Job Introduction
Executive Head Chef
📍 Midlands Region
💷 £45,000 per annum
🕒 Monday to Friday | Excellent Work-Life Balance
Lead Culinary Excellence Across Education Catering
Are you an experienced senior chef looking for your next leadership opportunity? Do you have a passion for developing teams, delivering exceptional food, and making a positive impact on young people's lives?
Chartwells, part of Compass Group UK & Ireland, is seeking an inspirational Executive Head Chef to support and develop catering operations across our State School portfolio throughout the Midlands.
This is a fantastic opportunity for a talented culinary leader to drive food innovation, support multiple sites, coach Chef Managers and teams, and help shape the future of school catering. Chartwells is the UK's leading education catering provider, serving millions of nutritious meals every week to pupils across primary and secondary schools.
The Role
As Executive Head Chef, you will provide culinary leadership across a portfolio of schools, ensuring the highest standards of food quality, presentation, nutrition, compliance and customer satisfaction.
You will work closely with operational teams to drive food excellence, support retention and growth, develop culinary talent, and ensure sites consistently deliver outstanding dining experiences.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead and inspire catering teams across multiple school locations.
- Drive food quality, innovation and menu development in line with Chartwells' nutritional standards.
- Coach, mentor and develop Chef Managers and culinary teams.
- Ensure full compliance with food safety, allergen management and health & safety regulations.
- Support new business mobilisation, retention and client relationships.
- Monitor food costs, gross profit performance and wastage controls.
- Deliver culinary training and best practice workshops.
- Support schools with hospitality events, themed promotions and engagement activities.
- Champion fresh food, sustainability and pupil dining experiences.
- Work collaboratively with Operations Managers to achieve commercial and operational targets.
About You
We're looking for a passionate food leader who combines strong culinary expertise with exceptional people management skills.
You'll Have:
- Significant experience operating at Head Chef, Executive Chef or Area Chef level.
- Multi-site catering experience within education, contract catering, hospitality or foodservice environments.
- Strong leadership experience managing and developing teams.
- Excellent culinary skills and a passion for fresh food.
- Sound commercial awareness and budget management experience.
- Strong knowledge of food safety, allergen management and compliance.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
- The ability to inspire teams and drive a culture of continuous improvement.
What We Offer
✅ £45,000 per annum
✅ Monday to Friday working pattern
✅ Excellent work-life balance
✅ Company pension scheme
✅ Career development through Compass Career Pathways
✅ Access to industry-leading learning and development programmes
✅ Perks at Work discounts and employee benefits
✅ Opportunity to work for the world's leading food and support services company
About Chartwells
At Chartwells, we know that healthy, nutritious food helps pupils learn, develop and succeed. For over 25 years, we've been helping schools create positive dining experiences that encourage healthier choices and support educational outcomes.
If you're ready to take your culinary career to the next level and make a meaningful difference across education catering, we'd love to hear from you.
Apply today and help us inspire the next generation through great food.
Chartwells is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. All successful applicants will be subject to appropriate pre-employment checks, including an enhanced DBS check.
We ensure you're rewarded for all your hard work, which is why we offer a comprehensive benefits package which includes but is not limited to:
- Contributory pension scheme
- Grow your career with our Career Pathways and MyLearning programmes
- Quick access for you and your immediate family to a Digital GP, and wider healthcare benefits
- Exclusive travel discounts with TUI, Expedia, Booking.com and many more
- Save money on your food shop with discounts on Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons and many more
- Up to 44% off cinema tickets to enjoy your favourite blockbuster
- Receive cash rewards every time you spend and use them on a wide range of brands
- Un-wind with us with free wellness, mindfulness and exercise classes
- You can share all discounts and offers with your friends and families
About Us
Part of Compass Group UK&I, Chartwells is the leading provider of catering and support services to the education sector. For over a quarter of a century, Chartwells has been focusing on helping those in education to build strong bodies, sharp minds and lead long healthy lives. Every week, Chartwells serves millions of nutritious and delicious meals to pupils and students in primary and secondary schools, academies, independent schools, colleges, and universities across the UK. Chartwells is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expect all employees to share this commitment. Any offer of employment will be subject to successfully completing pre-employment checks, including an enhanced DBS disclosure and a Children's Barred List check. This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and we ask applicants to declare all previous convictions and cautions in order to assess their suitability to work with children.
Job Reference: com/2809/435800/52836032/SU #State Schools
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!