Senior Chef Role

We are looking for an experienced chef to work alongside our current chefs and kitchen assistants at our award-winning restaurant. The restaurant is relatively new but is steadily building a reputation for delicious, wholesome food made from scratch. We have a wood-fired clay oven and charcoal BBQ so an interest in cooking with fire would be beneficial. We produce a lot of our own foods in the kitchen (e.g. yoghurt, labneh, paneer, sourdough, preserved fruits, chutneys, pickles and jams and so on) so the applicant must have an interest in cooking from scratch and kitchen processes. The applicant must be able to work well as a team. The kitchen is a light and airy environment and quite a lot of fun! Salary depending on age, experience and ability, starting at £22,000 plus up to £3000 tronc. The days worked would generally be Weds – Sun. We are open Weds – Sun for brunch and lunch and offer wood-fired sourdough pizzas on Fri and Sat eve in the summer (generally a separate pizza team). Shifts would be daytimes only, although there may occasionally be an evening shift in lieu. Please see Instagram for more info on our food.

Responsibilities include:

• Help to develop menu and hit GP targets, with an emphasis on seasonal, local, and foraged produce
• Ensuring high quality of food and maintaining and building on our reputation
• Ensuring a good speed of service – we are often busy so coping well with pressure is essential
• Working to ensure customer requirements (dietary and other) are met where possible
• Adhering to best practice kitchen hygiene
• Ensuring kitchen is cleaned down to a high standard after service
• Directing and helping staff to complete kitchen and cleaning tasks
• Ensuring adequate prepared ingredients for service and backroom stock

Applicant must have:

• Enthusiasm for high quality food and seasonal and local ingredients
• Experience of busy kitchens
• Calm and confident under pressure
• Knowledge of Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and Indian cuisines beneficial
• Knowledge of sourdough and pizza making processes beneficial
• Be reliable, organised and committed
• Friendly and well presented – we have an open kitchen
• Preferably have current level 2 food hygiene certification or above

Start date: June 21

To apply please send a CV and cover letter to cafe@thistledown.org.uk – thank you!