Sous Chef

Gather + Gather; Greater London; On-site; GBP 43,000 - 53,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Personal development

Life assurance

Pension

Holiday allowance

Healthcare app

Eye care

Wellbeing programme

Family support

Social events

Holiday purchase

Volunteering days

Subscriptions

Recognition awards

Long service awards

Discount vouchers

Job summary

Company of Cooks in London is seeking a committed Sous Chef to lead kitchen operations across high-volume sites and events. You will support Head Chefs, ensure exceptional food quality and maintain HACCP compliance while mentoring junior chefs.

Based at WC2H 9JA, you will drive service excellence, manage production, and contribute to menu development and guest satisfaction in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• Proven experience as a Sous Chef or strong Junior Sous Chef in premium, high-volume hospitality.
• Experience managing restaurant operations of 160+ covers and supporting large-scale events.
• Strong leadership, organisation and people management skills.
• Excellent culinary knowledge with a passion for quality and consistency.
• Sound understanding of food safety, allergens, HACCP and kitchen compliance.
• Calm, resilient and solutions-focused under pressure.
• Strong attention to detail and guest experience focus.

Responsibilities

• Support the Head Chefs in day-to-day running of multiple kitchen operations, leading sites in their absence.
• Deliver exceptional food quality, consistency and presentation across restaurants, events and production kitchens.
• Lead service with professionalism and pace for high-volume operations.
• Oversee kitchen preparation, production planning and menu execution.
• Assist with events from private dining to functions up to 400 guests.
• Train and develop junior chefs and kitchen porters.
• Ensure full compliance with food safety and HACCP.
• Assist with stock control, ordering, waste management and GP targets.
• Contribute to menu development, tastings and seasonal initiatives.
• Build strong relationships across teams for seamless service.

Skills

Sous Chef experience

High-volume ops

Leadership

Culinary skills

Food safety/HACCP

Resilience

Attention to detail

Job description

We are Company of Cooks, and we believe brilliant food and drink start with brilliant people. For over 25 years, we’ve been part of some of the UK’s most loved cultural destinations, from historic palaces and botanical gardens to buzzing galleries and performance spaces, running the cafés, restaurants, bars and events that bring these incredible places to life.

Our values – Craft, Creativity and Community – guide everything we do. They shape how we work together, how we support our partners, and how we make each guest feel welcome. If you care about food, people and doing things properly, you’ll feel right at home here.

Wherever we are, we do more than serve. We bring places to life through food, service and creativity and we’re looking for a Sous Chef to join our team at Guinness.

Shift Pattern: 5 over 7, 45 hours per week

Salary: £48,000 per annum

Location: WC2H 9JA

Key Responsibilities

• Support the Head Chefs in the day-to-day running of multiple kitchen operations, leading sites and services in their absence.
• Deliver exceptional food quality, consistency, and presentation across restaurants, events, and production kitchens.
• Lead service with professionalism and pace, ensuring smooth delivery across high-volume restaurant and event operations.
• Oversee kitchen preparation, production planning, and menu execution to meet operational demands.
• Support the delivery of events ranging from intimate private dining to functions of up to 400 guests, ensuring food is delivered on time and to specification.
• Train, coach, and develop junior chefs and kitchen porters, maintaining high performance standards across the brigade.
• Ensure full compliance with food safety, allergen management, HACCP, and health & safety procedures.
• Assist with stock control, ordering, waste management, and GP targets to support commercial performance.
• Contribute to menu development, tastings, and seasonal food initiatives.
• Build strong working relationships across restaurants, production teams, and wider operations to ensure seamless service delivery.

Skills & Experience

• Proven experience as a Sous Chef or strong Junior Sous Chef within a premium, high-volume hospitality environment.
• Experience managing restaurant operations of 160+ covers and supporting large-scale events is highly desirable.
• Strong leadership, organisation, and people management skills.
• Excellent culinary knowledge with a passion for quality and consistency.
• Sound understanding of food safety, allergens, HACCP, and kitchen compliance.
• Calm, resilient, and solutions-focused, with the ability to perform under pressure.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to delivering exceptional guest experiences.

What's in it for you?

Working with Company of Cooks has its perks! People are at the heart of everything we do, so we've developed a range of benefits to keep you happy.

• Personal Development and Training opportunities
• Life assurance scheme
• Pension scheme
• Holiday allowance
• Access to Healthcare Support App which includes Annual health check, Digital GP, Mental Health Consultations, Nutritional Consultations, Second Medical Opinion
• Eye care
• A great wellbeing strategy – including access to our Employee Assistance Programme, salary finance
• Family friendly support
• Regular social events and communication with our leaders
• A holiday purchase scheme
• Volunteering days
• Professional subscriptions
• Recognition schemes and people awards
• Long service awards
• Access to some great high street discount vouchers

About Us

As part of Compass you'll help to feed people, fuel progress and forge connections in around 6,000 venues. Join us to grow your career with the industry leader, and get competitive pay, great perks and unrivalled opportunities for learning and development, at one of the UK's biggest businesses.

Job Reference: com/0708/43464007/52825417/SU #CompanyofCooks

Compass Group UK&I is committed to fostering an environment where every individual can truly be themselves at work and has equal opportunities to advance in their careers. We strive to build a culture that respects and celebrates the unique talents, beliefs, backgrounds, and abilities of all our team members. We want our colleagues to feel valued, empowered to reach their full potential, and to thrive - because diversity is our strength!

gth!