Head Chef - New Site Opening - Northwich

Overview

Lead the kitchen at Debrito Lounge as Head Chef, opening team member for our brand-new site.

You will be hands-on, passionate about real cooking, and focused on building a kitchen where high standards come naturally and every customer leaves happy.

Responsibilities

• Recruit, develop and coach your kitchen team at all levels (KPs, Chefs, Sous Chefs) with honest feedback and clear development plans.
• Know menu specs and kitchen processes inside out, spotting issues and opportunities before they happen and ensuring every dish leaves the pass as it should.
• Own a site-level action plan with the General Manager covering food wait times, NSF standards, ordering, stock counts and cleaning.
• Deliver on kitchen KPIs including food quality, wait times, wastage, food safety and gross profit, and report on performance behind every shift.
• Schedule fair rotas aligned with sales and bookings forecast, ensuring each shift has the right skills and capability to run smoothly.
• Collaborate closely with the front of house team to build a genuine one-team culture with cross-training in place.
• What You’ll Bring
• A natural people leader who builds loyal, motivated kitchen teams and fosters a one-team culture between kitchen and front of house.
• A cook who genuinely cares about fresh, high-quality ingredients and knows our menu specs inside out; proactively spots issues and opportunities and never settles for second best.
• A kitchen leader who operates from the line and the pass, coaching in the moment and focusing on details that matter.
• Clear development plans to help KPs, Chefs and Sous Chefs grow with real progression.
• Commercially minded with confidence in GP, labour, stock, wastage and food safety KPIs, using them to make smart decisions while safeguarding food quality.
• Experience as a Head Chef, Kitchen Manager or Sous Chef, with a track record of recruiting, training and developing kitchen teams and handling busy services.
• Willingness to review performance with the Operations Chef and take on responsibilities across opening and ongoing service.
• Experience joining or leading an opening team and readiness for a key leadership role at Debrito Lounge.

About the Role

This is an exciting opportunity to join and lead the opening team at Debrito Lounge, our brand-new site, and be part of one of the UK’s most successful restaurant groups.

You will take full ownership of the kitchen, leading every shift from open to close and ensuring food standards never slip.

Benefits

• Competitive base salary plus bonus and paid overtime with real progression opportunities.
• Permanent full-time role; 48-hour contract (40-hour option available) with overtime pay.
• Achievable bonus scheme paid twice a year; tips shared across the team based on hours worked.
• Free meal on every shift and 50% discount on food and drinks from day one (including alcohol across all brands).
• No uniform policy; Christmas and Boxing Day off; Loungefest staff party; long service awards with vouchers/extra money.
• Early access to pay with Stream and emotional/practical support via the Licensed Trade Charity.
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