Kitchen Manager

Kitchen Manager – Education Catering
Are you an experienced Kitchen Manager, Cook Manager, Head Chef, or Catering Manager looking for a rewarding role within education catering?
This is an excellent opportunity to lead the catering operation at a well-established education site in Minehead, Somerset, delivering fresh, nutritious meals to students in a supportive and professional environment. If you're passionate about quality food, team leadership, and achieving a healthy work-life balance, we'd love to hear from you.
Salary and Benefits:
* Competitive salary of £35,000 per annum / Up to 10% annual performance bonus
* Company pension
* Monday to Friday: 7:00am – 4:30pm – no regular evenings/weekends
* Term-time working (42 weeks per year, including INSET days and three additional working weeks)
* Ongoing training and supportive employer with genuine opportunities to grow
* Excellent work-life balance
About the Role:
* As Kitchen Manager, you'll have full responsibility for the day-to-day management of a busy school catering operation, serving approximately 360 freshly prepared meals each day across the main school, sixth form, and specialist education unit.
* You'll lead and inspire a team of three General Assistants, ensuring every meal is prepared to the highest standards while maintaining a safe, efficient, and welcoming kitchen environment.
Daily meal service includes:
* Approximately 150 freshly prepared meals
* Around 200 Grab & Go meals
* Approximately 10 specialist unit meals
This is a hands-on management role where you'll have the autonomy to drive standards, develop your team, and create a positive dining experience for students and staff.
Key Responsibilities:
* Lead, coach, and develop the catering team
* Plan and prepare fresh, nutritious, and seasonal menus
* Deliver consistently high standards of food quality and presentation
* Manage food purchasing, stock control, ordering, and supplier relationships
* Monitor budgets and control food costs
* Ensure compliance with HACCP, allergen management, food hygiene, and Health & Safety legislation
* Maintain excellent customer service standards
* Drive continuous improvement across the catering operation
About You:
* We're looking for an experienced catering professional who has previously worked as a:
* Kitchen Manager / Cook Manager / Head Chef / Catering Manager / Chef Manager
You'll also have:
* Experience managing catering operations within schools, education, healthcare, contract catering, or high-volume food service
* Strong leadership and team management skills
* A passion for producing fresh, nutritious, high-quality food
* Excellent organisational and communication skills
* Experience managing budgets, food costs, stock control, and ordering
* A thorough understanding of HACCP, allergen management, and food safety legislation
Why Join Us:
* This is more than just another Kitchen Manager position.
* You'll enjoy the opportunity to lead your own kitchen, make a genuine impact on students' wellbeing through quality food, and enjoy a role that offers the work-life balance many chefs are looking for.
* If you're an experienced Kitchen Manager, Cook Manager, Head Chef, or Catering Manager ready for your next challenge in education catering, we'd love to hear from you
Only candidates based in UK and eligible to work in UK are allowed