Overview
Job Title: Head Chef
Application Closing Date: Monday, 03 August 2026
Position: Full time (37.5 hours per week) Annual Salary: £43,000 – £45,000 per annum, depending on experience Benefits: 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays Paid leave day to celebrate your birthday Free access to on-site gym facilities at Burleigh Springs Free meal on shift Christmas closure – enjoy time off over the festive period Free on site car parking Enrolment into company pension scheme We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced Head Chef to join one of the UK’s leading conference venue and hotel brands. In this key role, you will lead the culinary operations at Burleigh Court Hotel and Holywell Park Conference Centre ensuring exceptional food quality, consistency, and guest satisfaction across all dining and event experiences. You will be responsible for leading and developing the kitchen team, overseeing menu creation, managing costs, maintaining the highest standards of food safety and health and safety compliance, and contributing to the commercial success of the business. What You’ll Do Key responsibilities will be to: Develop, design, and update menus for Burleigh Court Hotel and Holywell Park Ensure consistency, quality, and presentation of dishes to the highest standards Ensure full compliance with food safety regulations (e.g., HACCP, Food Hygiene Standards) and train all team on hygiene, food handling, and safety procedures Cater for diverse dietary requirements, including allergens, vegetarian, vegan, and special diets Manage food cost percentages and kitchen budgets to achieve food revenue targets, control portion sizes, waste, and stock levels to maximise profitability Oversee daily kitchen operations, ensuring a smooth and efficient service Implement and maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs) Plan and coordinate staffing levels, schedule rotas and manage labour costs Recruit, train, and develop the kitchen team Conduct monthly 1:1’s, performance reviews and provide coaching and mentoring to foster a positive, motivated and high-performing team Promote a culture of teamwork, respect, and continuous improvement Monitor stock usage and conduct regular inventory checks Conduct regular safety checks and risk assessments About You We are looking for an experienced and creative Head Chef with exceptional culinary expertise. You will have a proven experience of successfully leading and developing high-performing kitchen teams, ideally within a 4-star full-service hotel or conference venue. Together with significant experience managing, motivating and developing a large kitchen team, you will have excellent communication and interpersonal skills and a strong understanding of food cost control and kitchen financials. You will be passionate about delivering high quality food and maintaining consistently high standards across all areas of the kitchen, ensuring exceptional quality, presentation and service. Experience in banqueting and events catering would be highly desirable. About Us: Based at Loughborough University Campus, our brand portfolio includes: Burleigh Court Hotel and Conference Centre Holywell Park Day Conference Centre The Link Hotel The Elite Athlete Centre and Hotel Loughborough University Nursery Every year we host over 92,000 delegates from around the world; we service over 90,000 bedrooms; we serve over 200,000 meals; we take over £30 million in enquiries. With excellent customer service at the core of our offer, we are recognised as a leading academic venue, winning multiple awards and accreditations in customer service, business tourism and people management. We achieve this by putting our guests at the heart of everything we do. We take workplace engagement seriously and are proud to have been awarded the Best Companies accreditation as very good to work for 2025. Simply put, we’re trying to make Imago Venues a place where people love to be. We care about our people and we’re kind to each other. We’re ambitious, ethical, sustainable and, most importantly, we’re accountable. If you’re an ambitious and passionate Head Chef with a proven ability to deliver outstanding guest experiences, develop high-performing teams, and maintain strong operational partnerships, we’d love to hear from you. To apply for the position, log onto the Imago website To find out more about the role click here Closing date: 3rd August 2026 Imago Venues are an Equal Opportunities and Disability Confident Committed Employer
IMPORTANT: Before applying for this role, please make sure you have the right to work in the country where the role is based. Unless it clearly stipulates within in the job advert above that the hiring company is looking to or able to sponsor applicants it is deemed that the hiring employer will only consider applications from those able to comply with and work in the country where the role is based.
