HEAD CHEF / KITCHEN LEAD (UK) at Tigermilk

London, England, United Kingdom -

Full Time

Start Date

Immediate

Expiry Date

07 Apr, 26

Salary

0.0

Posted On

07 Jan, 26

Experience

5 year(s) or above

Remote Job

Yes

Telecommute

Yes

Sponsor Visa

Skills

Leadership, Training, Food Safety, Hygiene Compliance, Kitchen Operations, Team Development, Recruitment, Stock Management, Food Quality, High Volume Service, Organizational Skills, Communication, Autonomy, Positive Culture, New Openings, Consistency

Industry

Restaurants

Description

Launched in Paris in 2019, Tigermilk is a fast-growing restaurant group with 12 locations across Europe — 10 in France, 1 in Belgium, and our newest opening in London (Tottenham Court Road). We bring Latin American–inspired cuisine and cocktails to life in vibrant, centrally located restaurants — 100% homemade, responsibly sourced, and built on strong brand identity and guest experience. Now, we’re accelerating our expansion in the UK, with multiple openings planned across London and beyond — and we’re looking for an experienced Head Chef to lead our kitchen teams, ensure flawless execution of our food standards, and build the training and operational structure needed to scale successfully. This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who thrives in high-energy kitchens and is passionate about developing people, maintaining strict hygiene and compliance, and delivering consistent, high-quality Tigermilk food — every day, at every site. The Role As Head Chef / Kitchen Lead – UK, you will be responsible for delivering consistent, high-quality Tigermilk food standards in the UK. This is a hands-on leadership role where you will: Lead daily kitchen operations and execution during prep and service Train, develop, and structure kitchen teams to build autonomy and consistency Oversee recruitment and onboarding for kitchen hires Maintain strong hygiene, food safety, and compliance standards Support future openings through training and operational setup What You’ll Be Responsible For Kitchen Execution & Standards Deliver consistent food quality, taste, plating, and speed during every service Ensure strict compliance with technical sheets, recipes, and portion control (grammage) Maintain strong coordination with FOH/GM to ensure smooth service flow Training & Team Development (Core Priority) Build and run a structured training programme for cooks (onboarding, station training, assessments) Coach and upskill kitchen teams to reach consistent performance across stations Maintain clear training tools: SOPs, checklists, prep guides, plating references People Management Lead and motivate teams through strong standards, discipline, and positive culture Support performance development through feedback, coaching, and structure Organise schedules and team planning in coordination with Operations Recruitment Oversight Support and oversee kitchen recruitment: interviews, trial shifts, evaluation, selection Ensure onboarding is effective and team structure supports performance and retention Build a pipeline of talent to support new openings Stock Discipline & Storage Organisation Maintain disciplined labelling, date control (prep/use-by), FIFO rotation, and organised storage Keep fridges/freezers/dry storage structured to support fast inventories and reduce waste Hygiene, Food Safety & Compliance Ensure the kitchen is UK food-safety compliant and EHO-ready at all times Enforce HACCP-based procedures, allergen controls, temperature checks, logs and traceability Maintain daily and weekly cleaning routines (opening/closing checklists, deep cleans) Train teams on hygiene behaviours, cross-contamination prevention, and allergen awareness New Openings & Expansion Play a key role in pre-opening and launch phases: kitchen setup, training plans, test services Support future sites to embed strong standards from day one Be mobile to support openings and multi-site needs when required What We’re Looking For 5+ years in professional kitchens, with 2+ years in a leadership role (Sous Chef / Head Chef / Kitchen Manager) Experience in high-volume, fast-paced service environments Strong leadership with a genuine passion for training and developing teams Strong understanding of UK hygiene and food safety compliance (HACCP, allergens, logs) Highly structured, disciplined and consistent — you build systems, not just services New opening experience is a strong advantage What Success Looks Like Consistent food quality and standards across services and teams Strong, autonomous kitchen teams with clear training structure A clean, organised, audit-ready kitchen every day Successful recruitment and onboarding to support growth Smooth and repeatable openings as Tigermilk expands in the UK Why Join Tigermilk? Join a fast-growing European group launching and scaling in the UK Real opportunity to shape kitchen standards and build teams from the ground up High-energy restaurants with a strong brand identity and guest experience focus Career progression opportunities through growth and expansion Location & Contract 📍 London (Tottenham Court Road) + travel for openings 🕒 Full-time, permanent 💷 Salary: competitive, based on experience

Responsibilities

As Head Chef / Kitchen Lead, you will lead daily kitchen operations, ensuring high-quality food standards and training kitchen teams. You will also oversee recruitment and maintain hygiene and compliance standards.