Job Introduction
Head of Food
Location: UK-wide (travel required)
Competitive salary plus benefits package
We’re looking for a senior, food-first leader to own and drive the Dine culinary strategy across our national estate. As Head of Food, you’ll shape and deliver high-quality, commercially strong workplace and hospitality food offers that excite clients, inspire teams, and meet evolving consumer needs.
Working closely with the B&I Culinary Director, Managing Director and cross-functional teams, you’ll ensure our food is authentic, relevant, scalable and consistently executed while building future culinary capability across the business.
For more information about careers at Dine Contract Catering and our benefits please visit: Careers at Dine Contract Catering
What you’ll do
- Own and lead the Dine food strategy, covering quality, innovation, sustainability, nutrition and commercial performance
- Act as the senior culinary authority for Dine, partnering with clients and internal stakeholders to drive satisfaction, retention and growth
- Lead menu, recipe and concept development, ensuring offers are operationally viable and brand-aligned
- Champion food standards and consistency across all sites, from tenders and mobilisations to day-to-day execution
- Drive innovation, trends insight and continuous improvement across the estate
- Develop culinary capability and talent pipelines, including apprenticeships and career pathways
- Represent Dine at client events, launches and showcases, deputising for the Culinary Director when required
What you’ll bring
- Proven senior culinary leadership experience in a commercial, multi-site environment
- Strong craft background with deep expertise in food, menu and recipe development
- Commercially savvy, able to balance quality, cost and consistency
- Credible client-facing leader with excellent influencing and communication skills
- Experience leading, coaching and developing teams (including matrix structures)
- Strategic but pragmatic mindset, comfortable driving change at pace
- Level 5 qualification (or equivalent)
- full UK driving licence, and flexible approach to working
If you’re passionate about great food, big ideas and making a real impact at scale, we’d love to hear from you.
Personality behind every plate
Dine provides tailored food services to 140 clients in the business and industry sector. With over two decades of industry experience, we pride ourselves on offering a personalised approach to our clients, whilst delivering outstanding service. Our passion lies in creating great-tasting menus, promoting sustainability, and proudly working with local suppliers and communities. That’s why our menus feature only locally sourced, seasonal, and sustainable ingredients with a target of reaching Climate Zero by 2030.
Compass Group UK&I is committed to fostering an environment where every individual can truly be themselves at work and has equal opportunities to advance in their careers. We strive to build a culture that respects and celebrates the unique talents, beliefs, backgrounds, and abilities of all our team members. We want our colleagues to feel valued, empowered to reach their full potential, and to thrive - because diversity is our strength!