Head Chef

NHS; Chester; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading hospital trust in Chester seeks an enthusiastic Head Chef to manage the catering team and ensure high-quality food service for patients and staff. The candidate should have substantial experience in large scale food production and kitchen management. Key responsibilities include producing food, managing the team, and ensuring compliance with food safety regulations. Relevant qualifications include Level 3 Food Safety and NVQ Level 3 in Professional Cookery. Strong leadership and time-management skills are required.

Qualifications

• Strong time-management and leadership skills.
• Experience in large scale food production and kitchen management.
• Understanding of NHS systems including ESR/E-procurement.

Responsibilities

• Manage the catering team within the department.
• Produce quality food for patients and staff.
• Ensure catering standards are delivered and met.

Skills

Time management

Leadership

Food safety knowledge

Education

Level 3 Food Safety or HACCP

NVQ Level 3 In Professional Cookery

Certificate in ILM First Line Management

Job description

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Head Chef

The closing date is 26 January 2026

We are looking for an enthusiastic and self‑motivated individual to join the Catering Services Team for the role of Head Chef. You will support the Head of Catering Services and manage the catering team within the department, producing the finest quality food for our patients and staff as well as delivering excellent customer service.

We are looking for an individual who has achieved a good grounding within the catering business, but would like to further develop and become proficient in all aspects of managing a busy Catering Service within an NHS Hospital.

Previous applicants need not apply.

Main duties of the job

The Catering Department is a busy and multi‑functional area of the Hospital, providing meals for patients and staff and meeting the Hospitality Services/Catering requirements for the wider Trust customers.

The successful candidate will have achieved a good grounding within the Catering Industry, preferably educated to advanced certificate or diploma level minimum NVQ Qualification (Level 3) with relevant equivalent experience. You should have strong time‑management and leadership skills and be able to prioritise and delegate well. The role requires a good working knowledge of computer software including Word, Excel and strong, demonstrable skills in all aspects of administration.

The role extends to the catering provision of our Ellesmere Port Hospital and its patients and will require regular visits to the hospital to ensure catering standards are being delivered and consistently met. A full driving licence will be required in order to facilitate the management of this particular objective and this aspect of the role.

About us

The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust provides services to and to Welsh patients covered by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. The Trust works collaboratively within the wider Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership. Its services are provided from three locations:

• The Countess of Chester Hospital: providing 438 general and acute beds
• Ellesmere Port Hospital: providing 56 beds as a rehabilitation, intermediate and outpatient facility
• Tarporley War Memorial Hospital: a base for community services which serve the local rural population.

The Trust employs over 6,258 staff (headcount) which includes temporary bank staff and provides acute emergency and elective services, primary care direct access services and obstetric services to a population of approximately 407,000. This includes 357,000 residents in Chester and West Cheshire which includes Ellesmere Port and Neston as well as the Deeside area of Flintshire which has a population of approximately 50,000.

The Trust is a busy district general hospital and in 2022/2023, there were more than 503,342 patient attendances (inpatient, outpatient and diagnostic) ranging from a simple outpatient appointment to major cancer surgery. This is an increase of nearly 10,000 compared to the previous year when there were 494,387 patient attendances.

Job responsibilities

See Job Description for further details.

Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values.

Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs will be deducted from their salary over the first three months of employment.

You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee of £16 per year applies.

New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.

Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date.

Good luck with your application.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Level 3 Food Safety or HACCP
• NVQ Level 3 In Professional Cookery
• Certificate in ILM First Line Management

Knowledge

• Experience of large scale food production/kitchen management

Experience

• Knowledge of food safety and Health & Safety law, including HACCP and COSHH
• Experience of NHS systems including ESR/E‑procurement

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust