Job Summary
Smoke is a contemporary café and wine bar located on Princess Street in Knutsford, the second venue from the team behind the successful Water Lane site in Wilmslow. Working closely with The Cheshire Smokehouse, we are passionate about serving exceptional, honest food while championing outstanding local producers and suppliers.
Open seven days a week, Smoke serves breakfast, brunch, lunch, and evening dining, complemented by a carefully curated selection of wines, craft beers, and premium spirits from both local independent producers and continental specialists. Our menus evolve regularly, reflecting seasonality, creativity, and our commitment to quality.
We are looking for an experienced, passionate, and driven Head Chef to lead our kitchen team. This is a hands-on leadership role where you will have the opportunity to shape our food offering, develop new dishes, mentor your team, and maintain the highest standards of quality, consistency, and food safety.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead, inspire, and manage the kitchen team, creating a positive, professional, and high-performing working environment.
- Design and develop innovative seasonal menus across breakfast, brunch, lunch, and evening service, working closely with the management team.
- Ensure all dishes are prepared and presented to the highest standards of quality, consistency, and creativity.
- Manage daily kitchen operations, including service, preparation, ordering, stock control, and waste management.
- Recruit, train, mentor, and develop kitchen staff, supporting their progression and maintaining high levels of performance.
- Maintain excellent food safety, hygiene, and HACCP standards, ensuring full compliance with all health and safety legislation.
- Build strong relationships with local suppliers and source high-quality seasonal ingredients in line with Smoke's ethos.
- Monitor kitchen costs, labour, and gross profit margins, identifying opportunities to improve efficiency while maintaining quality.
- Work collaboratively with the front-of-house team to deliver an outstanding guest experience.
- Lead by example during busy service periods, remaining calm, organised, and focused under pressure.
Experience & Skills
- Previous experience as a Head Chef or Senior Sous Chef ready to step into a leadership role within a high-quality café, restaurant, or gastropub.
- Strong leadership and people management skills with the ability to motivate and develop a successful kitchen team.
- A genuine passion for fresh, seasonal produce and creating innovative dishes.
- Excellent knowledge of food safety, HACCP, and kitchen compliance procedures.
- Strong organisational skills with experience managing stock, ordering, food costs, and kitchen budgets.
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment while maintaining exceptional attention to detail.
- Commercial awareness with a focus on delivering both quality and profitability.
- Flexibility to work across mornings, evenings, weekends, and busy trading periods.
- A positive attitude, excellent communication skills, and a genuine passion for hospitality.
If you are an ambitious chef looking to lead a talented team, influence a constantly evolving menu, and be part of an independent business that values creativity, quality, and local produce, we'd love to hear from you.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: £14.00-£18.00 per hour
Benefits:
- Company pension
- Discounted or free food
- Employee discount
- Free parking
Work Location: In person
