Head Chef – Place Hotels, Edinburgh
Competitive Salary | Great Work-Life Balance | Career Development | Team Leadership Opportunity
At Place Hotels, we pride ourselves on delivering genuine Scottish hospitality across our two 4 star hotels and coffee shop in Edinburgh. With a strong reputation for quality, professionalism and exceptional guest experiences, we're passionate about creating memorable stays—and great food plays a key role in that experience.
We're now looking for an experienced and inspiring Head Chef to lead our kitchen team and take ownership of the food offering across our operation.
This is an exciting opportunity for a chef who combines strong leadership with a passion for quality ingredients, creative menus and consistent execution. You'll be responsible for driving standards, developing your team and ensuring our guests enjoy fresh, seasonal dishes that reflect the very best of Scottish hospitality.
What we're looking for
- Proven experience as a Head Chef, Sous Chef or Senior Chef within a hotel, restaurant or hospitality environment.
- A passion for creating high-quality food using fresh, seasonal ingredients.
- Strong leadership skills with experience managing, developing and motivating kitchen teams.
- Excellent organisational and planning skills, including ordering, stock control and budgeting.
- A commitment to maintaining the highest standards of food quality, hygiene and kitchen safety.
- The ability to remain calm, positive and solutions-focused in a busy operational environment.
- Experience of menu development and delivering commercially successful food offerings.
- A hands-on approach and a genuine desire to lead by example.
The Role
As Head Chef, you'll be responsible for the day-to-day management of the kitchen operation, ensuring food is consistently delivered to the highest standard whilst maintaining strong financial controls.
Key responsibilities include:
- Leading, mentoring and developing the kitchen team.
- Designing and implementing seasonal menus.
- Managing food purchasing, stock control and supplier relationships.
- Maintaining food cost targets and kitchen budgets.
- Ensuring compliance with all food safety and health & safety requirements.
- Driving consistency, quality and innovation throughout the kitchen.
- Working closely with the wider management team to enhance the guest experience.
Why join Place Hotels?
We believe our people are our greatest asset. We work hard to create a supportive, professional environment where individuals can develop their skills, contribute ideas and build rewarding careers.
We offer:
- Competitive salary.
- Company pension scheme.
- Staff discounts across our hotels and hospitality offerings.
- Complimentary meals whilst on duty.
- Ongoing training and professional development.
- Opportunities for career progression within a growing hospitality business.
- A supportive management team that values your expertise and ideas.
- The opportunity to shape and develop the culinary offering of a respected Edinburgh hospitality group.
Join Us
If you're an ambitious Head Chef looking for a role where you can make a real impact, inspire a talented team and help shape the future of a growing hospitality business, we'd love to hear from you.
Come and be part of a company that values quality, teamwork and genuine hospitality—and where your contribution will be recognised and rewarded.
Apply today with your CV and a short introduction telling us why you'd be a great fit for Place Hotels.
Pay: From £42,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company events
- Company pension
- Discounted or free food
- Employee discount
- Language training provided
Ability to commute/relocate:
- Edinburgh EH1 3HU: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (preferred)
Experience:
- Kitchen Chef: 3 years (required)
Licence/Certification:
- Food Hygiene Certificate (required)
- Professional Cookery Certification (required)
- HACCP Certification (required)
Work authorisation:
- United Kingdom (required)
Work Location: In person
