Head Chef

The Red Lion

ColchesterUp to £50,000 OTEFull time

{property_name} is seeking an experienced, skilled Head Chef to lead our kitchen team. At Chestnut, we champion fresh, locally sourced ingredients, seasonal creativity, and dishes that make guests feel at home.


If you’re passionate about great food and thrive in a positive, supportive kitchen, we’d love to hear from you.


Job Requirements

  • Designing and developing exciting seasonal menus that reflect Chestnut’s vision.
  • Recruit, train, and mentor kitchen staff, fostering a collaborative and positive work environment.
  • Ensuring every dish meets a high standard for taste, presentation, and consistency.
  • Overseeing kitchen operations including inventory, cost control and food safety
  • Managing dry stock and ensuring accurate ordering
  • Working closely with the General Manager to maintain a happy, positive and high-performing team culture


Why Join Us?

  • Incentives: Enjoy both team & individual incentives that reward your hard work – including staff days and trips abroad
  • Flexible Hours: Allowing our employees to maintain a work and home life balance
  • Tips: Earn tips on top of your competitive hourly pay. Enjoy tracking your financial progress by using Wagestream


Perks of Working with Us:

  • Additional tips on top of competitive hourly pay
  • Opportunities for growth and development within hospitality careers
  • A vibrant, community-focused work environment.
  • Enjoy both food and room discounts with friends
  • Access to our exclusive Chestnut Hub which offers 100s of high street discounts
  • High quality, fresh staff food included
  • Industry accredited and nationally recognised qualifications
  • Employee reward and recognition prizes
  • Referral scheme (earn up to £1500 per referral)


Who are Chestnut?


Located within the East Anglia region, we are a growing group of stunning pubs with rooms and Bottle Shops. We are proud yet humble and at our core, we always strive to do the best we can for our fantastic people. Our team members are at the heart of who we are, which is why we offer a variety of hours to suit our team members and their personal commitments.



INDCP