Senior Production Chef

Heckfield Place; Heckfield; On-site; GBP 36,000 - 48,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare cover

Employee assistance programme

Life assurance (from day one)

Staff meal benefits

F&B discount 50%

Enhanced maternity pay

Enhanced paternity pay

Recruit a Friend bonus

Monthly recognition scheme

Skin product discount

Job summary

Heckfield Place is seeking a Senior Production Chef to work closely with the Culinary Director and Head of Culinary Training, Development and Research, crafting and developing products from Heckfield Home Farm and the Estate.

You will lead seasonal breads and pastries, drive new product development, and optimise production methods across the operation while ensuring food safety and contributing to guest experiences and estate events.

Qualifications

• Passion for seasonal work and openness to learning new styles.
• Experience in a production or pastry kitchen, ideally farm-to-table.
• Creativity to develop new products beyond following recipes.
• Confidence with preserving items such as ferments, pickles or jams.
• Organised with production planning, yields, stock rotation and costings.
• Collaborative approach across kitchens, farms and estate teams.

Responsibilities

• Produce all seasonal baked goods, including sourdough and breads, meeting labeling standards.
• Lead development and growth of baked goods and bread offerings with seasonal focus.
• Streamline methods to improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
• Uphold food safety standards per policy and current legislation.
• Support guest experiences and hospitality events across the estate.
• Promote Heckfield brand ethos and working culture.

Skills

Seasonal baking passion

Production kitchen experience

Farm-to-table mindset

Creativity in product development

Ferments and preserves

Production planning and costing

Job description

Heckfield Place is a beautifully restored Georgian house set within a 400-acre working farm in Hampshire, under an hour from London. Our kitchens are led by what grows here: produce comes from our biodynamic market garden and Home Farm, and our chefs take regular tours of the land to draw inspiration from what's growing and what's coming next.

The role

We're looking for a Senior Production Chef to work closely with the Culinary Director and the Head of Culinary Training, Development and Research in creating and developing a wide range of products from Heckfield Home Farm and the wider Estate for our businesses.

What You'll Be Doing

• Produce all seasonal baked goods, including sourdough and other breads, ensuring labelling and packaging meet Heckfield Home Farm produce sales standards.
• Lead the development and growth of our baked goods and bread offering, creating new seasonal products in line with the Heckfield ethos and estate produce.
• Streamline and improve production methods, cost-effectiveness and efficiency across the operation.
• Uphold a high standard of food safety, following the health and hygiene procedures set by our food safety policy and current legislation.
• Support food-related guest experiences throughout the year.
• Support the preparation, cooking, service and delivery of hospitality events held on Heckfield Home Farm throughout the year.
• Champion and promote our working culture, company principles and the Heckfield brand ethos.

About You

• A genuine passion for working seasonally, and an openness to learning new styles and techniques.
• Experience in a production or pastry kitchen, ideally with a produce-led or farm-to-table operation.
• The creativity to develop new products rather than only follow recipes.
• Confident with preserving — ferments, pickles, jams, cordials — or keen to learn.
• Organised and methodical: comfortable with production planning, yields, stock rotation and costings.
• A collaborative approach — happy working across kitchens, the farm and the wider estate team.

Baking And Pastry Skills

• Laminated pastry — croissants, danish, puff and rough puff made from scratch, with the feel for dough temperature, resting and butter behaviour that keeps quality consistent through changing seasons and kitchen conditions.
• Sourdough — building and maintaining a starter, managing bulk fermentation, shaping, proving and baking, and adapting timings to the day rather than the clock.
• Broader baking craft — cakes, tarts, biscuits and traybakes produced to a consistent standard, at volume, with an eye on yield and waste.

Benefits:

• Vitality healthcare cover
• Employee assistance programme
• Life assurance scheme (from day one, covering up to 2x your annual salary)
• 50% F&B discount when dining in our restaurants
• Enhanced maternity pay
• Enhanced paternity pay
• Recruit a Friend bonus (£1000)
• Monthly employee recognition scheme
• Free staff meals
• Daily briefings with the team, including food tasting - opportunities to work with the Home Farm
• 50% discount on Wildsmith Skin products