Head Chef – The White Bull at Cannon Hall Farm
A Leadership Role for an Experienced Head Chef
We are seeking an exceptional Head Chef to lead the kitchen operation serving both The White Bull and The Lucky Pup at Cannon Hall Farm.
This is Not a role for an aspiring Sous Chef looking for their first Head Chef position. We are looking for a proven Head Chef with a minimum of 3–5 years' experience leading high-volume, high-quality kitchens, or an experienced Executive Chef looking for their next challenge.
This is a demanding leadership role within one of Yorkshire's most successful visitor destinations, requiring an individual who can consistently deliver outstanding food quality whilst managing a large-scale operation serving up to 1,000 covers on peak trading days.
The Opportunity
The White Bull and The Lucky Pup form a key part of the Cannon Hall Farm visitor experience, welcoming thousands of guests every week. Our food offer is built around quality ingredients, consistency, value, and exceptional customer experiences.
In addition to our daily food operation, The White Bull hosts a highly successful Friday evening Supper Club. This is an opportunity to showcase creativity, innovation, and elevated dining experiences that complement our daytime offering.
The Head Chef will be responsible for developing a new Supper Club menu approximately every six weeks, creating exciting and inspiring dishes that encourage repeat visits whilst remaining commercially viable and aligned with agreed gross profit targets. This is an opportunity for a chef who can combine operational excellence with creativity, delivering both volume and innovation to the highest standard.
As Head Chef, you will take full responsibility for the day-to-day management and performance of the kitchen operation, ensuring every plate leaving the pass reflects the standards and reputation of the business.
You will be expected to lead from the front, inspire your team, and create a culture where quality, cleanliness, consistency, and accountability are non-negotiable.
Key Responsibilities
- Full management of the kitchen operation serving both The White Bull and The Lucky Pup.
- Leading, developing, and motivating a large kitchen team.
- Delivering exceptional food quality and consistency across all service periods.
- Managing kitchen labour, productivity, and performance.
- Developing menus that balance quality, customer appeal, operational efficiency, and profitability.
- Identifying commercial opportunities and driving Gross Profit performance through menu engineering and product development.
- Producing accurate recipe specifications, portion controls, and dish costings for approval by the Managing Director.
- Leading the development of our Friday evening Supper Club concept and menu offering.
- Creating innovative six-weekly Supper Club menus that showcase culinary creativity whilst remaining operationally achievable and commercially profitable.
- Producing detailed costings, specifications, and gross profit analysis for all Supper Club dishes and menus.
- Continuously evolving the dining experience through seasonal ingredients, market trends, and customer feedback.
- Monitoring and controlling food costs, wastage, and stock management.
- Ensuring all food safety, hygiene, allergen, and health & safety standards are met and exceeded.
- Building strong relationships with suppliers and ensuring the best quality ingredients are sourced at the right price.
- Driving continuous improvement across systems, processes, and kitchen standards.
What We're Looking For
The successful candidate will have:
- A minimum of 3–5 years' experience as a Head Chef in a high-volume food operation, or experience at Executive Chef level.
- Proven experience managing large kitchen teams.
- Experience delivering successful menu development and commercial food offers.
- A strong commercial understanding of food costings, margins, labour control, and profitability.
- Experience serving high volumes without compromising quality or consistency.
- Excellent organisational and leadership skills.
- A hands-on management style and a willingness to lead by example.
- A passion for developing teams and creating a high-performance kitchen culture.
- Exceptional attention to detail and uncompromising standards.
- The creativity and vision to develop exciting food concepts whilst maintaining commercial discipline.
Our Standards
At Cannon Hall Farm, standards are everything.
We are looking for a Head Chef who takes pride in every aspect of the operation, from food quality and presentation through to cleanliness, organisation, food safety, and team development.
The successful candidate will understand that consistency builds reputation and that every service matters. Equally, they will recognise the importance of innovation and continuous improvement, ensuring our menus evolve with customer expectations whilst remaining commercially successful.
You will be expected to set the standard, challenge poor performance, celebrate success, and continuously raise the bar across every aspect of the kitchen operation.
Why Join Us?
This is an opportunity to lead a significant food operation within one of Yorkshire's best-known visitor attractions.
You will have the autonomy to influence menus, develop the food offer, lead the Supper Club programme, build your team, and make a genuine impact on the future direction of the business.
If you are an experienced Head Chef who thrives in a fast-paced environment, enjoys leading large teams, understands the commercial realities of modern hospitality, and is passionate about delivering exceptional standards every day, we would love to hear from you.
Pay: £45,000.00-£50,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company pension
- Discounted or free food
- Employee discount
- On-site parking
- Store discount
Work Location: In person
