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Walesby Forest; Newark and Sherwood; On-site; GBP 38,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

Walesby Forest is seeking a hands-on Head Chef to take ownership of the kitchen, lead the catering team and deliver great food across a varied, seasonal operation. You’ll work 40 hours per week with no late-night service and a latest finish around 7:30pm, with limited weekend work during peak periods.

The role involves planning production, rostering, training, developing and maintaining food safety standards while evolving established menus and costings to meet customer and commercial needs.

Qualifications

• Experience as Head Chef or senior kitchen lead.
• Proven ability to manage a kitchen team and operations.
• Strong knowledge of food safety, hygiene and allergen management.

Responsibilities

• Leading food preparation, cooking and service and being hands-on in the kitchen.
• Planning production and staffing around bookings, customer numbers and service requirements.
• Recruiting, training, developing and leading the catering team.
• Building rotas and managing staffing within the catering labour model.
• Maintaining high standards of food quality, kitchen cleanliness and organisation.
• Owning food safety, allergen management and compliance.

Skills

Leadership

Kitchen management

Staff training

Food safety

Menu development

Cost control

Job description

A Head Chef role without the late nights

If you love running a kitchen but could happily leave behind the late-night finishes that often come with hospitality, this could be the opportunity for you.

Walesby Forest is looking for a hands‑on Head Chef to take ownership of our kitchen, lead and develop our catering team and deliver great food across our varied, seasonal operation.

You’ll work 40 hours per week, with no late-night service and an anticipated latest finish of around 7.30pm. High-volume weekend working is limited, increasing during key school holiday and summer event periods.

You’ll be joining an established operation with menus, recipes, costings, ordering processes and food management systems already in place — but with plenty of opportunity to take ownership and continue developing what we do.

About the Role

Our catering operation changes throughout the year.

During term time, the focus is predominantly residential catering for school groups, providing breakfast, lunch and evening meals from established menus, across one or more sittings depending on occupancy.

At other times, you’ll provide catering for apprentices, organised groups and occasional event crews and volunteers. During key school holiday periods, the operation changes again, with the kitchen delivering a cook-to-order bar food offer for our camping guests.

These different service models don’t ordinarily operate concurrently, allowing you to plan and lead the kitchen around the customers using the site.

As Head Chef, you’ll take responsibility for:

• Leading food preparation, cooking and service and being hands-on in the kitchen.
• Planning production and staffing around bookings, customer numbers and service requirements.
• Recruiting, training, developing and leading the catering team.
• Building effective rotas and managing staffing within our defined catering labour model.
• Maintaining consistently high standards of food quality, kitchen cleanliness and organisation.
• Taking ownership of food safety, hygiene and allergen management, ensuring established systems are accurately and consistently followed.
• Managing ordering, stock, food costs, portion control and waste.
• Owning and developing our established menus, recipes and costings so they continue to meet customer, operational and commercial needs.
• Developing our public/bar food offer, keeping it fresh, appealing and relevant while ensuring food can be delivered quickly and consistently during busy holiday periods.

We’re not looking for someone to arrive and change everything. We’re looking for someone who can take ownership of what’s already working, maintain high standards and have the confidence and creativity to keep developing the offer over time.

Why Walesby

Walesby Forest is a 250-acre outdoor activity and residential centre in Nottinghamshire, operated as a charity with the aim of supporting the development of young people.

The site welcomes a wide range of customers throughout the year, including weekday school residentials, organised youth and wider group stays, major events and public camping during key holiday periods.

For our Head Chef, that means a varied role and a working pattern that’s very different from traditional restaurant hospitality.

What you can expect:

• 40-hour working week
• No late-night service — anticipated latest finish around 7.30pm
• Limited weekend working for much of the year
• A varied, seasonal catering operation
• Additional authorised hours during particularly busy periods managed through time off in lieu during quieter periods
• An established kitchen operation with genuine scope to develop the food offer

If you’re an experienced Head Chef looking for a different working environment and a better work-life balance — or a strong Sous Chef ready to take the next step — we’d love to hear from you.