Head Chef

Job description

Position: Head Chef

Salary: : Scale S01 37,068 per annum  to be pro rata

Hours of work: 35 hours per week – Term Time only

Contract Term: Permanent

Closing Date:: 12pm on Wednesday 30th April

Shortlisting: Shortlisted candidates will be notified by email by Friday 9th May  2025  

Interviews: To be confirmed  in May

Start date : Required as soon as possible

Are you a talented, passionate, and experienced chef looking to make a real difference?

Do you believe that great food has the power to transform children’s health, education, and well-being?

If so, we want you to lead our school’s food culture revolution! Cook amazing meals the children will love and have the opportunity to engage with the school food curriculum.

Why Join Us?

At Lancasterian Primary School, we believe that school meals should be fresh, nutritious, and exciting—not just fuel for the day, but an integral part of education. We are looking for a Head Chef to lead our catering team and inspire a love of food and cooking across the school.

We are working in partnership with Chefs in Schools (https://chefsinschools.org.uk/) to enhance the catering team at Lancasterian Primary School. This has created an exciting opportunity for a Head Chef who will lead on developing, implementing and continuously improving the culinary vision for the school.

Lancasterian Primary is a two-form entry school in the heart of Tottenham, a busy, exciting and energetic part of London. We are proud of our diverse, welcoming and enthusiastic learning community. The leadership team has a clear vision to ensure that all children and adults at the school have the opportunity to thrive and excel. One of our current school improvement priorities for this year is to, ‘Revolutionise the school’s catering offer to provide healthy, substantial and enjoyable food for children’, and we’re looking for the right person to enable us to achieve this goal.

What You’ll Be Doing:

• Building, leading and inspiring a team to cook fresh, seasonal meals from scratch.
• Designing creative, nutritious menus that excite young eaters and meet school food standards and are in line with the Chefs in Schools school food mission.
• Making food education part of daily school life.
• Collaborating with our school gardener to use fresh, homegrown produce.
• Driving sustainability initiatives, such as food recycling and reducing waste.
• Organising taster days, food events, and theme days to engage families and promote school meals.

What We’re Looking For:

• A qualified chef (NVQ in food preparation & cooking) with a passion for fresh, healthy food.
• Experience leading a professional kitchen team.
• A creative approach to menu planning with an understanding of dietary requirements and allergens.
• Someone who loves working with children, teachers, and parents to make food exciting.
• A strong understanding of food hygiene, budgeting, and stock control.

For successful candidates we offer:

• An attractive site and kitchen facilities which have been well resourced and effectively maintained.
• A supportive senior leadership team who understand that rapid school improvement and staff well-being must go hand in hand
• Fantastic professional development and career enhancement opportunities
• Excellent transport links

If this sounds like the job for you then please contact us to find out more!

Visits to the school are warmly welcomed and encouraged and can be arranged by contacting the school. Please visit our school website to download the application pack (https://www.lancasterianprimary.co.uk/key-information/staff-vacancies) and contact the office to arrange a visit or if you require further assistance, on 020 8808 8088.

Lancasterian Primary School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All posts are subject to pre-employment checks, in addition, as part of the shortlisting process, we may conduct an online search as part of due diligence checks in the recruitment process. References will be sought and successful candidates will need to undertake an enhanced DBS check.