At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the kitchen team to deliver exceptional food service and customer experiences.
- Company: Join Dobbies, a historic garden centre retailer with a vibrant culture.
- Benefits: Enjoy generous leave, discounts, financial support, and development opportunities.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in a fun environment while developing your leadership skills.
- Qualifications: Experience in food service and management, with a passion for coaching teams.
- Other info: Be part of a diverse team committed to excellence and community engagement.
The predicted salary is between 30000 - 42000 £ per year.
Our Kitchen Managers play an essential role in delivering an exceptional customer experience across our restaurants - delivering tasty food, ensuring food hygiene, maintaining high operational standards and smashing commercial targets.
At Dobbies, we’re proud to have a history dating back to 1865. We were founded by James Dobbie and are the only garden centre retailer to have stores in every nation across the UK. We champion garden living all-year-round. Many of our stores feature a restaurant or coffee shop, where customers can enjoy refreshments or meals in a relaxed and welcoming environment. We offer a calendar of events and experiences that bring people and communities together, and we have a national charity partner that both our colleagues and customers raise money for. We’re committed to being a great place to work. We’re one team and we encourage our colleagues to be the best version of themselves, every day; to share their wins and celebrate success. Together, we make it work for our customers.
Responsibilities:
- Leading the kitchen team, ensuring strong levels of service that are efficient, within budget and compliant.
- Ensuring that our customers are presented with their meals to a high standard and on time.
- Maintaining a fully compliant kitchen with all statutory requirements of health & safety and food hygiene.
- Sparking your team’s passion for delivering the best food service and customer experience.
- Creating a fun and productive environment for everyone to enjoy the day-to-day operations whilst thinking ahead to ensure all your team have a development journey with Dobbies.
- Experience in food service, alongside management experience.
- Commercial awareness and understanding of budgets, profitability from driving sales and improved ways of working.
- Adaptability to identify training needs. You’ll be effectively coaching and training all levels ensuring our teams are delivering an excellent customer experience and safe store environment.
- You’ll act quickly and enthusiastically to changing priorities, workload and new regulations or requirements.
- Positivity managing change. You’ll lead the team through each season with care and motivation to deliver the best.
- Can demonstrate our values at all times - we’re one team, getting better every day. We bring a smile. We live and breathe gardens. We make it work for our customers.
Qualifications:
- Experience in food service, alongside management experience.
- Commercial awareness and understanding of budgets, profitability from driving sales and improved ways of working.
- Adaptability to identify training needs and effectively coach and train all levels.
Benefits:
- Generous annual leave entitlement. Use your holidays when you want with limited statutory days off required.
- Treat yourself with generous uncapped discount across our stores with 50% off in our Restaurants, 25% off in the Garden Centre and 10% off in our food halls.
- Access to Stream - support your financial wellbeing, with ability to access earnings ahead of pay day, save for the future and financial advice.
- Access to Retail Trust - confidential support, access to a virtual GP, free counselling service and discounted retail rewards with our employee wellbeing platform.
- Access to Dobbies Academy - continue your development with our eLearning platform and development programmes.
- Thriving culture; the Dobbies team are passionate, diverse and committed to making it work for our customers.
Kitchen Manager employer: Dobbies Garden Centres Ltd
Contact Detail:
Dobbies Garden Centres Ltd Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Kitchen Manager
✨Tip Number 1
Get to know the company! Before your interview, dive into Dobbies' history and values. Show us that you’re not just another candidate but someone who genuinely cares about our mission and culture.
✨Tip Number 2
Practice makes perfect! Run through common interview questions with a mate or in front of the mirror. We want to see your passion for food service and how you can lead a team effectively.
✨Tip Number 3
Bring your A-game! When you come in for your interview, don’t just talk about your experience—bring examples of how you’ve smashed targets or improved team performance. We love hearing success stories!
✨Tip Number 4
Follow up after your interview! A quick thank-you email can go a long way. It shows us you’re keen and professional, and it keeps you fresh in our minds as we make our decision.
We think you need these skills to ace Kitchen Manager
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Your Passion for Food: When you're writing your application, let your love for food and customer service shine through. We want to see how you can bring that passion to our kitchen and create amazing experiences for our customers.
Highlight Your Management Skills: Make sure to showcase your experience in leading teams and managing a kitchen. We’re looking for someone who can inspire their team and maintain high operational standards, so share examples of how you've done this in the past.
Be Specific About Your Achievements: Don’t just list your responsibilities; tell us about your successes! Whether it’s smashing sales targets or improving food hygiene standards, we want to hear about the impact you’ve made in previous roles.
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way for us to receive your application and ensures you don’t miss out on any important updates from our team!
How to prepare for a job interview at Dobbies Garden Centres Ltd
✨Know Your Kitchen Inside Out
Before the interview, make sure you’re familiar with the kitchen operations at Dobbies. Research their menu, understand their food hygiene standards, and be ready to discuss how you would maintain high operational standards while leading a team.
✨Showcase Your Leadership Skills
Prepare examples of how you've successfully led a kitchen team in the past. Highlight your ability to motivate staff, manage change, and ensure excellent customer service. Be ready to discuss specific situations where you’ve improved team performance or resolved conflicts.
✨Demonstrate Commercial Awareness
Brush up on your knowledge of budgets and profitability in a kitchen setting. Be prepared to discuss how you can drive sales and improve operational efficiency. Think of ways you could implement cost-saving measures without compromising on quality.
✨Emphasise Your Adaptability
In the fast-paced environment of a kitchen, adaptability is key. Share examples of how you’ve successfully navigated changing priorities or new regulations in previous roles. Show that you can think on your feet and lead your team through transitions smoothly.