SOUS CHEF – RAMBLERS REST CAFÉ
Harlestone Heath Garden Centre | Blue Diamond Garden Centres
GREAT FOOD. GREAT TEAM. GREAT HOURS.
Love being a chef but ready for a role where your career doesn’t have to take over your life?
Ramblers Rest Café at Harlestone Heath Garden Centre is looking for an experienced, passionate and dependable Sous Chef to join our kitchen team.
This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who enjoys a busy kitchen, takes pride in quality and standards, and knows how to get the best from the people around them.
And one of the biggest differences?
Daytime hours. No late-night finishes.
Even better, while much of hospitality is at its busiest over the major holidays, we are closed on:
Christmas Day | Boxing Day | New Year’s Day | Easter Sunday
THE ROLE
As Sous Chef, you will work closely with the Head Chef to lead the day-to-day operation of the kitchen and deliver consistently great food in a busy garden centre restaurant.
You will be expected to lead from the front – cooking, organising, supporting and developing the team while maintaining excellent standards of food quality, presentation, cleanliness and food safety.
Your responsibilities will include:
- Supporting the Head Chef with the daily running of the kitchen
- Leading the kitchen confidently in the Head Chef’s absence
- Preparing, cooking and presenting food consistently to agreed recipes and specifications
- Managing busy breakfast and lunchtime services
- Ensuring excellent standards of quality, portion control and presentation
- Organising daily preparation and ensuring the kitchen is ready for service
- Allocating tasks and providing clear direction to chefs and kitchen team members
- Training, coaching and supporting junior members of the brigade
- Maintaining high standards of food hygiene, HACCP and health & safety
- Completing opening, closing and daily kitchen checks
- Monitoring stock levels and supporting ordering and stock rotation
- Ensuring correct date labelling, storage and FIFO procedures
- Controlling food waste and helping protect kitchen gross profit
- Supporting stocktakes and investigating stock or food-cost variances
- Ensuring recipes, specifications, allergens and portion controls are followed
- Maintaining excellent standards of kitchen cleanliness and organisation
- Supporting menu launches, seasonal changes and new product development
- Working closely with the front-of-house team to deliver smooth, efficient service
- Helping build a positive, professional and respectful kitchen culture
WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR
We are looking for someone who is more than simply a good cook.
You should be a calm, organised and hands-on kitchen leader who takes ownership and understands what it takes to run a successful service.
Ideally, you will have:
- Previous experience as a Sous Chef, Junior Sous Chef or experienced Chef de Partie ready to progress
- Strong practical cooking skills
- Experience working in a busy, fresh-food kitchen
- Good knowledge of food hygiene, allergens and HACCP
- Strong organisational and time-management skills
- An understanding of stock control, wastage, portion control and food costs
- The confidence to supervise and motivate a kitchen team
- A positive attitude and willingness to lead by example
- Reliability, flexibility and a genuine passion for hospitality
- The ability to remain calm and organised during busy services
WHY JOIN RAMBLERS REST?
Hospitality doesn’t always have to mean sacrificing your evenings and every important day of the year.
At Ramblers Rest Café, you can continue doing what you love while enjoying a working pattern that offers something increasingly rare in professional kitchens:
Predominantly daytime working hours
No routine late-night finishes
Christmas Day off
Boxing Day off
New Year’s Day off
Easter Sunday off
You’ll be joining an established garden centre restaurant with the opportunity to make a genuine contribution to the kitchen, develop your leadership skills and be part of the wider Blue Diamond Garden Centres team.
READY FOR A BETTER KIND OF KITCHEN ROLE?
If you are an experienced chef who still has the passion for great food but would like better hours, real responsibility and the opportunity to help lead a successful kitchen, we would love to hear from you.
Apply today and bring your experience, ideas and enthusiasm to Ramblers Rest Café at Harlestone Heath Garden Centre.
Work Location: In person
