Hospitality and Catering Manager

apetito; Trowbridge; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 62,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Accredited Living Wage Employer

25 days annual leave plus bank

Discretionary bonus

Pension scheme

Life assurance

Subsidised onsite restaurant

Free onsite parking

Perks scheme

Job summary

apetito Limited is seeking an experienced Hospitality and Catering Manager to lead onsite catering across Kitchen East and West at our Trowbridge site. You will drive menus, service quality and cost control while developing a capable team to operate across shifts, including occasional nights and weekends.

You will oversee budgeting, stock, food safety and compliance, ensuring excellent customer experiences for colleagues. The role offers a competitive salary with a strong benefits package.

Qualifications

• Essential: Level 2 NVQ/ equivalent
• Food Safety Level 2 or 3 or willing to achieve within 6 months
• Experience in catering management or supervisory role
• Strong knowledge of food preparation, safety, stock and waste management
• Passion for delivering good quality food and customer service
• Strong people leadership, capable of motivating and developing a team
• Commercial awareness including costs, stock and budgets
• Well organized with ability to plan staffing across a busy operation
• Confident communicator with stakeholders at all levels
• Attention to detail with compliance focus
• Competent IT skills
• Integrity and alignment with apetito values
• Desirable: experience in staff restaurant or multi-outlet catering
• Experience managing catering budgets and income
• Experience with BRCGS standards or food manufacturing

Responsibilities

• Lead catering operations across Kitchen East and West across two facilities
• Coordinate staffing, food prep and service to meet customer and business needs
• Develop menus and overall food offer ensuring quality and value
• Maintain excellent customer experience and seek improvements
• Plan and deliver catering for seasonal, charitable and special events
• Lead, motivate and develop the catering team
• Recruit, induct and train staff; manage attendance and performance
• Manage budgets, costs and income targets; control stock and purchasing
• Ensure food safety, hygiene and health and safety compliance
• Plan rotas and operational records; support continuous improvement projects

Skills

Leadership

People management

Food safety

Budgeting

Stock control

Communication

Organisation

Education

Level 2 NVQ in Professional Cookery

Food Safety Level 2 or 3

Tools

MS Office

POS systems

Job description

Overview

Food is at the core of our business, and our staff restaurant is at the heart of our Trowbridge site, serving around 600 colleagues working across days, evenings, nights and weekends.

In 2023, we made a significant investment in transforming and refurbishing our restaurant, creating the facility now known as Social.

In 2027, we will open a second restaurant facility within our new Kitchen West factory.

We are looking for an experienced and enthusiastic Hospitality and Catering Manager to lead our onsite catering operation across both facilities.

You will take overall responsibility for the effective planning, management and delivery of our catering services, ensuring consistently high standards of food, service and presentation alongside strong financial management, food safety and compliance.

This is a hands‑on leadership role. You will lead and develop the catering team, manage the day‑to‑day operation and continue to develop our food and hospitality offer to ensure it meets the needs of colleagues working across a wide range of shifts. Our team serve a combination of apetito products and freshly prepared food, including hot breakfasts, lunches and evening meals, a salad bar, baked goods, vending services and meeting hospitality.

The role is primarily Monday to Friday, with occasional night and weekend working to provide visible leadership and support to the teams operating those shifts.

Who we are

apetito is the UK’s leading food supplier to the health and social care sectors, serving more than 1,300 care homes, healthcare and education settings.

Our meals are expertly crafted by chefs and dietitians before being frozen to lock in nutrition, flavour and freshness.

Wiltshire Farm Foods, our sister company, is the UK’s largest ready‑meal provider, delivering more than 330 delicious frozen meals to customers across the UK.

Responsibilities

Catering Operations

• Lead the catering operation across Kitchen East and Kitchen West, coordinating staffing, food preparation and service to meet customer and business needs.
• Play a key role in preparing for the opening of the new Kitchen West restaurant and establishing an effective catering operation across both facilities.
• Develop menus and the overall food offer, ensuring consistently high standards of quality, presentation, choice and value for money.
• Maintain a strong focus on the customer experience, continually looking for opportunities to improve and develop the service.
• Plan and deliver catering for seasonal, charitable and special events.

