Chef Manager in Old Windsor

We are currently recruiting for an experienced and dynamic Chef Manager to lead our kitchen and hospitality services at a prestigious independent school in Windsor, SL4 2JN. Wilson Vale is an established, quality‑led contract caterer. We work with amazing clients across the UK who place huge value on great food as a key part of their culture and community.

This is a full‑time position based on a 40‑hour working week, working 5 out of 7 days. Rotating 7 am to 3:30 pm and 12 pm to 8:30 pm. Day‑to‑day, the kitchen caters for around 250 people and 35 boarders in the evening.

As Chef Manager, you will have a strong culinary background in fresh food and a passion for quality. This is a hands‑on, operational leadership role where your expertise in kitchen management and culinary execution will be essential. You’ll be a key presence in the kitchen, working closely with your team to set standards, refine processes, and deliver an exceptional dining experience for students and teachers.

We’re looking for a Chef Manager with a proven track record of leading professional kitchen teams, managing complex food operations, and maintaining consistently high standards across food safety, service, and presentation. You should be confident in managing service at pace, overseeing stock and menu planning, and driving culinary innovation, all while keeping a close eye on cost efficiency and compliance.

This role reflects our commitment to exceptional service, innovation, and team development. It offers a fantastic opportunity for a Chef Manager to take ownership of a developing service, build strong working relationships with the existing team, and lead them in elevating the operation to our company’s high standards across both kitchen and hospitality. You’ll oversee a team of Chefs and Front‑of‑House/General Assistants.

Your responsibilities will include not just the smooth daily running of service, but also staff development, performance management, and mentoring ensuring your team grows in confidence, skill, and consistency. The kitchen provides a vibrant, freshly prepared food offer across several services. Breakfast includes a hot breakfast service, while lunch features a varied selection including hot main options, jacket potatoes, soups, a seasonal salad bar, and freshly baked desserts, with vegetarian choices always available. The team maintains a strong awareness of allergens and dietary requirements to ensure all students are catered for. In addition, the kitchen provides match‑day snacks, and supports hospitality and school events throughout the year.

Menus are created weekly by the Chef Manager and are designed to showcase world cuisines and innovative ideas that encourage students to explore new foods and broaden their palate. We’re looking for a confident, capable leader who is passionate about great food, high‑quality service, and team development. You’ll be proactive, customer‑focused, and ready to inspire and support your team in delivering a consistently excellent experience both in the kitchen and in front‑of‑house service.

• Lead, motivate, and develop the catering and hospitality team, fostering a positive “nothing is too much trouble” culture, and ensuring staff are trained, multi‑skilled, and confident in delivering high‑quality service.
• Plan, create, and deliver imaginative, high‑quality menus and bespoke hospitality solutions, incorporating world cuisines, innovative ideas, and seasonal or themed promotions to inspire customers and broaden their palate.
• Ensure all hospitality services, including events, match‑day snacks, and boarding meals, are delivered to the highest standards with exceptional presentation and attention to detail.
• Work hands‑on as needed in a fast‑paced environment, leading from the front while maintaining a love for great food and service.
• Build strong relationships with clients and customers, gathering feedback through customer satisfaction initiatives and attending meetings when appropriate.
• Maintain full compliance with health and safety, food safety, hygiene, allergen management, and company policies, and ensure staff follow procedures and wear appropriate PPE.
• Manage operational performance, including food cost control, weekly stock takes, reconciliation reports, labour budgets, and achieving agreed financial targets while demonstrating a strong understanding of P&L accounts.
• Operate effectively in pressedurised environments, multitasking to ensure smooth day‑to‑day operations, timely completion of tasks, and high‑quality customer experiences.
• Bring creativity and innovation to both food and service, staying aware of current food trends, service styles, and ESG goals to reduce waste and environmental impact.
• Demonstrate excellent people management, communication, organisation, and leadership skills, being proactive, reliable, and able to deliver results consistently.
• Undertake special projects, ad‑hoc duties, or training as required by the company or client to support the continued growth and success of the service.

Craft at our core – we pride ourselves on our craft‑skilled chefs who create wonderful fresh food from scratch. It’s all about the food – the menu is the most important document our chefs write every week. Quality, seasonal ingredients – 300+ British suppliers and our chefs can source locally. Freedom to create – our teams love to cook up exciting food themes and pop‑ups to keep the food fun. Support like no other – our business was founded by family and we have stayed true to those same family values of nurturing development, protecting our values and building trust and loyalty. Making food that not only tastes great but is good for the planet. We have always had a strong environmental ethos and are dedicated to our social and environmental commitments. We believe in tailored training and opportunities to build your career with us.

Our working hours are some of the best you’ll find in catering – we are strong believers in work‑life balance. Our working environment is fun and inspiring, with excellent career development opportunities. Craft Works – Free craft‑focused career development training programme. Paid training bespoke to you. Access to our Employee Assistance Programme – your wellbeing is very important to us. Online employee benefits scheme – monetary savings on everyday items! Your Birthday off every year after 1 year’s service. Enhanced Maternity Pay.

Wilson Vale is an equal opportunities employer that strives to create an inclusive working environment for all. We are committed to supporting our people and do not tolerate discrimination of any kind. From each and every person in our catering teams, to our operations and central support teams – everyone has a voice.