Salary: Up to £36,000 + Overtime
Location: South-East England
Hours: 40 hours | 52 weeks | Shift based

Love the standards and variety of hotels, but ready for a better work-life balance?

I'm recruiting a Junior Sous Chef for a prestigious independent education environment with a food operation that would comfortably rival a quality hotel.

You'll work within a brigade of around 14 chefs, covering everything from daily dining and hospitality to conferences, banqueting, gala dinners and major events for up to 3,000 guests.

Salary & Benefits

• Up to £36,000 salary
• 40-hour working week
• Paid overtime or TOIL
• Around 15 weekends per year
• On-site parking
• Excellent training and development
• Genuine progression within a growing group
• Vacancy created through internal promotion

The Operation

• Large, established chef brigade.
• Fresh food cooked from scratch.
• Boarding and staff dining.
• Conferences and banqueting.
• Gala dinners and hospitality.
• Events for up to 3,000 guests.
• Standards comparable to a quality hotel operation.

The Role

• Work across multiple kitchen sections.
• Support the Head Chef and Executive Chef.
• Help lead and develop junior chefs.
• Contribute dishes and ideas to menus.
• Support both daily dining and large events.
• Maintain high standards across production and service.
• Opportunity to develop a particular speciality.

About You

• Junior Sous Chef or strong Chef de Partie ready to progress.
• Hotel, events, banqueting or quality fresh-food background.
• Proactive, hardworking and genuinely passionate about food.
• Comfortable working across different sections.
• Strong team player with a positive attitude.
• Driver ideally, due to the location.

Typical shifts include 7am-3pm and 10am-6pm, with the latest finish around 9:30pm. Busier periods can involve longer or split shifts, with additional hours either paid as overtime or returned as TOIL. Quieter periods offer greater flexibility around development, training and taking time back.

This would particularly suit a chef coming from a busy hotel or banqueting background who still wants quality, variety and large-scale events – but with a far more balanced working week.

The interview process includes an initial meeting and site tour, followed separately by a practical trade test.

Apply today or send your CV to yasmin AT corecruitment DOT com