Executive Head Chef in East Grinstead

Overview: Alexander House Hotel & Utopia Spa is part of Alexander Hotels, a private group of quality hotels of distinction just outside London. The property features a 5 Red Star, Award winning Utopia Spa, 58 bedrooms including the new luxury Cedar Lodge development and a 2-bedroom self-contained Gatehouse for guests. There are 2 award-winning restaurants: Reflections Restaurant (2 Rosettes, 60 covers) and AG’s Restaurant (3 Rosettes, 38 covers), plus conference, banqueting and private dining rooms catering for 8 to 95 guests.

The Role: Reporting to the General Manager, you will have total responsibility for all aspects of food production, from sourcing suppliers to delivering customer excellence in the finished dish. You will create restaurant menus to inspire local patrons and an afternoon tea menu to attract loyal local business; delivering outstanding corporate, wedding and banqueting menus is also part of your remit.

• Recruitment, training and coaching of a team of 10 Chefs and 3 Kitchen Porters.
• Work with local colleges to attract new recruits and collaborate with the Group Resourcer to attract quality Chefs.
• Manage progression of Chef Apprentices with an external training provider.
• Menu planning, supplier resourcing, ordering, delivery, storage, preparation, cooking and service across all food areas within the hotel.
• Development of menu ideas to progress the food offering to Rosette standards across restaurant, banqueting, afternoon tea and corporate functions.
• Ensure compliance with HACCP, food hygiene, and health and safety legislation.
• Achieve gross profit targets on dishes to enable future investment in facilities and staffing.
• Create passion, flair and drive in your team to help the hotel achieve its quality and business objectives; promote effective teamwork and communication across departments.

Requirements:

• Experience of developing a quality hotel restaurant to 2- and 3-Rosette standards.
• Proven ability in team selection and retention to support high standards.
• Demonstrate during a cooking trial the practical ability and flair to lead and motivate the team.
• Show ideas for developing the food offering and improving standards during interview.
• Experience managing multi-menu requirements and busy banqueting operations.
• Live locally or ability to relocate to the area with own transportation.

Benefits:

• 4 weeks holiday increasing to 5 weeks with service.
• 8 Bank holidays.
• Single private medical cover.
• Free car parking.
• Employee uniform.

In addition, you will benefit from a range of company benefits including discounted hotel accommodation for yourself and your family at all hotels, discounted hair treatments at our two Utopia Spas, discounts off all food & beverage at all hotels, discounts on individual treatments booked in our two Utopia Spas, and discounts on retail products in our two Utopia Spas. There is also a staff referral scheme and additional anniversary benefits such as paid birthday leave, complimentary overnight stays and meals.