ABOUT THE ROLE

Welcome to Hospitality, Done Differently.

Forget everything you know about corporate kitchen life. At The Odney Club—the John Lewis Partnership’s iconic country estate tucked along the Thames in Cookham—you aren't just an employee on a payroll. You are a Partner and co-owner of the business.

In this role, you’ll take pride in crafting outstanding food for hotel guests while stepping up to take full responsibility for the kitchen whenever the Head Chef or Sous Chef is away. You'll act as a key mentor on the line, sharing your skills and food safety knowledge to train junior chefs and kitchen porters in prep work and kitchen standards.

Behind the scenes, you’ll help keep the business running smoothly by tracking food wastage, managing inventory orders, and ensuring flawless daily safety checks. Above all, you’ll build fantastic relationships with the Front of House team to deliver pitch-perfect service and keep our guests coming back for more.

Hours of work -  45 hrs per week, Earliest start time 06:00 and latest finish time 21:30. Working 5 out of 7 days including weekends 11:00 - 21:00.

Salary - £34,080 - £46,300 paid based on skills and experience

Key Responsibilities

• Assisting the Head and Sous Chef to plan and deliver a food offer that aligns with current trends and customer demand, maintaining exceptional presentation standards.
• Using your expertise to train and develop junior chefs and kitchen porters, including specialised skills like fishmongery and butchery.
• Ensuring all legislative requirements are met, including allergen management, food safety policies, and health & safety standards.
• Conducting daily compliance checks (fridge temperatures, cleaning schedules, and PPE) and taking charge of the kitchen operation in the absence of senior chefs.
• Helping to achieve sales targets by managing food availability and equipping the front-of-house team with the knowledge to upsell effectively.
• Managing food orders with accuracy to minimise wastage and maximise profit margins.
• Acting as a representative of the Partnership, providing a consistently outstanding experience for our guests and fellow Partners.
  

Essential skills/experience you'll need

• Relevant professional chef qualifications, such as City & Guilds diplomas in professional cookery, BTEC HNC in professional cookery, or equivalent.
• Excellent skills to instruct the kitchen team and deliver clear feedback to front-of-house staff.
• The ability to deliver high-quality results in a fast-paced environment while upholding strict hygiene and safety standards.
• Ability to foster mutual trust and respect within a team, ensuring every Partner feels valued.
• Quick and confident decision-making skills to resolve kitchen issues efficiently.

Desirable skills/experience you may have

• Level 3 Food Safety qualification.
• Experience in coaching or developing junior kitchen Partners.
• Experience working in a hotel or high-volume quality dining environment

Closing Date:

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ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIP

We’re the largest employee owned business in the UK and home of our cherished brands, John Lewis and Waitrose. We’re not just employees, we’re Partners, driven by our purpose to build a happier world. As we look to our future, there’s never been a more exciting time to join us.  

We’re ruthlessly focused on being brilliant at retail. We continue to innovate, adapt and diversify. Never Knowingly Undersold on price, quality and service in John Lewis and passionately serving food-lovers in Waitrose.   

As Partners we all share the responsibility of ownership and in its rewards. We use our voices to contribute to our success, working together through the good and challenging times, holding true to our behaviours and treating everyone with kindness and respect. 

We all own making the Partnership somewhere we belong. Embracing our differences and creating an environment where we’re free to be ourselves and can THRIVE. Growing ourselves individually, and as a collective. 

As Partners, we make all the difference. And, we all own it.  

Important points to note:  

It’s important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre-employment vetting (which may include DBS checks for successful candidates). If required, you’ll be informed and provided with information about vetting during the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays. Any DBS checks required will be carried out by a third-party registered body and financial probity checks may also be required for some of our roles.

We also recommend that you apply as soon as possible as vacancies can close early if we see a high number of applicants.  

We want all of our Partners to have a good work-life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where possible. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview.