Head Chef

Title: Head Chef
Location: City of London School for Girls, The Barbican
Salary: £45,000 per annum
Schedule: 52 weeks

Why Join Us?

• Competitive salary with excellent benefits
• Lead the hospitality and events catering for a prestigious independent school
• Full-time, year-round position with career development opportunities
• Work in the heart of London at a renowned institution
• Predominately a Monday - Friday schedule, promoting excellent work-life balance

About the Role:

Are you a creative and experienced Head Chef with a passion for hospitality, canapés, and high-end events? If so, we have an exciting opportunity for you to lead the hospitality and events culinary team at one of London’s most prestigious independent schools.

Located in the heart of the City of London, City of London School for Girls is renowned for its history and distinguished alumni. The school boasts an extensive hospitality and fine dining offering, ranging from elegant canapé receptions and formal banquets to VIP events, afternoon teas, and working lunches.

What We Offer:

• 28 days holiday
• 3 volunteering days & 3 days grandparent leave
• Enhanced maternity leave (24 weeks)
• Bespoke training and development opportunities
• Pension and life insurance
• High street, holiday & cinema discounts via our HAPI app
• Access to our Wellbeing Hub & Employee Assistance Programme
• Free meals on duty
• Career development & apprenticeship opportunities

At Holroyd Howe, we pride ourselves on creating exceptional hospitality experiences within independent schools. Our commitment to fresh, seasonal, and locally sourced ingredients ensures that we deliver outstanding food while maintaining sustainability and innovation.

If you are a creative and ambitious chef with a strong background in hospitality and events, we would love to hear from you!

As Head Chef, you will be responsible for:

• Delivering high-end hospitality menus, ensuring quality and innovation
• Creating bespoke menus for fine dining, canapés, and special occasions
• Managing a talented team to execute seamless service for events
• Upholding the highest standards of food presentation and service
• Overseeing fresh, seasonal, and locally sourced ingredients.

This is a fantastic opportunity for a chef with a passion for events catering to thrive in an exciting and dynamic environment. At Holroyd Howe, we offer the chance to showcase your talent, redefine hospitality in an educational setting, and work in a beautiful, iconic location.

If you’re ready to bring your creativity and leadership to this exceptional role, we’d love to hear from you!

• Proven experience as a Head Chef or Senior Sous Chef in hospitality, fine dining, or high-end events catering
• Strong background in canapés, plated dining, and large-scale event catering
• A passion for seasonal, fresh ingredients and delivering exceptional food presentation
• Level 3 Food Safety Certificate (or willingness to obtain)
• Strong leadership and team management skills
• Ability to work under pressure and maintain high standards
• Excellent menu development and cost control knowledge
• Experience in allergen management and dietary requirements compliance
• A relevant Culinary Qualification (e.g., NVQ Level 2/3, City & Guilds, or equivalent) is desirable but not essential

If you’re ready to bring your culinary expertise and event catering experience to this exciting role, we’d love to hear from you!

Holroyd Howe is one of the UK’s leading contract caterers, providing fresh innovative food services solely to independent schools and colleges. We are a team of experienced professionals who tailor our catering service provision specifically to suit children of all ages in order to meet the bespoke requirements of each school.

To provide our teams with the right skills to succeed in their jobs, we invest in their training and development. Our exceptional teams of seasoned specialists customise our catering services to fit children of all ages and satisfy the unique needs of our clients.

We pride ourselves on:

Sustainability

Sustainability is at the heart of our thinking; always mindful of the ethics of our sourcing and how we prepare our meals.

Nutrition

We take nutrition seriously and understand the impact a healthy diet has on the fundamental years of development. Meals are always freshly prepared from scratch and packed with nutritious ingredients.

Food Innovation

We offer a wide portfolio of training opportunities and experiences, which attracts chefs who are passionate about culinary excellence and menu innovation to our team.

From tasting tables, theme days and food theatre, to chef demonstrations and supplier showcases, we create engaging and fun dining experiences for our students. We work together to make mealtimes exploratory, quirky, and fun for our pupils, helping them build strong and healthy relationships with food.

“Holroyd Howe is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expect all employees to share this commitment. All roles within Holroyd Howe are regarded as regulated activity, it is an offence to apply for a role in regulated activity if you are barred from working with children, therefore we will require an Enhanced DBS which includes a Barred List check for all successful applicants. We will also require shortlisted applicants to provide appropriate information regarding any criminal offences and shortlisted applicants will be subject to an online search of public available information on suitability to work with children.“

This appointment is offered on the return of satisfactory professional references.

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