Senior Chef

Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust; City Of London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare organisation in City Of London is seeking a Senior Chef to manage food services. You will oversee meal preparation, collaborate with dietitians, ensure food safety standards, and train kitchen staff. The ideal candidate has proven catering experience and a strong knowledge of dietary needs. This position offers a unique opportunity to contribute to patient care through quality nutrition.

Benefits

Career development

Flexible working

Staff recognition scheme

Qualifications

• Proven catering experience.
• Experience in fresh food production.
• Knowledge of HACCP and COSHH.

Responsibilities

• Oversee all aspects of food preparation and service.
• Plan, develop, and implement varied menus.
• Train and motivate kitchen staff.

Skills

Ability to work without supervision

Ability to work as part of a team

Education

City & Guilds 1 & 2 Catering or NVQ equivalent

NVQ level 3

Intermediate Food Safety level 3

Job description

This job is brought to you by Jobs/Redefined, the UK's leading over-50s age inclusive jobs board.

Fulfil your potential in hospitals that make history:

Charing Cross, Hammersmith, St Mary's, Queen Charlotte's & Chelsea and Western Eye.

With five world-renowned hospitals, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust is full of opportunity if you are looking to develop your healthcare career.

We are an NHS Trust of approximately 16,000 people, providing care for over a million and a half patients from north west London and beyond every year.

We have a rich heritage and an ambitious vision for the future of our patients and local communities.

With our partners, Imperial College London, and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, we form Imperial College Academic Health Science Centre, one of 6 academic health science centres in the UK, working to ensure the rapid translation of research for better patient care and excellence in education.

We are proud of our heritage in innovation and we are early adopters of new insights in technologies, techniques and treatments for improving health.

Job overview

The successful applicant will be responsible for supporting the kitchen team to deliver high-quality, nutritious meals that meet patients' medical and dietary requirements. This role involves planning balanced menus with dietitians, ensuring compliance with food safety and hygiene regulations, and maintaining exceptional standards of taste, presentation, and nutrition. The Senior Chef support the kitchen operations, staff training, stock control, and budgeting while supporting patient well-being through nutritious, appealing food that enhances the hospital's standard of care.

Main duties of the job

• Oversee all aspects of food preparation and service to ensure the delivery of nutritious, high-quality, and appetising meals that meet the specific dietary and medical needs of patients, doctors, staff when required and visitors.
• Plan, develop, and implement varied menus in consultation with dietitians and healthcare professionals, ensuring compliance with food safety, hygiene, and nutritional standards.
• Accommodate individual dietary restrictions, allergies, and texture modifications while maintaining menu variety and appeal.
• Train, and motivate kitchen staff, managing daily operations efficiently and promoting teamwork, professionalism, and high performance.
• Maintain strict cost control, manage stock and ordering processes, and ensure portion accuracy to support budgetary requirements.
• Supervise food production to guarantee consistency, quality, and presentation, ensuring full adherence to infection control and hygiene regulations.
• Collaborate with clinical and administrative teams to support patient wellbeing through nutritious and enjoyable meals.
• Contribute to quality improvement initiatives, audits, and inspections to uphold regulatory and organisational standards.
• Foster a safe, positive, and compliant working environment that promotes continuous learning and development among catering staff.
• Use creativity, leadership, and attention to detail to deliver an exceptional dining experience that enhances the overall standard of care within the healthcare facility.

Working for our organisation

At Imperial College Healthcare you can achieve extraordinary things with extraordinary people, working with leading clinicians pushing boundaries in patient care.

Become part of a vibrant team living our values - expert, kind, collaborative and aspirational. You'll get an experience like no other and will fast forward your career.

Benefits include career development, flexible working and wellbeing, staff recognition scheme. Make use of optional benefits including Cycle to Work, car lease schemes, season ticket loan or membership options for onsite leisure facilities.

We are committed to equal opportunities and improving the working lives of our staff and will consider applications to work flexibly, part time or job share. Please talk to us at interview.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required.

For both overviews please view the Job Description attachment with the job advert.

Person specification

Education/ Qualifications

Essential criteria

• City & Guilds 1 & 2 Catering or NVQ equivalent
• NVQ level 3
• Knowledge for special dietary requirements
• Good level of numeracy and literacy skills
• Intermediate Food Safety level 3
• Allergies awareness level 2

Desirable criteria

• Advanced Food Hygiene
• IOSH Managing Safely
• Allergies management level 3

Experience

Essential criteria

• Proven catering experience
• Experience in fresh food production
• Knowledge of HACCP
• Knowledge of COSHH
• Knowledge of legislation - The Food Act 1990
• Food Hygiene Regulations 1995
• Knowledge of food nutritional content., diets and modified food regulations IDDSI
• Experience in stock management

Desirable criteria

• Working within healthcare
• Knowledge/previous experience of health and safety
• Previous supervisory experience

Skills/Knowledge/ Abilities

Essential criteria

• Ability to work without supervision, making key decisions as appropriate
• Ability to work as part of a team

Desirable criteria

• Professional development certificates
• Proven ability to use an online ordering system and specific food and non-food ordering software

Please ensure you check your emails regularly as this is how we will communicate with you throughout the recruitment process. If you are shortlisted you will be contacted by email and text message (if you provide a mobile contact number).

Applicant requirements

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Documents to download

• Job Description (PDF, 648.8KB)
• Functional Requirement Form (PDF, 272.6KB)
• Our Strategy 2023-25 (PDF, 230.4KB)