Role purpose: to take full day-to-day responsibility for kitchen output, production standards, food safety, team supervision and on-time dispatch across Nourish’s meal prep and catering operation producing food that is consistent, well‑executed, and built to clear nutritional specifications.
The Company
Nourish is a fast-growing halal meal prep and catering business serving retail customers, athletes, community programmes and catering clients. We operate a production‑focused kitchen where consistency, food safety, organisation and reliable execution matter every day.
The kitchen runs multiple production streams in parallel, and the Head Chef needs to be comfortable working across all of them. The volume mix and weekly shape of the kitchen will shift as these streams come on and off. The systems that hold the operation together must be robust enough to absorb that without standards slipping.
A defining part of our offer is that the food is nutrition conscious. A large share of our customers are health‑focused training, managing weight, eating around macros, or following structured nutrition plans. Meals are designed and produced around specific calorie and macro targets, not approximate ones, and customers will choose meals partly on those numbers.
This is not a restaurant service role. It is a hands‑on kitchen leadership position focused on high‑volume production, disciplined systems, and making sure meals leave the kitchen to the required standard, correctly packed and on schedule.
We are looking for someone professionally trained, dependable, and operationally strong enough to run the kitchen properly, hold standards, and take ownership of output.
Core Responsibilities
- Lead day-to-day kitchen operations across all active production streams.
- Translate orders into structured prep, cook & packing schedules adjusting for the mix of work in any given week.
- Run high-volume batch cooking to a consistent standard across multiple menu items across ranges.
- Produce meals to defined nutritional specifications — hitting calorie and macro targets reliably.
- Supervise blast chilling, portioning, labelling, packing, and dispatch preparation.
- Ensure meals are produced correctly, packed accurately, and handed over on time.
- Allocate work across kitchen assistants and maintain control of workflow during busy periods.
- Monitor stock levels, forecast ingredient requirements, and coordinate ordering with suppliers.
- Maintain an organised, clean and audit‑ready kitchen at all times.
- Work closely with other departments to ensure customer satisfaction and operational excellence.
Food Safety, Standards and Kitchen Control
- Maintain strong food hygiene standards across all stages of production.
- Follow and enforce HACCP procedures, allergen controls and temperature logging requirements.
- Apply disciplined stock control practices, including FIFO systems where appropriate.
- Maintain recipe consistency, portion control, and production accuracy across all batches.
- Identify operational issues early and take practical action to protect quality, timing, and output.
- Escalate recurring issues around waste, stock, quality, or kitchen performance where necessary.
Production Accuracy and Performance Expectations
The person in this role will ultimately be responsible for ensuring the kitchen delivers what is required, when it is required, and to the expected standard.
- Consistent on-time fulfilment of all orders across production streams.
- Reliable high-volume output without compromising food quality or food safety.
- Accurate portioning, labeling, and packing of finished meals.
- Strong control of food cost, stock use, and avoidable waste.
- A calm organised and standard-driven kitchen culture.
Candidate Profile
- Proven experience in a high-volume kitchen, production kitchen or large-scale catering environment.
- Professionally trained chef with the confidence to run kitchen operations day to day.
- Strong batch‑cooking capability and the ability to maintain standards under pressure.
- Nutrition‑conscious mindset comfortable cooking to defined calorie and macro targets.
- Able to balance nutritional accuracy with strong flavour and presentation.
- Adaptable across different production briefs, comfortable shifting between these without losing standards.
- Reliable, punctual, organised and able to lead by example.
- Good understanding of food cost control, waste reduction and kitchen discipline.
- Comfortable supervising a small team and holding people to clear standards.
- Full UK driving licence preferred if operational support beyond the kitchen is ever needed.
Required Experience
- Formal culinary training or qualifications are highly desirable.
- Leadership and team management skills, with experience supervising kitchen staff.
- Ability to manage time effectively and work under pressure in a fast‑paced environment.
- Excellent organisational and communication skills.
- Experience with global cuisines (South Asian/East Asian or Southeast Asian cuisine desirable).
- Experience working in halal kitchens or familiarity with halal operating standards.
- Working knowledge of HACCP systems, stock rotation and production‑led kitchen processes.
- Experience supplying high volumes of meals for catering contracts, community programmes or similar operational environments.
- Experience in food production management, kitchen operations, and inventory control.
- Knowledge of food safety regulations and maintaining hygiene standards.
Compensation and Incentives
Working Pattern
Part‑time: ~20 hours per week (typically Wednesday/Thursday).
Bonus opportunity
Discretionary performance-based bonus with the potential to earn up to £3,000–£5,000 per year, subject to individual performance and overall company performance.
Initial period
First month paid at hourly rate during initial assessment / training period.
Progression
The role offers genuine scope to grow in responsibility, influence and earnings as the business scales, and the right person proves themselves.
Why Join Nourish
This role offers the opportunity to take genuine operational ownership within a growing, production‑led food business.
Nourish is building a structured, high-volume kitchen where consistency, food safety and disciplined execution are central. The successful candidate will play a key role in shaping how the kitchen operates in practice, contributing to the development of systems, standards and processes as the business scales.
The environment is production-focused rather than service‑led, with a clear emphasis on organisation, repeatability and nutritional accuracy. Meals are produced to defined calorie and macro targets, requiring a level of precision and control beyond typical batch cooking environments.
As the business grows, there is scope for increased responsibility and progression, alongside the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to a developing operation at an early stage.
This role will suit someone who takes pride in running a well‑structured, standards‑driven kitchen and is looking to apply that in a business with clear long‑term intent.
How to Apply
Please apply to enquiries@nourishltd.com with your CV and a brief note outlining your relevant kitchen experience, the environments you have worked in, and why this role is of interest.
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