School Menu Development Chef in Nottingham

Are you a passionate chef looking to make a real difference in school catering? We are seeking a School Menu Development Chef to inspire, innovate, and elevate the school meal experience across 52 schools, serving over 2 million meals a year.

The Role

This isn\’t your standard development chef role – you\’ll be hands-on, creative, and a mentor to our catering teams.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Inspiring and upskilling school cooks to deliver exceptional food and service.
• Working alongside management to maintain high kitchen standards through audits and recommendations.
• Designing and implementing fresh, seasonal menus (in collaboration with the Food Development Officer) that meet School Food Standards and Food for Life criteria – menus change only twice per year.
• Promoting school meals at events through tastings and demonstrations.
• Driving continuous improvement across school and commercial kitchens, including scaling recipes for large numbers and checking portion sizes.

About You

• Knowledge of school catering standards and allergen management.
• Experience in a school catering environment or the ability to adapt culinary knowledge to schools.
• Strong leadership, collaboration, and mentoring skills.
• Creative and passionate about food trends, flavours, and menu innovation.
• Flexible to travel between school sites as needed, based at Loxley House.