Team Leadership

• Lead, motivate and develop the catering team, ensuring effective staffing across the operation.
• Recruit and induct new team members and provide ongoing training, coaching and development.
• Manage attendance, performance, conduct and capability matters in line with company policies.
• Build a positive, collaborative and customer‑focused team culture.

Commercial and Stock Management

• Manage catering budgets, costs and income targets, maintaining appropriate financial controls.
• Manage purchasing, supplier relationships, deliveries and stock.
• Minimise food waste through effective stock management, menu planning and portion control.
• Ensure effective cash handling, reconciliation and financial record keeping.

Compliance and Quality

• Maintain high standards of food safety, hygiene and health and safety, ensuring compliance with relevant legislation, company policies and procedures.
• Ensure consistently high standards of cleanliness, food quality and presentation across both facilities.
• Monitor customer feedback and use it to identify and deliver improvements to the catering offer.
• Work closely with the Facilities Manager to ensure catering equipment and facilities are appropriately maintained.

Planning and Continuous Improvement

• Manage rotas, timesheets and the operational records required for the effective running of the service.
• Lead and support projects to continually improve our catering, hospitality and staff restaurant offer.
• Build effective relationships with colleagues and stakeholders across the business, ensuring the service responds to changing operational needs

About you

You will be an experienced, hands‑on catering manager who enjoys leading a team and takes pride in delivering consistently good food and service.

You will be comfortable managing a busy catering operation, balancing the day‑to‑day demands of customers, people, food safety and cost control.

Essential Requirements

• Level 2 NVQ in Professional Cookery, or equivalent qualification or relevant professional experience.
• Food Safety Level 2 or 3 qualification, or willingness to achieve this within six months of appointment.
• Previous experience in a catering management or supervisory role within a busy catering environment.
• Strong practical knowledge of food preparation, food safety, stock control and waste management.
• A genuine passion for delivering good‑quality food and excellent customer service.
• Strong people leadership skills, with experience of motivating, developing and managing a team.
• Good commercial awareness, including experience of managing costs, stock and budgets.
• Well organised, with the ability to plan staffing and workloads across a busy operation.
• Confident communicator, able to build effective working relationships with colleagues and stakeholders at all levels.
• Good attention to detail and a strong approach to food safety, health and safety and compliance.
• Competent IT skills.
• High standards of integrity and a commitment to apetito's values.

Desirable

• Experience within a staff restaurant, workplace catering, contract catering or similar environment.
• Experience of operating across more than one catering outlet or service.
• Experience of managing catering budgets and income.
• Experience of BRCGS standards or working within a food manufacturing environment.

Due to the operating hours of our catering services, you will need to be flexible and willing to work occasional nights and weekends to provide visible support to the teams working those shifts.

Company Benefits

• Competitive salary
• Accredited Living Wage Employer
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• Option to purchase up to 5 additional days' holiday
• Discretionary annual bonus scheme
• Pension scheme with employer contributions up to 4%
• Life assurance scheme worth at least one year's salary
• Subsidised onsite restaurant
• Free onsite parking
• Christmas turkey or voucher
• Access to the apetito Perks scheme, including retail discounts and salary sacrifice benefits

Our Values

As a family‑owned business, we take great pride in being a company that makes a real difference and is dedicated to creating outstanding meals to be proud of.

We develop a range of products designed to enhance health and well‑being for all our customers.

We are driven by a passion for service and dedicated to feeding some of the UK’s most vulnerable people.

We proudly support British food and farming, focusing on using the best ethical and sustainable produce in alignment with our goal to reach Net Zero by 2040.

Our ethical standards are recognised by the ETI and we are an accredited Living Wage employer.Learn more about apetito’s commitment to a more sustainable future.

We embrace inclusion, empowering individuals from diverse backgrounds.

Our commitment to making a real difference extends to customers, communities, and staff and we're on a mission to build an inclusive workplace where everyone reaches their full potential.