Head Chef

Head Chef - New Italian Opening - RELOCATION OPPORTUNITY - 5-Star Coastal Hotel Resort Estate & Spa - Carmarthen

Circa £53,000 DOE + Fully Expensed High-Quality Off-site Accommodation - so zero living costs

Rosette Experience Essential

Looking to create something of your own without having to open your own restaurant?

For the right Italian experienced Head Chef, this is a rare opportunity: a new opening, genuine creative autonomy, serious backing, Rosette ambition and an extraordinary coastal lifestyle. If you have a partner that is happy to join you - suitable work can be found for them on the resort.

We are recruiting a Head Chef to lead an exciting new refined Italian restaurant opening within an established, high-end 5-star coastal resort estate in rural South Wales.

I visited the property recently and it is genuinely stunning. The setting and coastal views are exceptional, and for somebody looking to combine a serious career opportunity with a completely different quality of life, this is a very unusual proposition.

But this isn't simply a lifestyle move.

The Directors have significant ambitions for the restaurant and want to appoint a Head Chef capable of creating an Italian food offering that can operate comfortably above 1 Rosette level and develop considerably beyond that.

They aren't looking for somebody to inherit a corporate menu and execute somebody else's ideas.

They want a proven, creative Italian Head Chef who can help shape the identity of the restaurant: developing the menus, establishing standards, building and developing the brigade, working with excellent suppliers and creating food that gives guests a genuine reason to return.

The Opportunity

This is a new opening, but it sits within a highly successful, established and well-financed multi million pound resort business.

You'll be working closely with a group of successful entrepreneurs who bring calm, consistent decision-making and proven commercial experience to the business. Their intention is to give the right Head Chef the backing, autonomy and resources to build something exceptional.

This will be a hands-on Head Chef appointment.

You'll lead from the front, but you'll also take ownership of the wider kitchen operation: suppliers - both UK & Italian, food quality, menu development, GP, purchasing, wastage, labour, recruitment, training, standards and consistency.

Who We're Looking For

We are looking for an accomplished Head Chef with a genuine background in high-quality Italian cuisine. You could currently be working within a luxury hotel, destination restaurant, premium independent restaurant or high-quality Italian restaurant group.

Experience of operating at 1-2 Rosette level or a genuinely comparable standard. A strong understanding of ingredients, seasonality, provenance and menu development. Experience building, leading and developing high-performing kitchen teams.

Above all, we're looking for somebody who has fire in their belly. Perhaps you've reached the point where another corporate Head Chef role, another set of centrally dictated menus and another year of tick-box exercises simply isn't particularly exciting. Perhaps the next obvious step is a larger site or a group role - but neither is really what you want. Or perhaps you've considered opening your own restaurant because what you really want is the freedom to create something you're proud of.

This role offers another option.

The Package

Package is negotiable around £53,000 + Bonus, depending on experience.

In addition, the successful Head Chef will receive high-quality long-term off-site accommodation which is fully expensed by the company, including household bills. We estimate the accommodation alone to have a rental value of approximately £1,500 per month / circa £18,000 per annum, making the overall package considerably more valuable than the headline salary suggests.

The Directors aren't looking for somebody for 12 months. They want to make an appointment who can become central to the food strategy of the resort and remain part of the business for the long term.