Weekday Chef, La Despensa

Second Home is a global workspace and cultural venue, bringing together diverse industries, disciplines and types of social businesses.

Job Description

We are looking for an experienced Chef to oversee the BOH management of the operations of Second Home café. The role will be based in Second Home Spitalfields.

This role entails much more than managing a kitchen – you would also bring your ideas and develop the space together with our team.

Reporting to the Food and Beverage Manager, you will manage the day-to-day operation with passion and integrity. You will need to take ownership and will be someone who sets high standards and leads by example.

Your responsibilities will include menu planning, budget control, ordering ingredients, stock takes, analysis of weekly figures and costs.

You must have an interest in sustainability: sourcing quality and seasonal ingredients, limiting environmental impact, developing kitchen processes that keep waste to a minimum and finding new and interesting ways to deal with food waste and reduce packaging. You will need to be agile, open to amending the menu or creating new dishes, based on feedback or sales data.

You must have great organizational skills, be comfortable in maintaining the highest of standards in all aspects of the cafe operations (FOH and BOH) and instill that to the team. You need to be computer literate to be able to deal with ordering, stock take and reporting, however full training will be provided.

You will be creating kitchen processes and due diligence paperwork from scratch, keeping accurate record in order to comply and exceed with Food Safety and Hygiene, health & safety legislation and guidelines.

If you have what we are looking for, then we want to hear from you!

Responsibilities

Operations

– Plan seasonal changing menus in collaboration with the Food and Beverage manager in line with each site constraints and kitchen equipment.

– Be the main point of contact with all suppliers, ordering all food ingredients and consumables within a set budget.

– Works quickly and methodically during busy periods.

– Order, manage stock and carry an accurate weekly stock take on all food items, keeping waste to an absolute minimum.

– Work hand in hand with the FOH team, especially the Cafe Manager to ensure that the cafe is running smoothly. Meetings with the Cafe Manager and the Food and Beverage Manager will take place weekly.

– Ensure strict health and safety compliance across the bar and kitchen areas; develop a due diligence system specifically tailored for each cafe operation; that includes cooking and cooling processes, kitchen recipes, labelling, organising deep cleans and cleaning checklists, report any defective equipment.

– Work closely with the Food and Beverage Manager to train and manage staff for the cafe and ensure appropriate cover for holidays and sickness.

– Work alongside the Cafe Manager to coordinate catering for studios and meeting rooms, as well as one off events.

Financial performance

– Ensure that all invoices and orders are reconciled

– Work alongside the Food and Beverage Manager to keep track of weekly budget, costs and stock.

– Negotiate contracts with suppliers, ensuring best quality for the best price.

– Monthly PnL reports and analysis to senior management on cafe operation

The Ideal Candidate

Requirements

– Must hold Level 2 / 3 Food hygiene certificate

– Must be computer literate and keen to be trained on how to carry reporting via the POS system and Microsoft Excel.

– Must work independently and create own schedule of work throughout the day and the week.