Regional Group Chef - Oxford & Reading

Regional Group Chef (Oxford & Reading Patch)

Salary: £40,000 – £45,000 per annum + Car Allowance + Paid Mileage
Location: Oxford & Reading Area (Multi-Site across regional schools)
Contract: Permanent, Full-Time
Working Hours: 40 Hours per week | Monday – Friday (Daytime hours only)

The Opportunity

Pineapple Recruitment is proud to partner with a market-leading contract caterer specialising in school food to recruit a talented Regional Group Chef for the Oxford and Reading area. Our client doesn't just serve meals—they create fantastic food experiences that fuel young minds! By blending deep knowledge of the education sector with the latest food trends, they encourage creativity and excitement in every kitchen.

As a Regional Group Chef, you will step out of a single fixed kitchen and become the mobile culinary leader for your area. You will be responsible for crafting and delivering healthy, nutritious, and truly fun menus across a portfolio of schools, ensuring the food offer is the absolute best in the region. This is the perfect position for a passionate Head Chef or Chef Manager looking for a rewarding field-based role that offers an incredible Monday-to-Friday work-life balance.

Key Responsibilities

• Menu Excellence: Lead the expert preparation and delivery of healthy, nutritious, and creative menus across your designated patch using fresh ingredients.

• Team Leadership: Supervise, support, and motivate school kitchen teams, stepping in to assist during peak periods, and ensuring smooth, high-morale food service.

• Safety Champion: Maintain strict compliance with all Food Hygiene, Allergen management, and Health and Safety regulations across all sites.

• Premium Hospitality: Personally manage, prepare, and deliver high-quality hospitality requests for school clients, governors, and special regional events.

• Relationship Building: Foster strong, collaborative relationships with school clients, headteachers, students, and internal operations managers.

The Ideal Profile

• Experience: Proven experience as a Head Chef, Chef Manager, or Group Chef within a fresh-food catering environment (prior knowledge of high-volume education or B&I catering is highly desirable).

• Leadership Style: A self-motivated mentor who takes initiative, raises the bar for food quality, and knows how to get the absolute best out of a team.

• Compliance: Strong working knowledge of kitchen safety practices, with existing Food Hygiene Level 2 & 3 certifications preferred.

• Mobility: A full UK driving licence is essential to travel between the schools within your regional portfolio.

What’s On Offer

• Financials: Highly competitive salary up to £45,000 plus a dedicated car allowance and paid mileage.

• Work-Life Balance: Monday to Friday schedule, 40 hours per week, offering a rare alternative to traditional hospitality hours.

• Career Growth: Join a fast-growing, ambitious independent business with a completely open ceiling for career progression.

• Development: Full access to a dedicated Learning & Development team offering funded apprenticeship paths and advanced training courses.

Note: Because this role involves working directly within school environments, the successful candidate must share a commitment to safeguarding and will be required to undergo an enhanced DBS disclosure.

Pineapple Recruitment is acting as a Recruitment Agency on behalf of our client for this vacancy.