Head of Culinary – Hospitality | AELTC Wimbledon in London

About the Role

The role leads the planning and delivery of the hospitality culinary operation for The Championships, Wimbledon, ensuring exceptional food quality, innovation, consistency and guest experience across multiple hospitality areas. It owns the culinary journey from annual menu development and client tastings through production planning, mobilisation, live event delivery and post-event review. The role leads, develops and inspires a variable culinary brigade of 300+ colleagues, working through senior chefs and operational leaders to deliver safe, efficient and commercially successful operations.

Key Responsibilities

• Set the culinary direction for Championships Hospitality, developing menus and food concepts that reflect premium guest expectations and Levy’s focus on authentic, local, seasonal and sustainable food.
• Lead the end-to-end culinary process for The Championships, from menu development, leadership and client tastings, and specification sign-off through pre-production, mobilisation, live delivery and post-event debrief
• Ensuring tasting feedback and agreed actions are documented and reflected in final recipes, production plans, specifications, flavour profiles and dish descriptions.
• Work with the culinary purchasing team to ensure ingredients and products are available, fit for purpose and aligned with agreed quality, seasonality, sustainability and sourcing standards
• Agree sales mix and production assumptions for each menu and hospitality area using historical sales, cover forecasts and live trading data to plan stock, production and replenishment while minimising waste.
• Create and oversee pre-production, overnight production and service plans, accounting for capacity, equipment, storage, timings, labour and cost, and ensure kitchens and production areas have the equipment, layouts and resources required to deliver agreed menus safely and consistently.
• Maintain Levy culinary standards and signature guidelines, benchmark food production and service, review guest feedback and market trends, and translate insight into menu improvements
• Set clear food quality, consistency and presentation standards across all hospitality areas and conduct regular quality and service checks during The Championships, ensuring corrective action is taken promptly.
• Maintain a visible operational presence during The Championships, supporting Area Chefs and operational managers to resolve issues and deliver agreed standards, and lead culinary projects and continuous improvement initiatives that improve guest experience, quality, productivity and consistency.
• Lead and inspire the culinary leadership team and variable brigade of 300+ colleagues, creating a culture of high standards, collaboration, accountability and people-first leadership
• Work with the Executive Chef to define the culinary structure and variable labour requirements for The Championships, ensuring the right leadership, skills and experience are deployed across operational areas.
• Lead or support recruitment, selection, allocation and onboarding of senior and variable culinary colleagues, identify critical leadership roles and ensure succession, contingency and deployment plans are in place ahead of the event, and monitor workforce performance
• Productivity and labour deployment during the event, addressing issues and variances in partnership with the relevant operational and people teams.
• Work with the HR Business Partner and Head of Learning & Development to deliver culinary inductions, training, development plans, briefings and soft openings
• Partner with the Head of Hospitality, clients and external chef partners to translate hospitality briefs into deliverable culinary propositions, ensuring Levy requirements and agreed standards are maintained

Required Experience & Qualifications

• Experience of high-volume event, premium hospitality, multi-outlet or large-scale catering operations.
• Strong influencing, coaching and people development skills.
• Highly motivated self-starter.
• Independent person who demonstrates initiative.
• Excitement about food and a finger on the pulse of current trends.
• Proactive, positive individual able to quickly build partnership relationships with key stakeholders and work as a team player.
• Ability to drive through change.
• Commercial approach and inquisitive nature.
• Ability to influence and operate at all levels.
• Able to problem solve and make balanced business decisions.
• Thorough working knowledge of food safety, hygiene, allergens, health and safety, COSHH, HACCP, RIDDOR and relevant audit and regulatory requirements.

Benefits & Perks

• 25 days' annual leave plus bank holidays, birthday off, and a holiday purchase scheme.
• Healthcare and wellbeing: Aviva Digicare, Medicash (dental, optical, therapy treatments).
• Mental health support: 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme.
• Family benefits: enhanced maternity, paternity, and adoption leave; 2 days' additional leave after returning from maternity leave; day off for baby's first birthday; enhanced family leave.
• Perks and discounts: shopping, entertainment, and travel discounts; 20% off Nuffield Health and 10% off PureGym memberships.
• Financial wellbeing: pension scheme, life assurance, preferred rates on salary finance products.
• Development opportunities: professional subscriptions, ongoing training and structured career pathways.
• Meals on duty included.

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