Head Chef Manager – Workplace Deli
Location: PJ’s Deli, Network House, Marlow
Contract: Permanent, full-time
Hours: Monday to Friday, 7:00am–4:30pm
Salary: £35,000–£42,000, depending on experience
Reports to: Facilities Management
Manages: Deli Assistants / Catering Assistants
Love great food, organised kitchens and leading a small team but not the late nights and weekend shifts?
PJ’s Deli is looking for a hands-on Chef Manager to take ownership of our weekday workplace deli. You’ll lead the team, shape a practical and appealing breakfast and lunch offer, manage ordering and costs, and ensure excellent food-safety and allergen standards are maintained every day.
This is an ideal opportunity for an experienced chef, café manager or catering professional who wants the freedom to influence the food offer while enjoying consistent Monday-to-Friday working hours.
Role Purpose
The Chef Manager will be responsible for the day-to-day running of PJ’s Deli, ensuring the service is safe, compliant, organised, commercially controlled and consistently delivered.
You will lead the deli’s breakfast, grab-and-go and lunch offer, including hot-counter dishes, paninis, wraps, soups, jacket potatoes, salads, rice and pasta pots, daily specials and seasonal menu planning.
As the deli’s day-to-day operational compliance owner, you will ensure food-safety procedures, allergen controls, PPDS labelling, cleaning standards, temperature checks, recipe cards, supplier controls and daily records are correctly maintained.
This is a highly practical role. You’ll be expected to lead from the front, whether that means cooking, supporting service, training the team, reviewing stock or completing compliance checks.
Essential Skills and Experience
- Previous experience as a Chef Manager, Head Chef, Cook, Café Manager, Deli Manager or workplace catering lead.
- Practical experience preparing breakfast, grab-and-go and straightforward hot-lunch dishes.
- Strong working knowledge of food safety, kitchen hygiene and cross-contamination controls.
- Sound allergen awareness and the ability to follow strict allergen procedures.
- Experience managing stock, supplier orders, portion control and food waste.
- Ability to plan practical and commercially controlled weekly menus.
- Experience leading, organising or supervising a small team.
- Calm, organised and dependable during busy service periods.
- Strong communication and customer-service skills.
- Comfortable completing paperwork, digital records and compliance checks.
- Level 3 Food Safety qualification, or a commitment to obtain it within an agreed period after joining.
Desirable Skills and Experience
- Formal allergen-awareness training.
- Experience applying PPDS and Natasha’s Law requirements.
- Experience within workplace catering, contract catering, a café or a deli.
- Experience maintaining recipe cards, allergen matrices and supplier specifications.
- Experience supervising agency or temporary staff.
Understanding of food costing, margins and commercial performance.
Success in the Role
You will be successful in this position when:
- The deli opens on time and operates consistently each day.
- Customers receive a reliable and appealing breakfast, lunch and grab-and-go offer.
- Menus are practical, controlled and suited to customer demand.
- Food-safety, allergen and PPDS records are accurate and up to date.
- Stock is ordered effectively and food waste is controlled.
- The team is trained, organised and clear about its responsibilities.
- Service runs smoothly without depending on informal knowledge or one individual.
- Management has confidence that the deli is safe, compliant, professional and commercially controlled.
What We Offer
- A competitive salary of £35,000–£42,000, depending on experience.
- Consistent Monday-to-Friday daytime hours.
- No regular weekend working or split shifts.
- Ownership of an established workplace deli operation.
- The opportunity to influence menus and improve the service.
- A varied, hands-on role combining cooking, team leadership and operational management.
Pay: £35,000.00-£42,000.00 per year
Benefits:
Work Location: In person
