Sous Chef, Balbirnie House Hotel, Fife

A role within one of Scotland's most successful hotels. The position is perfectly suited for a chef with a background of volume cooking.
Collectively at Balbirnie, we have circa 100 working in the brigade at peak season, and we have a shared passion for delivering a great product.
We are located in the very heart of The Kingdom of Fife, which is one of the most truly wonderful places to live and and work in Scotland, indeed denoted in 2016 as ‘The Happiest Place to live in Scotland’. We are half an hour equi-distant from Edinburgh, St. Andrews, Perth and Dundee.

Very much inspired by the constant changing of the seasons, with four very definitive annual menu changeovers, our #BrasserieDeluxe Orangery in tandem with 6 cover Chef’s Table and further private dining rooms, comprise of 150 covers, all combined additionally as an absolutely wonderful destination for celebrations. We have a classically-based creative and natural take on modern Scotland, a showcase for the best in the country, underpinned with truly fabulous affordability. In these areas of Balbirnie, we’re very much aligned with considerations which are evolutionary and Bistro Deluxe. Please note that we intend to build on these, as opposed to what could be otherwise described elsewhere as ‘fine dining’.

Whilst we do have destination hotel status, we are very much prioritised on catering in the first instance, with a great measure of value, for the 350,000 people who live on our doorstep in The Kingdom of Fife.
Furthermore, implications of the Brexit-led prevailing economic conditions in Scotland, mean that we are doing absolutely all we can to offer even more amazing value to our customers, than ever before. During early 2017 Balbirnie became the first ‘country house’ hotel in Scotland to definitively shift from fine dining to a more informal approach with our Orangery, and in the 18 months of operation we’ve achieved guest approval ratings in the range of mid ninety percent.

We work with ease of service, practicality, workability, volume, commercial viability and profitability. Open every night, and Sunday lunch.

The 45 cover Balbirnie Bistro provides a more informal and contrasting setting for the same dining experience, very much rooted in proper and classic Bistro cooking. 7 days per week, lunch and dinner. With additional private dining Bistro pop-up for a further 30 covers. We’ve recently added a new all-year-round Scandinavian-inspired brigade dining facility, aka The Courtyard – this is also available for guest reservations 7 days weekly.
Our Millennium Ballroom caters for some 150 large weddings per year, as well as many additional private and corporate special occasions. For banqueting, we’re working with Rational Combi ovens.

We have 34 guest bedrooms, and we cater for breakfast, afternoon tea, and room service.

Balbirnie House itself is a Grade A Listed Georgian mansion dated 1777, recognised as being of International importance. In 1999 we added our Orangery and Ballroom. Having opened as a hotel more than 25 years ago, we have a quite incredible collection of awards, which have all been generated by our provision of great food, wonderful value, and superb service.

As Sous Chef you will be responsible for:
• Providing intuitive food delivery, with absolute understanding of our guests needs to create exceptional service experiences that result in lasting memories
• Supporting the front-of-house management team and service brigades during service
-Leading and inspiring the kitchen brigade by calm and very methodical hands-on example, with an absolute passion for what we do, and a wonderful commitment to progressing skill sets within the team
-Consider evolution within the industry, seeking new ways to work without losing sight of where we’ve come from
• Ensuring seamless service at all times
• Helping to inspire the creation of genuine emotional bonds with guests, in order to build loyalty and create genuinely exceptional memories
-Helping the company achieve financial targets
-Food margin at 25%, food revenue £2M
-Kitchen payroll in line with budgets
-Maintaining a meaningful social media presence

Successful candidates for our opportunity will:
• Demonstrate genuine dedication to Balbirnie House, and show a commitment to consistent quality in our product and service
• Have a well proven track record with relevant banquet experience, exceptional food knowledge, and a passion for artisan products and local, seasonal food
• Appreciate and respect a more natural food culture and understanding. Ingredients are selected in their prime and our constantly evolving menus provides guests with a unique experience every time
• Be a team player who is an avid learner, adaptable and has exceptional interpersonal and communication skills.
• Ability to work under pressure
• Excellent attention to detail
• Immaculate personal presentation
• Confident, professional and welcoming personality

This is an exciting role for a talented individual who is looking for a new challenge and wants to join a fast paced and high performing hotel team renowned for their approach and delivery.

Please apply to Robbie Penman, executive chef to Robbie@balbirnie.co.uk

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