Sous Chef

Sodexo; Shrewsbury; On-site; GBP 23,000 - 29,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Full training

No unsociable hours

Mental health support

Employee Assistance Programme

Discounts & benefits

Career progression

Cycle to Work

Job summary

At Sodexo, Shrewsbury School's catering operation seeks a Junior Sous Chef to lead the kitchen brigade alongside the Head Chef. You’ll oversee production, drive quality, and help deliver memorable experiences for pupils and staff in a varied environment from student dining to events.

You'll bring strong cooking skills, leadership, and a passion for fresh food, with experience in busy professional kitchens and a commitment to food safety and team development.

Qualifications

• NVQ Level 2 Food Production or equivalent.
• Proven experience as a chef in a busy professional kitchen.
• Strong knowledge of cooking processes and finished dishes.
• Experience in large-scale catering and maintaining quality at volume.
• Excellent organisational and time management skills.
• Ability to lead, motivate and develop kitchen team members.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Understanding of food safety and allergen requirements.
• Commercial awareness and basic numeracy for ordering.

Responsibilities

• Oversee food production during and after service, ensuring dishes are prepared and presented to the highest standards.
• Deputise for the Head Chef when required, taking responsibility for the kitchen operation and supporting the team to deliver an excellent service.
• Bring creativity, innovation and flair to the food offer, helping to create memorable experiences for pupils, staff, parents and visitors.
• Work across different catering environments, from large-scale student dining to smaller events, hospitality and fine dining.
• Support food ordering and work closely with the Stores Supervisor to ensure the kitchen has the right products at the right time.
• Monitor and manage food waste, recording data and identifying opportunities to improve efficiency.
• Lead by example, motivating and coaching colleagues to achieve their full potential.

Skills

Leadership

Creativity

Communication

Time management

Allergen awareness

Food safety knowledge

Commercial awareness

Education

NVQ Level 2 Food Production or equivalent

Job description

At Sodexo, we're looking for an ambitious and passionate Junior Sous Chef to join our team at Shrewsbury School, a prestigious independent school with a vibrant and diverse catering operation. This is much more than a traditional school kitchen. You'll be part of a large-scale operation serving around 2,200 pupils and staff, across multiple catering environments, from busy student dining to smaller events, hospitality and fine dining. You'll have the opportunity to bring your creativity to the menu, develop your leadership skills and play an important role in maintaining exceptional food and service standards. Working closely with the Head Chef and wider management team, you'll help lead the kitchen brigade, support the development of talented chefs and deputise for the Head Chef when required. If you're ready to lead from the front, inspire your team and make your mark, this could be your next opportunity.

What You'll Do

• Oversee food production during and after service, ensuring dishes are prepared and presented to the highest standards.
• Deputise for the Head Chef when required, taking responsibility for the kitchen operation and supporting the team to deliver an excellent service.
• Bring creativity, innovation and flair to the food offer, helping to create memorable experiences for pupils, staff, parents and visitors.
• Work across different catering environments, from large-scale student dining to smaller events, hospitality and fine dining.
• Support food ordering and work closely with the Stores Supervisor to ensure the kitchen has the right products at the right time.
• Monitor and manage food waste, recording data and identifying opportunities to improve efficiency.
• Work with the Head Chef and wider management team to achieve strong financial and commercial performance while maintaining quality.
• Support recruitment, induction, training and development of kitchen team members.
• Lead by example, motivating and coaching colleagues to achieve their full potential.
• Organise effective team briefings and huddles, keeping colleagues informed, engaged and supported.
• Build strong working relationships with pupils, school staff, visitors, colleagues and Sodexo management.
• Help maintain a positive Food Safety and Health & Safety culture across the kitchen.
• Set, maintain and continuously improve standards of food quality, cleanliness, presentation and service.
• Identify opportunities to improve the operation and introduce new ideas that create \"surprise and delight\" for customers.
• Carry out any reasonable request from the management team to support the smooth running of the operation.

We're looking for an experienced chef who combines strong technical skills with leadership, creativity and a genuine passion for food.

You'll ideally have

• NVQ Level 2 Food Production or equivalent.
• Proven experience working as a chef in a busy professional kitchen.
• Strong all-round knowledge of cooking processes, food preparation and finished dishes.
• Experience working with large-scale catering operations and the ability to maintain quality at volume.
• Excellent organisational and time management skills.
• The ability to lead, motivate, coach and develop other members of the kitchen team.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• The confidence to set standards and ensure they are consistently maintained.
• A flexible approach and the ability to remain calm and effective under pressure.
• Good understanding of food safety, health & safety and allergen requirements.
• Basic numeracy skills to support recipe building, ordering and commercial awareness.
• A passion for fresh food, creativity and delivering memorable customer experiences.

Competitive salary and benefits

• Full training and protective uniform provided
• No unsociable hours and public holidays off-including Christmas!
• Unlimited access to mental health and wellbeing support
• Employee Assistance Programme for legal, financial, and personal support
• Discounts, cashback schemes, and financial benefits
• Career progression, learning opportunities, and apprenticeships
• Cycle to Work Scheme and volunteering opportunities

At Sodexo, we believe everyone deserves a place to belong. This isn't just a job-it's a chance to be part of something bigger.

Note: Sodexo and our clients are committed to safeguarding children. All roles require pre-employment screening, including DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) and past employer checks.

Sodexo reserves the right to close this advert early if we receive a high number of applications.