Senior Chef de Partie / Junior Sous Chef – £40,000+ Package
Kumquat Restaurant – The Pantiles, Tunbridge Wells
£35,000 starting salary + approximately £5,000 service charge
Higher salary available for the right chef
Full-time – 7 shifts per week
Kumquat is an independent, 2 AA Rosette modern Asian restaurant on The Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells, and we are looking for a genuinely experienced chef to join our small kitchen team.
This is an important position for us, and we are looking for someone who really knows how to cook.
You will work directly alongside Chef Patron Alex Boyd, who has nearly 30 years' experience in professional kitchens in London and Hong Kong, including working with Joël Robuchon and Pierre Koffmann, Executive Chef positions at St Ermin's Hotel and Mansion House, and achieving 2 AA Rosettes as an Executive Chef.
The role
We run a small, hands-on kitchen producing modern Asian food using quality ingredients and everything possible made in-house.
You will be working alongside Alex during prep and service, so we need someone who can come into the kitchen and immediately make a genuine contribution.
You should be able to:
- Run a busy section confidently and independently
- Have strong basic and classical cooking skills
- Prepare and cook consistently to a high standard
- Organise your section and mise en place properly
- Work cleanly, quickly and methodically
- Understand seasoning, cooking temperatures and how to treat good ingredients
- Stay calm and organised during a busy service
- Take responsibility rather than waiting to be told what needs doing
- Work closely as part of a very small kitchen team
- Care about the standard of every plate that leaves the kitchen
We are not looking for someone who needs to be taught the fundamentals of being a chef. We are very happy to teach our food, flavours and way of working, but you must already have a strong professional kitchen background.
Previous Asian cooking experience is useful but not essential. Strong cooking ability, attitude, organisation and consistency are more important.
Salary & hours
- Starting salary: £35,000
- Approximately £5,000 per year additional service charge
- Total package approximately £40,000+
- We will consider a higher basic salary for an exceptional candidate
- Full-time
- 7 shifts per week
- Approximately 45 hours per week
- Overtime paid
- Staff meals provided
We are closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day.
What we can offer
This is a particularly good opportunity for a chef who wants to work closely with an experienced Chef Patron rather than disappear into a large brigade.
Alex is very hands-on in the kitchen and believes strongly in teaching chefs why something is done, not simply telling them how to do it. You will have the opportunity to develop your cooking, learn new techniques and ingredients, and work at a genuinely high level every day.
The kitchen is professional, respectful and standards-driven. We work hard, but we want a calm environment without shouting, egos or unnecessary drama.
If you are a serious chef who takes pride in what you do and wants to work somewhere where good cooking really matters, we would like to hear from you.
Please apply with your CV and a short introduction telling us about your current or most recent kitchen and the level you are currently working at.
Pay: From £35,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company pension
- Discounted or free food
- Employee discount
Application question(s):
- Tell us briefly about your current or most recent chef role. What level were you working at, what section(s) did you run, and what were you personally responsible for during a busy service?
- This is a full-time role working 7 shifts per week, including evenings and weekends, at our restaurant in Tunbridge Wells. Can you reliably work this pattern, and how would you travel to and from work?
Work authorisation:
- United Kingdom (required)
Work Location: In person
