Job Introduction

Job Description

• Job Title: Lead Chef
• Location: Café Portrait - Edinburgh
• up to £31,5000 per year + excellent Sodexo benefits
• 40hrs pw, 5 over 7

Job Introduction
Do you love being a chef but hate working split shifts and evenings? Heritage Portfolio Are excited to be recruiting for a passionate and driven Lead Chef to lead our team in delivering outstanding seasonal dishes with creativity and consistency at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, where the Art doesn’t just hang on the walls, its also on your plate!
Reporting directly to the General Manager, you’ll take the lead on all aspects of kitchen operations—from inspiring your team and maintaining impeccable food safety standards to ensuring every dish meets our high-quality expectations and aligns with our brand’s culinary style. You’ll also be responsible for driving menu profitability, supporting development of new dishes, and maintaining a smooth-running kitchen environment.
This role is perfect for a talented chef who thrives off creativity and compassion! Leading a team of three who will support you in making your mark on the newly refurbished vibrant, faced paced Café and Bistro!
The venue accommodates 145 seat tables spit between the café and Bistro, offering an elevated menu for seated dining providing a 2-3 course set menu created with fresh ingredients and compassion! And with the recent expansion of the event business, the successful Chef can expect to grow with this!
If you’re passionate about creativity, modern seasonal cooking, operational excellence, and leading a high-performing kitchen team, we’d love to hear from you.

What You’ll Do:

• Planning, development, and regular updating of seasonal menus infusing your own creativity in a way that reflect the brand’s culinary identity, sustainability goals, and customer expectations.
• Oversee the day-to-day operations of the kitchen, ensuring a well-organised, efficient, and positive professional working environment at all times.
• Inspire and lead the kitchen brigade by fostering a culture of teamwork, continuous improvement, and high performance, while supporting training and development.
• Monitor and maintain food costs in line with budgeted targets, ensuring effective stock control, portion management, and waste reduction.
• Work in close partnership with the front-of-house and events teams to ensure seamless service delivery and outstanding guest experiences.
• Uphold the highest standards of kitchen hygiene and cleanliness, ensuring compliance with all food safety, health & safety, and HACCP regulations.

What You Bring:

• A passion for creativity which flows through into your work
• Strong experience creating seasonal menus using fresh ingredients
• The ability to lead and inspire a team
• A knowledge of current trends and the ability to create your own!
• Experience overseeing budgets, stock and waste
• Food Safety Level 2

What we offer:

Working with Sodexo is more than a job; it’s a chance to be part of something greater. You’ll belong in a company and team that values you for you; you’ll act with purpose and have an impact through your everyday actions; and you’ll be able to thrive in your own way. In addition, we also offer a range of resources, rewards and benefits for our colleagues and their families:

• Unlimited access to an online platform offering mental health and wellbeing support.
• Employee Assistance Programme to help with everyday issues or larger problems where you may need additional support, including legal and financial advice, support with work related issues or personal issues such as bereavement.
• Access to a free health and wellbeing app that provides rewards for maintaining a healthy lifestyle and includes access to a 24hr virtual GP and various other services.
• The Sodexo Discounts Scheme, offering great deals 24/7 (also open to friends and family) and/or the prepayment cashback card.
• Money Insights and financial benefits via the Salary Finance Platform.
• Save for your future by becoming a member of the Sodexo Retirement Plan
• A Death-in-Service benefit for colleagues who pass away whilst employed by Sodexo
• Opportunities to enable colleagues to grow and succeed throughout their career at Sodexo, including a variety of learning and development tools.
• Cycle to Work Scheme to help colleagues to do their bit for the environment whilst keeping fit.
• Volunteering Opportunities to enable all colleagues to help support worthwhile causes in our communities.
• Flexible and dynamic work environment
• Competitive compensation
• Full training and full protective uniform supplied.

Ready to be part of something greater? Apply today! Career progression for the caring profession.
Sodexo reserves the right to close this advertisement early if we are in receipt of a high volume of applications.
About Sodexo
At Sodexo, our purpose is to create a better every day for everyone to build a better life for all. As the global leader in services that improve the Quality of Life, we operate in 55 countries, serving over 100 million consumers each day through our unique combination of On-Site Food and FM Services, Benefits & Rewards Services and Personal & Home Services.
We are committed to being an inclusive employer. We are a forces friendly employer. We welcome and encourage applications from people with a diverse variety of experiences, backgrounds, and identities. We encourage our employees to get involved with our Employee Networks such as Pride, Sodexo Parents & Carers, Sodexo Disability, Ability network, So Together, Generations and Origins.
We’re a Disability Confident Leader employer. We’re committed to changing attitudes towards disability, and making sure disabled people have the chance to fulfil their aspirations. We run a Disability Confident interview scheme for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria for the job.
Click here to read more about what we do to promote an inclusive culture.
Sodexo Disability, Ability network, So Together, Generations and Origins

What You’ll Do:

• Planning, development, and regular updating of seasonal menus infusing your own creativity in a way that reflect the brand’s culinary identity, sustainability goals, and customer expectations.
• Oversee the day-to-day operations of the kitchen, ensuring a well-organised, efficient, and positive professional working environment at all times.
• Inspire and lead the kitchen brigade by fostering a culture of teamwork, continuous improvement, and high performance, while supporting training and development.
• Monitor and maintain food costs in line with budgeted targets, ensuring effective stock control, portion management, and waste reduction.
• Work in close partnership with the front-of-house and events teams to ensure seamless service delivery and outstanding guest experiences.
• Uphold the highest standards of kitchen hygiene and cleanliness, ensuring compliance with all food safety, health & safety, and HACCP regulations

Working with Sodexo is more than a job; it’s a chance to be part of something greater. You’ll belong in a company and team that values you for you; you’ll act with purpose and have an impact through your everyday actions; and you’ll be able to thrive in your own way. In addition, we also offer a range of resources, rewards and benefits for our colleagues and their families:

• Unlimited access to an online platform offering mental health and wellbeing support.
• Employee Assistance Programme to help with everyday issues or larger problems where you may need additional support, including legal and financial advice, support with work related issues or personal issues such as bereavement.
• Access to a free health and wellbeing app that provides rewards for maintaining a healthy lifestyle and includes access to a 24hr virtual GP and various other services.
• The Sodexo Discounts Scheme, offering great deals 24/7 (also open to friends and family) and/or the prepayment cashback card.
• Money Insights and financial benefits via the Salary Finance Platform.
• Save for your future by becoming a member of the Sodexo Retirement Plan
• A Death-in-Service benefit for colleagues who pass away whilst employed by Sodexo
• Opportunities to enable colleagues to grow and succeed throughout their career at Sodexo, including a variety of learning and development tools.
• Cycle to Work Scheme to help colleagues to do their bit for the environment whilst keeping fit.
• Volunteering Opportunities to enable all colleagues to help support worthwhile causes in our communities.
• Flexible and dynamic work environment
• Competitive compensation
• Full training and full protective uniform supplied