Lead Chef

Groundwork NE & Cumbria; North Tyneside; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

Groundwork North East & Cumbria is seeking a Lead Chef for our Heritage Centre cafe. You'll lead the kitchen, create seasonal menus, prepare fresh food, manage stock and uphold food safety standards.

This role offers a five-day rota with regular weekends, typical hours 8:30am–5:00pm, and no late evenings or split shifts. Occasional evening catering may be required for special events.

If you’re passionate about great food and mentoring a team, we'd love to hear from you.

Qualifications

• A genuine passion for fresh, high-quality food.
• Strong leadership and team-building skills.
• Experience with menu planning and food cost management.
• Excellent knowledge of food hygiene and health & safety standards.
• Positive, hands-on approach and the ability to thrive in a busy environment.
• Great organisational skills and attention to detail.

Responsibilities

• Lead the kitchen and ensure every dish meets high standards.
• Create seasonal menus and prepare fresh food.
• Manage stock and maintain food safety standards.
• Support and develop your team; no two days are the same.

Skills

Leadership

Menu planning

Food cost control

Food hygiene

Team building

Organisational skills

Job description

Love being a chef, but looking for a better work-life balance?

About Us

Operated by Groundwork North East & Cumbria, a charity committed to creating stronger, greener and healthier communities, our Heritage Centre is set within the beautiful steep-sided Derwent Valley, with an abundance of natural woodland, rare and iconic wildlife and a hidden heritage of British sword making and a world leading iron and steel industry.

Our modern café is the perfect place to fuel up before or relax after a day of exploring. From hearty breakfasts and seasonal lunches to delicious home-bakes, all made with locally sourced ingredients, there’s something to suit all tastes.

Job Purpose

This is more than just a kitchen role. It's an opportunity to shape a thriving café offer, inspire a team, and play a key part in welcoming visitors from across the region.

If you're someone who enjoys being creative with menus, takes pride in serving fresh, high-quality food, and loves seeing customers leave with a smile, we'd love to hear from you.

If you’re a chef looking for greater work-life balance without giving up a varied and rewarding role, this opportunity is for you. Our café operates seven days a week, with the Lead Chef working a five-day rota, which includes regular weekend working. Standard working hours are typically 8.30am to 5.00pm, meaning no late evenings or split shifts, unlike many hospitality roles. While occasional evening catering may be required for special events, these are planned in advance and form a small part of the role.

What You'll Be Doing

As our Lead Chef, you'll be at the heart of the café operation, leading the kitchen and ensuring every dish meets the highest standards. From creating seasonal menus and preparing fresh food to managing stock, maintaining food safety standards, and supporting your team, no two days will be the same.

What We're Looking For

You'll be a talented chef with previous experience leading or managing a kitchen, along with:

• A genuine passion for fresh, high-quality food
• Strong leadership and team-building skills
• Experience with menu planning and food cost management
• Excellent knowledge of food hygiene and health & safety standards
• A positive, hands-on approach and the ability to thrive in a busy environment
• Great organisational skills and attention to detail

Most importantly, you'll be someone who enjoys working with people, takes pride in what they do, and wants to be part of something special.

To discover more about the Heritage Centre and Café search for The Land of Oak & Iron.

If you're an enthusiastic chef looking for a role where you can lead, create, and make a difference every day, we'd love to hear from you.

Closing Date: Friday 30th October 2026

Please note, should we receive a high volume of applications, we may look to close the role early, therefore we recommend an early application.

Interested?

We want you to be yourself at Groundwork and we value everything that makes you unique. We recognise and celebrate your difference and together we make Groundwork a special and great place to work. As a Disability Confident employer we offer a guaranteed interview to applicants with a disability who meet the essential criteria for the role.

At Groundwork we ensure that we provide a safe environment for adults, children and young people to take part in any activity or service that we organise. We are committed to creating a culture that promotes safeguarding and the welfare of all children, young people and adults at risk. Our safer recruitment practices support this by ensuring that there is a consistent and comprehensive process of obtaining, collating, analysing and evaluating information from and about candidates to ensure that all the people we appoint are suitable to work with our children, young people and adults.

This role is not eligible for UK Visa Sponsorship - the successful applicant will need to have a pre-existing Right to Work in the UK in order to be offered an employment contract.