Executive Chef in Bicester

Who Are Absolute Taste and What Do We Do? We are an innovative culinary and customer service provider, dedicated to delivering inspirational food and experiences that redefine customer satisfaction. With a commitment to excellence and a passion for pushing boundaries, we continue to grow from strength to strength. As a small, dynamic team of event professionals, we specialize in creating exciting, well-managed, and sustainable events, while fostering strong working relationships. We are looking for individuals who share our fun, resilient, and hardworking values to join our supportive, high-performing team. This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a highly regarded organisation dedicated to success and a positive, empowering culture.

About The Role: As a Retail Lead Chef, you will take full ownership of planning, delivering, and elevating a high-performing public culinary operation on event days, including major moments in the sporting calendar such as HSBC Championships at the Queens Club and the 154th Open at Royal Birkdale. Your primary objective is to create a seamless, premium customer experience across multiple retail outlets, ensuring every dish served reflects exceptional quality, consistency, and operational excellence. You will lead from the front, overseeing diverse cuisines, multiple kitchens, and large teams, while maintaining the highest standards of food safety, efficiency, and profitability. This is a hands-on, fast-paced role that blends culinary leadership, operational control, and team development, all within a dynamic event-day environment.

Working Hours: Casual, freelance or fixed term basis, dependent on availability.

Salary: Competitive.

Your Key Responsibilities as a Retail Lead Chef will be:

• Manage and lead the delivery of retail food service from a culinary perspective, often overseeing the service of multiple different cuisines across several kitchens and outlets.
• Complete the setup of retail kitchen spaces, following agreed layouts and ensuring all kit and equipment is in place and accounted for.
• Implement robust procedures and controls to ensure product consistency across all parts of retail operations, delivering strong profitability.
• Lead and support a large and diverse team of chefs and kitchen staff, proactively managing performance whilst promoting a positive, professional and performance-driven kitchen culture.
• Monitor stock levels and prep requirements in line with forecasted product sales, maintaining strict portion control and margin targets.
• Manage wastage controls and on-event ordering, liaising with the Event Head Chef and Logistics and Procurement teams.
• Maintain rigorous allergen management processes, ensuring all kitchen staff are briefed of any dietary requirements.
• Uphold food safety, hygiene and health and safety standards, ensuring full compliance with food safety regulations and HACCP procedures across all kitchen operations, escalating to the Chef IC where appropriate.
• Support on environmental health inspections and internal audits within the kitchen with the Event Head Chef.
• Conduct Briefings and Debriefs.

What We Are Looking For:

• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in a fast-paced, high-volume retail environment such as other greenfield events, stadia, arenas or high street chains.
• Project management experience – this role includes a lot of planning, requiring the ability to work to tight deadlines.
• Keen understanding of stock and waste management processes.
• Excellent leadership and communication skills, with the ability to lead and motivate a diverse team.
• Relevant culinary qualification (NVQ Level 3 or equivalent).

Why Join Us? Join a fast-growing and innovative company that is redefining customer experiences in the culinary and event space. We offer an empowering team culture, the opportunity to work on exciting, well-managed events, and a supportive, resilient team environment. We are committed to supporting your career growth with thorough training and ongoing development. If you are ready to make an impact in a fast-paced environment and contribute to the success of Absolute Taste, apply today and join our team! We are committed to being an equal opportunities employer.