Sensory & Rye, Hereford
Full-time | Daytime kitchen | 8am–4pm | No split shifts
We’re looking for an experienced, hands-on chef to take a senior role in our busy independent brunch and lunch kitchen.
This is a little different from a traditional Head Chef position. We already have a strong food identity and established menu, so we’re not looking for someone to come in and completely reinvent the kitchen. Instead, we want someone who can lead day-to-day kitchen operations, run a busy service confidently and help us maintain and develop the quality of what we do.
You might already be a Kitchen Manager, Sous Chef or Head Chef — or you might be a highly experienced chef who is ready to take on more responsibility.
The role
You’ll be very much part of the kitchen rather than managing it from an office. You’ll be expected to:
- Run a busy brunch and lunch service confidently across the kitchen
- Help lead and organise the kitchen team
- Make sure prep is completed properly and the kitchen is ready for service
- Maintain high standards of food quality, consistency, cleanliness and food safety
- Take real pride in fresh, colourful and carefully presented food
- Maintain our plating standards and attention to detail across the kitchen
- Work with ingredients such as micro herbs, fresh garnishes and edible flowers — some of which we grow ourselves
- Keep on top of labelling, stock rotation, ordering, wastage and kitchen organisation
- Train and support other members of the kitchen team
- Help improve kitchen systems and the way we work
- Contribute ideas for specials, presentation and future menu development
- Take ownership of problems rather than waiting to be asked
Our food is colourful, fresh and internationally inspired, and presentation matters to us. We want our dishes to have a sense of abundance and freshness — the idea of eating the rainbow is very much part of how we approach food.
About you
We’re looking for someone who is:
- An experienced chef, ideally from a busy brunch, breakfast, lunch or casual-dining kitchen
- Confident working across a busy kitchen, including grill and fryer sections
- Calm and organised during a high-volume service
- Reliable and consistent
- Naturally tidy and good at keeping on top of kitchen systems
- Particular about food quality, freshness and presentation
- Comfortable giving direction and maintaining standards
- Friendly and straightforward to work with
- Interested in food and happy to contribute creatively without needing complete control of the menu
Previous management experience would be great, but it isn't essential. We are equally interested in an experienced senior chef who feels ready to step up and take more responsibility.
A kitchen job with a different lifestyle
One of the biggest advantages of this role is the working pattern.
We are primarily a daytime café and brunch restaurant, so this is not the usual chef lifestyle of split shifts and routinely finishing late at night.
Our usual kitchen hours are approximately 8am–4pm, and we are open seven days a week, Monday to Sunday, so this role will work across a seven-day rota.
There is a seasonal exception during the Christmas period. For approximately six weeks over November and December, we also operate Christmas parties on Friday and Saturday evenings, and working these evenings will be expected as part of the role.
As with any seven-day hospitality business, availability to work across the Christmas period and Bank Holidays is also expected.
You'll be joining an established independent business rather than a large chain, which means you'll have real input into how the kitchen operates and the opportunity to make the role your own.
Full-time, permanent position.
Salary dependent on experience.
Benefits: [add private health insurance here if confirmed]
If you're an experienced chef who enjoys running a great service, cares about quality, presentation and the details that make food look exceptional, and would like to move away from the traditional late-night restaurant kitchen, we'd love to hear from you.
Pay: £38,000.00-£40,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Discounted or free food
- Employee discount
- On-site parking
Application question(s):
- What interests you about this role?
Experience:
- line cook: 3 years (required)
- brunch chef: 1 year (preferred)
Work authorisation:
- United Kingdom (required)
Work Location: In person
