Head Chef in Orkney

Kinloch Hotel is looking for a talented, grounded and commercially minded Head Chef to lead its kitchen on the west coast of the Isle of Arran. This is an opportunity to put your stamp on a well-loved island hotel, creating food that feels generous, distinctive and true to its setting. You will lead the kitchen with calm authority: setting standards, developing the team and delivering consistently excellent food across breakfast, lunch and dinner. The role combines creative ownership with the practical disciplines that make a busy hotel kitchen thrive. Kinloch pairs sweeping sea views and warm island hospitality with menus inspired by Arran's exceptional produce. Local seafood, island dairy, cheeses and seasonal ingredients give the kitchen a strong sense of place, while hotel residents and local diners create a varied, lively service. We want to build on that character: confident cooking, thoughtful sourcing and memorable dishes delivered without unnecessary fuss. Food & guest experience./ – Create seasonal, appealing menus that celebrate Arran and meet the needs of hotel guests and local diners. – Set and protect high standards for flavour, presentation, consistency and pace across every service. – Stay close to guest feedback and keep developing the food offer with confidence and good judgement. Kitchen leadership./ – Lead from the front, creating a calm, respectful and accountable kitchen culture. – Recruit, coach and develop the brigade, giving people clear expectations and genuine opportunities to progress. – Plan rotas and deployment carefully so the team is ready for changing occupancy and trading patterns. Commercial performance./ – Take ownership of food cost, labour, purchasing, stock control, portioning and waste. – Work with hotel leadership to plan menus, forecasts and activity that support strong guest satisfaction and profitable growth. – Build constructive supplier relationships, balancing local sourcing, quality, availability and value. Standards & safety./ – Maintain excellent food hygiene, allergen management, HACCP, cleanliness and record keeping. – Ensure the kitchen is organised, well maintained and ready for service, inspection and changing business needs. – Proven experience leading a successful kitchen, ideally in a quality hotel, restaurant or similarly varied operation. – A strong food identity and the ability to turn seasonal, local ingredients into accessible and memorable menus. – Commercial confidence across food margin, labour planning, purchasing and waste control. – A visible, hands-on leadership style that brings out the best in chefs at different stages of their careers. – Excellent working knowledge of food safety, allergens and kitchen compliance. – The resilience, organisation and steady judgement needed for a busy island hotel. Look forward to performance bonuses that reward your hard work Plan for a secure future with our solid company pension scheme Enjoy stability with a permanent contract that offers peace of mind We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk. Depending on the duties of the role, the successful candidate may be required to undertake an appropriate Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme check as part of our safer recruitment process. TPBN1_UKCT