Head Chef - Christchurch

You love real cooking. We love real cooking. Customers love real cooking. It’s a no-brainer so you wonder why so many other places don’t do it. We do it, and you’ll be doing it with us - fresh, customer led, and with high-quality ingredients. We also love our real people who run Lounges. The person who runs these brilliant people has to be super-brilliant, and that’ll be you. Your standards will be as high as ours, but exactly how you do it will be unique to you. You’ll be part of a dedicated, supportive team, working from our flexible all-day menu to give people food that’ll make their day. It’ll be your responsibility to make each dish to spec, in a clean and safe kitchen, and to make sure all prep and par is completed for each shift. You’ll be helping every customer leave happy, which they tend to do, thanks to your great food.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the kitchen team with high standards and a hands-on leadership style.
• Ensure all dishes are prepared to spec in a clean and safe kitchen, with all prep and par levels completed for each shift.
• Maintain consistent quality and food safety practices; monitor kitchen operations to deliver excellent kitchen and food standards as part of a high-performing team.
• Work with fresh ingredients and demonstrate strong chef/kitchen skills (food prep hot and cold, cleaning, knife skills, hygiene).
• Report on metrics and KPIs relevant to kitchen operations, including GP, labour, and stock management; use data to drive decisions.
• Lead training and recruitment for kitchen teams, including Apprentices, KPs, Chefs, Junior Sous Chefs and Sous Chefs.

What you’ll bring

• You are probably an existing Head Chef, Kitchen Manager or Sous Chef looking for your first step into a Head Chef role.
• Experience working with fresh ingredients and demonstrated strong kitchen skills (prep, hygiene, knife skills, etc.).
• A proactive work ethic, leading from the front and delivering high kitchen and food standards as part of a team.
• Familiar with managing through clear KPIs and making decisions considering labour, stock, and food safety requirements.
• Experience in environments where you report on metrics such as GP, labour/food costs, and food preparation.
• Proven success in delivering training and recruitment for kitchen teams, including Apprentices, KPs, Chefs, Junior Sous Chefs and Sous Chefs.

Benefits

• Overtime pay for every hour worked over contracted hours.
• Staff food on every shift.
• 50% off food and drinks (including alcohol) from day one at all three brands – Lounge, Cosy Club and Brightside.
• Paid breaks.
• 28 days holiday (inclusive of Bank Holidays) pro rata.
• Enhanced maternity and paternity pay after 2 years service.
• The most talked-about staff party in hospitality – Loungefest.
• Competitions and incentives (like an all-expenses-paid trip with a supplier).
• Company pension scheme.
• Long service awards.
• Power over your pay with Wagestream.
• Emotional and practical support via the Licenced Trade Charity.
• Great opportunity for personal development and career progression in a fast-growing business.
• Achievable bonuses.
• Tips shared equally across the team based on hours worked.
• Christmas and Boxing Day off.