Head of Food Production – Lina Stores
Lead the kitchen behind one of London’s most loved Italian food brands. Lina Stores is hiring a Head of Food Production to take strategic and hands-on ownership of our central production operation, driving daily output, yield, quality, and the scale-up of cook-chill and chilled food manufacturing as we grow our restaurants, delis, and retail range.
Born in Soho in 1944, Lina Stores is a London institution rooted in Italian food craft. From a single green-and-white deli on Brewer Street, we’ve grown into a multi-channel Italian food brand spanning restaurants, delis, bars, and a growing retail and wholesale range, with our central production kitchen at the heart of it all.
Our pasta is fresh, our ingredients are sourced with obsession, and our standards are set by 80 years of doing things properly. We’re now scaling our production operation to match the ambition of the brand and that’s where you come in.
Reporting into senior leadership, you’ll run our full central production operation: daily output, quality, yield, food safety, and the people who make it happen. This is a hands-on strategic role for someone who loves both the craft of Italian food and the discipline of food manufacturing, equally at home on the production floor and in a margin conversation.
You’ll lead cook-chill systems, embed lean manufacturing and automation, partner with NPD on new product launches, and scale the facility as we grow. You’ll be the operational engine behind every dish that leaves our kitchen.
- Lead end-to-end food production, including cook-chill systems, NPD pipelines, and daily operations across hot and chilled lines
- Drive facility optimisation and scale-up projects as Lina Stores grows
- Introduce and embed production automation and lean manufacturing principles
- Support and innovate process and yield optimisation programmes
- Support margin management across the full product range
- Manage, mentor, and develop a multi-disciplinary production team across multi-shift operations
- Oversee inventory systems and partner with supply chain to ensure material availability
- Collaborate with NPD to bring new products from concept to production-ready stage efficiently
- Maintain the highest standards of food safety, hygiene, HACCP, and regulatory compliance alongside the Building Manager
- 4+ years in a senior food production or operations role, ideally within premium/artisan food, QSR, or chilled food manufacturing
- Demonstrable experience running cook-chill systems and large-scale hot and chilled production
- A track record of implementing lean manufacturing and automation projects
- Strong commercial acumen, confident with costing, yield, and the relationship between production decisions and margin
- Experience leading teams of 10+ across multi-shift operations
- Excellent project management skills, facility design or scale-up experience a strong advantage
- A genuine love of food, and alignment with our values around quality and Italian food culture
- Right to Work in the UK
At Lina Stores, our values shape every decision, from the suppliers we choose to the people we hire:
- Celebrating Italy - Heritage, Authenticity, Quality
- With Hospitality at Heart - Generosity, Empathy, Community
- We Grow with Purpose - Passion, Opportunity, Responsibility
Aside from an OTE salary of £55,000 per annum, we offer:
- 50% staff discount across all Lina Stores restaurants, bars, and delis
- Discount on retail and online shop products
- 28 days’ holiday including bank holidays, increasing with service
- Workplace pension scheme
- Enhanced family-friendly policies
- Employee Assistance Programme and wellbeing support
- Long-service rewards and career development across the Lina Stores group
- A genuine seat at the table in a fast-growing, founder-led Italian food brand
This is a rare opportunity to shape the production engine behind a brand with real cultural heft. You won’t be inheriting a static operation, you’ll be building the systems, the team, and the standards that take Lina Stores into its next chapter. If you care about Italian food, operational excellence, and doing things properly, you’ll find your people here.
Apply now to become Head of Food Production at Lina Stores, London. We review applications on a rolling basis, early applicants are encouraged.
