Chef Manager

Chef Manager – Education Catering

Are you an experienced Chef Manager, Cook Manager, Head Chef, or Catering Manager looking for a rewarding role within education catering?

This is an excellent opportunity to lead the catering operation at a well-established education site in Minehead, Somerset, delivering fresh, nutritious meals to students in a supportive and professional environment. If you're passionate about quality food, team leadership, and achieving a healthy work-life balance, we'd love to hear from you.

Salary and Benefits:

• Competitive salary of £35,000 per annum / Up to 10% annual performance bonus
• Company pension
• Monday to Friday: 7:00am – 4:30pm – no regular evenings/weekends
• Term-time working (42 weeks per year, including INSET days and three additional working weeks)
• Ongoing training and supportive employer with genuine opportunities to grow
• Excellent work-life balance

About the Role:

• As Chef Manager, you'll have full responsibility for the day-to-day management of a busy school catering operation, serving approximately 360 freshly prepared meals each day across the main school, sixth form, and specialist education unit.
   
• You'll lead and inspire a team of three General Assistants, ensuring every meal is prepared to the highest standards while maintaining a safe, efficient, and welcoming kitchen environment.

Daily meal service includes:

• Approximately 150 freshly prepared meals
• Around 200 Grab & Go meals
• Approximately 10 specialist unit meals

This is a hands-on management role where you'll have the autonomy to drive standards, develop your team, and create a positive dining experience for students and staff.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead, coach, and develop the catering team
• Plan and prepare fresh, nutritious, and seasonal menus
• Deliver consistently high standards of food quality and presentation
• Manage food purchasing, stock control, ordering, and supplier relationships
• Monitor budgets and control food costs
• Ensure compliance with HACCP, allergen management, food hygiene, and Health & Safety legislation
• Maintain excellent customer service standards
• Drive continuous improvement across the catering operation

About You:

• We're looking for an experienced catering professional who has previously worked as a:
• Chef Manager / Cook Manager / Head Chef / Catering Manager / Kitchen Manager

You'll also have:

• Experience managing catering operations within schools, education, healthcare, contract catering, or high-volume food service
• Strong leadership and team management skills
• A passion for producing fresh, nutritious, high-quality food
• Excellent organisational and communication skills
• Experience managing budgets, food costs, stock control, and ordering
• A thorough understanding of HACCP, allergen management, and food safety legislation

Why Join Us:

• This is more than just another Chef Manager position.
• You'll enjoy the opportunity to lead your own kitchen, make a genuine impact on students' wellbeing through quality food, and enjoy a role that offers the work-life balance many chefs are looking for.
• If you're an experienced Chef Manager, Cook Manager, Head Chef, or Catering Manager ready for your next challenge in education catering, we'd love to hear from you.