Head Chef

Job Introduction

Sodexo have an exciting opportunity for a Head Chef to join our catering team in Colchester, Essex. 

Working at one of our busy defence sites, the Head Chef will be responsible for supervising all services within the catering unit, ensuring the standards of service are achieved and maintained to the highest level along with motivating chefs and kitchen staff. Managerial responsibility for 15 chefs and 6 kitchen staff.

To be successful in this role you should have fantastic people skills, ideally have held a similar position previously and hold a certification within Catering.

Our wealth of experience partnering Government Agencies means we are able to transfer best practices from the corporate sector to create better working environments in the public sector. We bring services that increase employee engagement, wellbeing and productivity to the public sector to help support government to deliver on its promised outcomes while reducing costs. Our goal is to improve service outcomes and reduce overall costs to the taxpayer.

Role Responsibility

• To maintain excellent client/customer relationships 
• To attend team briefs, huddles and meetings as required 
• To attend your performance development review to discuss job standards and agree development activities  
• To maintain a clean and tidy work area at all times 
• To maintain high levels of personal hygiene and wear the appropriate uniform and PPE as required  
• To care for all available resources including equipment, materials and supplies as directed 
• To report any near miss occurrences, accidents or faulty equipment to management 
• To ensure effective communication with line manager, team, customer and client organisation 
• To maintain all areas of responsibility to the set service standards and in line with applicable service offer 
• To supervise the team fairly and drive engagement  
• To be responsible for the handling and security of all stock, equipment within the department  
• To supervise the consumption of ingredients in line with recipe cards establishing targets, exercising economy of food, fuel and prevention of waste 
• To have a good understanding of menu planning 
• To accurately manage DRIVE system and ensure that menus and recipes are followed 
• Ensure that the team adhere to the correct cooking, disposal and storage of all food items as directed by the centre manager 
• Ensure and monitor that the team are accurately taking and recording temperatures of fridges and freezers, hot cabinets, serveries in line with Sodexo’s Safety Management System  
• Ensure that all foods served under your control are served and held at the required temperatures (probed and recorded) 
• Ensure that the handing over procedures and opening up and closing down procedures are compiled to, with emphasis on safety and security 
• To provide catering service across the site including food preparation, cooking and presentation, storage and disposal of food and monitoring practices to ensure that company and legislative requirements are met 
• To carry out any other reasonable tasks and/or instructions as directed by management 

Please see attached job description for further information regarding the role requirements

The Ideal Candidate

Essential:

• Previous experience of working in catering and/or Mess operational role 
• Must be able to demonstrate effective verbal and written communication  
• Able to work on own initiative within a team environment 
• Able to demonstrate attention to detail and adherence to standards  
• Knowledge/qualification in Health & Safety and Food Safety 
• Able to demonstrate working knowledge of MS Office (Word, Excel and Outlook) 
• Must have one of the following qualification’s or equivalent; BSC (Catering), MHCIM, HND, City and Guild 706/1 and 2, NVQ level 2 and 3 and pose an intermediate level food safety 

Desirable: 

• Experience of working within military environment  
• Previous experience of effectively supervising a team 
• Leadership skills and knowledge 
• CIEH level 3 qualification or equivalent 
• Analyse problems analytically, develop opportunities and implement innovative solutions  
• IOSH qualification or equivalent 
•  

Package Description

Up to £26,500 plus benefits

Occasional Weekends and Evenings may be required 

Sodexo offers the best range of employee benefits on the market. From discounts that reduce the cost of the weekly shop, to exclusive deals on holidays and keeping active. Our award-winning employee benefits platform offers everything YOU need to make life that little bit better every day.

• Health and wellbeing incentives
• Training and development opportunities
• Reward and Recognition schemes
• Flexible working considered
• Volunteering days
• Cycle to work scheme
• Life Assurance

We're all about building a workplace for the future, we believe in equal opportunities, and we celebrate diversity. We’re an inclusive workplace, where everyone is welcome, everyone can be natural, and be the best versions of themselves. We recognise that we’re on a journey with regards to diversity and inclusion and would therefore welcome applications for candidates from underrepresented backgrounds.

All offers are subject to full security clearance checks

About the Company

In the UK and Ireland, Sodexo employs some 36,000 employees to deliver integrated facilities management services to clients at over 2,000 locations in the energy, corporate, healthcare, education, leisure, defence, and justice sectors. With an annual turnover of over £1bn, we provide everything from catering, cleaning and reception to security, laboratory, and grounds maintenance services, enabling our clients to focus on their core business

At Sodexo we are committed to a leading role in promoting equality opportunities and valuing diversity and inclusion. We seek to create a work environment based on mutual respect for all individuals, building a culture that appreciates and values the experiences and skills brought by each person to benefit our organisation and work hard to ensure that all people, whatever their age, disability, gender, transgender, marital or family status, race or ethnicity, religious belief of sexual orientation are welcome to and included within our business. We are building on our support to the Armed Forces community through the development of specific pathways within our recruitment process to support ex-forces personnel and reservists, those applying for jobs with us who meet the ideal candidate criteria for the role advertised are guaranteed to progress to the selection process