Sous Chef - New Opening

The Lounges; Harlow; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 30,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a rapidly growing restaurant group as a Sous Chef in Harlow, where you'll lead a passionate kitchen team dedicated to fresh, real cooking. With great perks like staff discounts, overtime pay, and opportunities for career development, you'll thrive in an exciting new environment.

Benefits

Overtime pay for extra hours

Staff food on every shift

50% staff discount from day one

Paid breaks

28 days holiday pro rata

Enhanced maternity and paternity pay

Generous staff party

Company pension scheme

Tips shared across the team

Opportunities for personal development

Qualifications

• Experience in kitchen leadership as Sous Chef or Junior Sous Chef.
• Strong chef skills with fresh ingredients and hygiene standards.
• Ability to mentor and train kitchen staff.

Responsibilities

• Lead kitchen team and uphold 5* kitchen standards.
• Manage daily kitchen operations effectively and safely.
• Ensure food quality and timely preparation as per standards.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Food Preparation

Hygiene Practices

KPIs Management

Job description

This is an exciting opportunity to join our new opening and become part of one of the most successful restaurant groups in the UK.

You love real cooking. We love real cooking. Customers love real cooking. It's a no-brainer so you wonder why so many other places don't do it. We do it, and you'll be doing it with us - fresh, customer led, and with high-quality ingredients. As Sous Chef, you'll be the Head Chefs' go-to for support, leading and engaging the kitchen team to deliver 14 great shifts week in, week out. You'll be leading shifts, making sure the kitchen runs effectively and safely. You're as relentless as us about the detail, so you'll be all over things like stocks, Health & Safety and Hygiene, manning the pass to ensure our food goes out on-spec and on-time, and always upholding 5* kitchen standards. You'll be on it. Like a chef's bonnet

The Good Stuff

• Overtime pay for every hour worked over contracted hours!
• Staff food on every shift
• 50% off staff discount to enjoy outside working hours from day one
• Paid breaks
• 28 days holiday (inclusive of Bank Holidays) pro rata
• Enhanced maternity and paternity pay after 2 years service
• The most talked-about staff party in hospitality - Loungefest!
• Competitions and incentives (like jetting off on an all expenses paid trip with one of our suppliers)
• Company pension scheme
• Long service awards
• Power over your pay with Wagestream
• Emotional and practical support via the Licenced Trade Charity
• Great opportunity for personal development and career progression in a fast growing business
• Achievable bonuses
• Tips shared equally across the team, based on hours worked
• Christmas and Boxing Day off!

What you'll bring

• You are probably an existing Sous Chef, or perhaps a Junior Sous Chef/Assistant Kitchen Manager that is looking to take the next step in their career.
• You will have experience of working with fresh ingredients and be able to demonstrate good chef/kitchen skills (food prep hot and cold, cleaning, knife skills, good hygiene practices)
• Your work ethic is rolling your sleeves up and getting stuck in and leading from the front; playing an active role in delivering excellent kitchen and food standards as part of a high performing team.
• Extremely driven and relentless at deconstructing the can't mentality.
• Familiar with KPIs and making decisions in the absence of the Head Chef considering labour; stock; food safety requirements plus others.
• Epic communication skills with the ability to manage stakeholders and build rapport and trust (that would be with our Ops Chefs and Ops Managers).
• Strong knowledge of best practice around rota scheduling, sales and labour forecasts, reporting, recruitment, HR etc.
• You will have demonstrated successful delivery of training and recruitment for kitchen teams including Apprentices, KPs, Chefs, Junior Sous Chefs and Sous Chefs.

If you want to find out more about us, follow us on LinkedIn or @life.at.loungers on TikTok and Instagram