its day-to-day success and run your kitchen like it's your own business. Leading a small team, championing product quality, and delivering strong commercial performance.

This role is perfect for a commercially minded and experience Pizza Chef with strong leadership skills who thrives in a high-volume environment and wants to play a key role in the success of one of Arcade's exciting chef-led concepts.

As a successful Head Pizza Chef at Arcade, you will:

• Deliver exceptional food quality and consistency in every service


• Lead and inspire a small team, creating a positive and accountable kitchen culture


• Drive weekly and monthly sales targets while identifying opportunities to maximise revenue


• Manage labour budgets effectively through smart scheduling and team deployment


• Control food costs, stock levels, ordering, and waste to deliver strong profitability


• Ensure full compliance with food safety, health & safety, and hygiene standards


• Work closely with the Site Operations Manager to drive performance and solve challenges quickly

We'd love to hear from you if you:

• Bring proven experience as a Head Pizza Chef, Senior Sous Chef, Head Chef, Kitchen Manager, Brand Lead Chef, or similar leadership role within a high-volume hospitality environment


• Take real pride in product quality and consistently delivering exceptional food experiences


• Run your kitchen with an ownership mindset and understand the importance of commercial performance
  
• Have a strong understanding of sales, labour, food cost, and stock management


• Know how to balance operational excellence with delivering an outstanding guest experience


• Have experience leading, motivating, and developing small kitchen teams


• Bring excellent organisational and problem-solving skills and perform well under pressure


• Maintain high standards of food safety, compliance, and operational discipline

We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive team. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds.

Working at Arcade:

Our teams are the most important part of our business, translating our passion for genuine hospitality to our guests every day. We are proud to work with industry-leading talent and recognise the importance of offering our teams the tools, guidance and experience necessary to build confidence and grow.

At Arcade, we’re more than just a restaurant group. We’re a collective of bold, diverse food and drink brands driven by creativity, collaboration, and a passion for hospitality. We believe in growing together, empowering our people, and creating opportunities to thrive across all areas of the business. Whether onsite, behind the scenes or head office, working at Arcade means being part of something exciting, fast-moving, and truly unique in the hospitality industry.

Benefits of being part of the team:

• Refer a friend bonus


• Internal wage advance facility to instantly access the wages you’ve earned


• A restaurant recognition budget for Birthday goodies and career milestones


• 50% off food in our restaurants for you and your loved ones


• 50% off food in JKS restaurants within Arcade for you and your loved ones


• Access to counselling, remote GP/physio services, legal advice and more through


• Hospitality Action 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year


• Summer and Christmas team parties where we all down tools and have some fun!

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