Head Chef, Hospitalfield, Tayside

This is an exciting and varied role, within a unique environment, catering for café customers, artist residents, private hires, events, markets, takeaway nights and even some community food projects. You’ll have the freedom to cook a wide range of cuisines and will need to be able to cater for customers with all different dietary requirements. Absolutely everything is cooked from scratch, so a broad set of skills is needed to produce quality food across all sections. We are not a fully vegetarian kitchen, but an interest in vegetarian and vegan cooking is a must.

Our goal is to develop an award-winning café, so an ambition to be an integral part of that is required. The café menu has a certain style already which we would broadly like to maintain, but we would really like the right candidate to come in and put their own stamp on the place and enjoy putting their personality out there as one of the faces of the organisation.
This is an exciting time to join the team at Hospitalfield House as we head into only the second year of operation of our brand-new café in the walled gardens beside the house. The Garden Café serves brunch and lunch and aims to promote the wonderful food production of Angus and the wider area including home grown vegetables and herbs straight from the garden. Hospitalfield attracts visitors from outside the area who are coming to visit the house and gardens and learn more about its history, but also, very importantly, we draw a local, loyal following of regular customers.

As well as cooking for the café the kitchen provides full board catering for groups of artists that come to stay at Hospitalfield on residencies that last from one to four weeks. Therefore, importantly, on top of having creative cooking and management skills, the ability to provide warm and welcoming customer service for our residents will be required.

We wish to appoint an enthusiastic, friendly, energetic, efficient, and committed head chef to join us at this important time as we take the business to the next level. Applicants should have demonstrable experience of working in a similar busy café/restaurant environment including event catering for up to 80 people.
You will be managing a small team of kitchen staff and so an approachable manner and team building attitude would work best.

Responsibilities:
• Producing fresh, creative, quality food from scratch, for the café, residents, functions, and occasional markets, using as much local seasonal produce as possible.
• Designing menus for café, weddings, events and residents. Sourcing of seasonal produce will help govern what’s on the menu.
• Managing the rota for the kitchen staff
• Building an hospitable rapport with the residents to ensure they have a great food experience while they are here, and that their dietary requirements are catered for.
• Maintaining profit margins on food and minimising food waste
• Stock control, orders, and conversing with the gardener on produce.
• Ensuring strict food hygiene practises and maintaining our great relationship with the EHO.
• Meeting with clients to discuss their menu requirements for events.
• Maintenance of the kitchen and equipment
Driving license and own transport will be required.

Notes on Hours:
The hours will have seasonal variations and also variations of working times as there will be some event work outside of the opening hours of the café and meal times of the residents. Therefore, we require someone who can be flexible around these needs.

Please apply by sending your CV and a covering letter describing your experience and why you are interested in this position. Please send to kitchen@hospitalfield.org.uk