Chef Manager

Caterlink is the education sector catering specialist. For over 20 years, the Company has delivered fresh food solutions to pupils and staff at Primary Schools, Secondary Schools and Colleges across the UK. The company caters more than 1,000,000 meals a week. Our “Fresh Food Policy” is the foundation of our success and growth in the market coupled with a desire to truly deliver on the promises we make to our clients and support our site-based teams.

We are hiring for a Chef Manager at Harrow College, who wants to ensure our future generations are provided with nutritionally balanced and tasty food. This role is working term-time only and no weekends so is great for those looking for flexibility.

The role:

• £16.50 per hour
• 37.5 hours per week working Monday - Friday
• Term-time only - working 38 weeks per year

Your key responsibilities will include:

• To prepare, cook and present food to the standards required by Caterlink and the client
• To ensure that the location meets statutory and company requirements of Health and Safety, Food Safety and environmental legislations and procedures
• To ensure that the company’s reputation for excellent food and service is enhanced with the client and customers and expectations are consistently exceeded
• To be responsible for the day-to-day running of the location and supervising teams including managing inventories, monitoring budgets, and implementing action plans
• To be the main point of contact for our client in your school ensuring that regular adjustments and improvements are both recommended and implemented
• Communicating regularly with your line manager to monitor KPIs and financial targets to ensure these are achieved
• Supporting and training our teams, leading from the front to make sure everyone can excel in their role by ensuring all training is completed and performance is managed

Caterlink strives to always provide a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment for all our teams where every individual is treated with respect, integrity and has the opportunity to grow and be treated equally and with fairness at all times.

Caterlink is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees to share this commitment. An enhanced DBS disclosure will be obtained for this role.

Essential qualifications and knowledge

Level 3 Food Safety qualification.

Level 3 Health & Safety qualification.

Strong knowledge and understanding of food safety, HACCP and due diligence.

Good understanding of allergen management and the 14 allergens.

Knowledge of current health, safety and hygiene legislation.

Understanding of nutrition and the ability to provide balanced, high-quality menus.

Strong culinary skills and experience in a professional catering environment.

Management & leadership

Proven experience leading and motivating a catering/kitchen team.

Ability to organise staff rotas, delegate responsibilities and manage performance.

Confident communicator with the ability to build positive relationships with staff, clients, students/customers and suppliers.

Strong team-player with a hands-on approach.

Financial & commercial understanding:

Good understanding of budgets, food costs, labour costs and gross profit.

Ability to monitor and control food purchasing and stock levels.

Experience with stock control, ordering and reducing food waste.

Understanding of portion control and cost-effective menu planning.

Ability to analyse basic financial information and take action where costs are outside budget.

Operational skills:

Excellent organisational and time-management skills.

Ability to plan menus, production and service efficiently.

Strong understanding of food quality, presentation and portion control.

Ability to maintain high standards of cleanliness and kitchen organisation.

Experience with temperature monitoring, cleaning schedules, food records and audits.

Ability to manage busy service periods and resolve operational issues quickly.

Comfortable using catering systems, tills/EPOS and basic computer systems.

Personal qualities :

Professional, reliable and accountable.

Positive and proactive attitude.

Good problem-solving and decision-making skills.

Flexible and adaptable to changing operational requirements.

Passionate about food quality, customer service and team development.

Leads by example and takes ownership of the catering operation.

There are many advantages to working for us including:

• You have the opportunity of a blended learning programme that can include formal qualifications including apprenticeships, classroom training, eLearning and on the job training to support and encourage your development and enable you to be the best you can be
• We offer you access to our Employee Discount Platform where you can make great savings at supermarkets, cinema, restaurants as well as holiday discounts, family days out and many more!
• You will have full access to our Wellbeing Services including the Employee Assistance Program and Virtual GP benefits which are there for you and your family to use free of charge at any time
• You may be eligible to join our Pension scheme