Sous Chef - Sidcup

Lounge Café Bars; Sidcup; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A popular café chain in Sidcup is seeking a dedicated Sous Chef to lead the kitchen team. You will manage shifts, uphold food safety standards, and ensure excellent service with fresh, high-quality ingredients. The ideal candidate has experience as a Sous Chef or similar role and strong kitchen management skills. This position offers competitive benefits and career development opportunities.

Benefits

Overtime pay for extra hours

Staff food on every shift

50% off food and drinks

Paid breaks

28 days holiday pro rata

Enhanced maternity/paternity pay

Company pension scheme

Bonuses and tips shared

Christmas and Boxing Day off

Qualifications

• Experience as Sous Chef or Junior Sous Chef/Assistant Kitchen Manager.
• Demonstrated kitchen skills and good hygiene practices.
• Ability to manage kitchen staff and uphold high standards.

Responsibilities

• Lead shifts and ensure effective kitchen operations.
• Manage stocks, Health & Safety, and Hygiene.
• Train and recruit kitchen teams including Apprentices and Sous Chefs.

Skills

Strong communication skills

Fresh ingredients experience

Kitchen management

Food safety knowledge

Knife skills

Job description

Sous Chef - Sidcup

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 food and drinks (including alcohol) from day one at all three of our brands - Lounge, Cosy Club and Brightside
• 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