Section Chef

Section Chef – University of Cambridge Catering Team

Join the University of Cambridge Catering Service (UCS) and play an essential role in delivering exceptional food experiences across the university’s diverse catering outlets.

About Us

UCS delivers a wide range of high‑quality catering services across the University estate from departmental cafés to large‑scale hospitality events. Our flagship venue, the West Hub, serves over 1,000 students, staff, and visitors every day.

About The Role

As a Section Chef, you will lead kitchen operations during your shifts, ensuring food safety, sustainability, and health and safety standards are rigorously maintained. You will also support the creation of innovative menus and seasonal hospitality offerings. This is a hands‑on leadership position involving supervision and training of kitchen staff, food‑cost management, and contribution to the University’s Sustainable Food Policy. The role may require occasional driving of a University vehicle and full‑time work Monday to Friday with flexibility for hospitality events.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead food preparation and ensure consistent quality and presentation.
• Collaborate on menu development and respond to customer feedback.
• Manage food costs, stock ordering, and kitchen documentation.
• Supervise and train a team of kitchen staff (2 direct reports).
• Promote safe working practices and maintain compliance with food‑safety regulations.

What We’re Looking For

• Proven experience in a similar chef or kitchen leadership role.
• Strong understanding of food safety, allergen regulations, and sustainability practices.
• Excellent communication and team‑management skills.
• Ability to work flexibly across multiple catering outlets and events.

Why Join Us?

You’ll be part of a supportive and forward‑thinking team, contributing to a catering service with annual sales exceeding 2.5 million. We offer opportunities for professional development, a collaborative working environment, and the chance to make a meaningful impact on the University’s food services.

Benefits

• Competitive rates of pay with automatic service‑related pay progression and annual cost‑of‑living increases.
• Generous annual leave allowance.
• Generous maternity, adoption, and shared parental leave entitlement, plus other family‑friendly schemes such as workplace nurseries.
• An auto‑enrolment pension scheme with a generous employer contribution.
• Travel benefits and retail discounts at over 2,000 local and national stores.
• Schemes to support you with relocation.

Reference: XM47100. Please quote this reference in all correspondence.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.