Quality Controller

The Menu Partners; Bicester; On-site; GBP 22,000 - 28,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 Days holiday + Bank Holiday

Company Pension Scheme

Life Assurance

Job summary

Absolute Taste in Bicester is seeking a Quality Controller to join our dynamic food production team. You will work with production and technical teams to ensure safety and quality from ingredient intake to dispatch, maintaining relevant documentation.

The role focuses on hygiene, CCPs, traceability, temperature monitoring, and audit support within a fast-paced environment. A proactive, detail‑driven mindset is essential.

Qualifications

• Previous experience in a food manufacturing, production, quality, or technical role.
• Good understanding of food safety, hygiene, HACCP, allergens, and quality management systems.
• Knowledge of CCPs, traceability, temperature monitoring, and quality documentation.
• Experience carrying out quality and safety checks within a production environment.

Responsibilities

• Ensuring production and storage areas meet hygienic standards and equipment is ready before production.
• Completing opening safety and quality checks including temperatures, label checks, CCPs, recipe cards.
• Ensure hygiene practices from personal hygiene to allergen segregation and document checks.
• Monitor and record safety and quality standards, temps, weights, packaging integrity, and WIP quality.
• Oversee traceability documentation and raise non-compliances to Team Leaders for resolution.
• Liaise with Team Leaders to maintain hygiene throughout operation.
• Supervise close down and cleaning duties and ensure compliance.
• Oversee goods out process maintaining safety and traceability.
• Collate and file safety and quality documentation as required.
• Support audits and continuous improvement initiatives.

Skills

Food safety

HACCP

Traceability

Quality checks

Team supervision

Documentation

Attention to detail

Communication

Problem solving

Continuous improvement

Job description

Who Are Absolute Taste and What Do We Do?

We are an innovative culinary and customer service provider, dedicated to delivering inspirational food and experiences that redefine customer satisfaction. With a commitment to excellence and a passion for pushing boundaries, we continue to grow from strength to strength.

As a small, dynamic team of event professionals, we specialize in creating exciting, well-managed, and sustainable events, while fostering strong working relationships. We're looking for individuals who share our fun, resilient, and hardworking values to join our supportive, high-performing team.

This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a highly regarded organisation dedicated to success and a positive, empowering culture.

About The Role

The Quality Controller role reports directly to the Operations Manager, with a dotted-line reporting relationship to the Technical Team.

Working alongside the production teams, the purpose of the role is to ensure that safety and quality standards are adhered to from the ingredient’s intake stage to the food production and dispatch stages while maintaining related documentation.

Work Location:

Bicester

As aQuality Controller your key responsibilities will be:

• Ensuring the productionand storageareasareat the required hygienic standards,and equipment is in good orderprior starting production, raisinganynon-compliancesto theTeam Leadersfor resolution priorthe start of production
• Completing opening safety and quality checks including but not limited to: environmental and food temperatures, label checks, critical control points, recipe card, plating cards
• Ensuring the team comply with good hygiene practises, from personal hygiene, to food safety and allergen segregation in line with company standards Counter sign safety and quality checks when completed by operators
• Monitoring and recording safety and quality standards throughout the day, including but not limited to: critical control points, correct composition of plating, quality of WIP ingredients, weights of final dishes, monitoring and recording of temperatures of ingredients, WIP and finished dishes, packaging integrity.
• Review the correct completion of traceability documentation in line with company standards raising any non-compliances to the Team leaders for resolution
• Liaising wit the Team leaders to ensure a good level of hygiene is maintained throughout the operation
• Supervise the close down and cleaning duties ensuring adherence with company standards, and raising any non-compliances to the Team leaders for resolution
• Oversee the goods out process maintaining safety and traceability
• Collating and file safety and quality documentation as required
• Monitoring of ingredients in storage to ensure compliance with safety and quality requirements, raising any non-compliances to the Team leaders for resolution
• Support the Production and Technical teams with taste panels
• Support in the preparation and completion of internal and external audits
• Actively contribute to continuous improvement by identifying and sharing opportunities for process, product, and system enhancements
• Conduct and/or submit any work, reports or projects in a timely fashion, and nevertheless in the timescale and format set
• Communicate effectively and raise awareness of technical assurance issues throughout the Company

What We Are Looking For:

• Previous experience in a food manufacturing, production, quality, or technical role.
• A good understanding of food safety, hygiene, HACCP, allergens, and quality management systems.
• Knowledge of Critical Control Points (CCPs), traceability, temperature monitoring, and quality documentation.
• Experience carrying out quality and safety checks within a production environment.
• The ability to identify non-conformances and work with production teams to ensure timely resolution.
• Excellent attention to detail with strong organisational and record-keeping skills.
• Confidence in monitoring product quality, weights, packaging integrity, and production standards.
• The ability to communicate effectively with colleagues across Production and Technical teams.
• Experience supporting audits, inspections, or compliance activities would be advantageous.
• A proactive approach to maintaining high hygiene standards and promoting best practices.
• A continuous improvement mindset with the confidence to identify and suggest process improvements.
• Good time management skills with the ability to prioritise tasks and meet deadlines.
• A flexible, hands-on approach and the ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
• Experience in a production/manufacturing supervisory role, ideally within food manufacturing.
• Strong track record of delivering production targets, KPIs, and reducing waste/downtime.
• Experience managing teams, including training, coaching, and performance management.
• Good knowledge of food safety, GMP, HACCP, BRC/SALSA, and compliance standards.
• Ability to manage production documentation, audits, stock control, and quality processes.
• Strong problem-solving skills with experience investigating issues and implementing improvements.
• Excellent communication skills with a proactive approach to teamwork and continuous improvement.

Why Join Us at Absolute Taste?

Join a fast-growing and innovative company that is redefining customer experiences in the culinary and event space. We offer an empowering team culture, the opportunity to work on exciting, well-managed events, and a supportive, resilient team environment.

We are committed to supporting your career growth with thorough training and ongoing development.

You can also enjoy benefits such as:

• 25 Days holiday + Bank Holiday
• Company Pension Scheme
• Life Assurance

We are committed to being an equal opportunities employer.