Executive Chef

Executive Chef

Livelyhood | £70,000–£75,000 + KPI bonus plan

Great food. Brilliant people. Seven businesses. Two brands. One food team. Growth plans. Plenty of Ambition

At Livelyhood, we're in the fun art of hospitality. We're looking for an exceptional Executive Chef to shape our fresh food offer and take it to the next level.

Fresh food is a huge part of Livelyhood. It brings people together, gives guests a reason to visit and return, and plays a big part in growing our businesses.

We’re looking for an exceptional Executive Chef to lead the next chapter of food across our group.

Who are You

You'll be a brilliant food developer, but just as importantly, a hands-on multi-site operator who knows how to turn great ideas into consistently brilliant food across every pub. You'll bring our Head Chefs with you, build one strong food team and make sure our food delivers for our guests, our people and our business.

Someone who loves developing exciting, relevant food, but knows that the real magic happens when a great idea becomes a brilliant plate of food, delivered consistently by confident, engaged kitchen teams, day in and day out.

You’ll be as comfortable developing menus and creating new dishes as you are on the kitchen pass during a busy service, working through food GP, coaching a Head Chef or bringing a new food initiative to life across multiple sites.

You’ll be our food champion, our connector and our standard-setter. Working closely with our Owner/Founder, you’ll bring our food strategy to life, build a brilliant group of Head Chefs and make sure our food offer delivers for our guests, our teams and our business.

Our Exec Chef will

• Lead food development from start to finish. Create exciting menus and dishes, manage costing and suppliers, and make sure every launch is properly trained, implemented and reviewed.

• Make great food happen every day. Spend time in our kitchens, working alongside teams to improve quality, consistency, availability, presentation and speed of service.

• Drive commercial performance. Use food sales, GP, margins, waste and labour productivity to make smart decisions and grow our food business.

• Build a brilliant kitchen team. Coach and develop our Head Chefs, share best practice and create a collaborative culture with clear standards and accountability.

• Bring our pubs to life. Help each Head Chef tailor their food offer to their local guests and business plan, while staying true to our group food values.

• Lead new openings and redevelopments. Shape the food strategy, recruit kitchen teams and get hands-on during those crucial first weeks to embed menus, standards and confidence.

• Connect the business. Work closely with our Owner/Founder, General Managers, Marketing, Commercial Consultant and Suppliers to turn our food strategy into action.

Who We're Looking For

You'll have experience in a senior multi-site food leadership role, with a track record of developing great food.

You're commercially sharp, operationally credible and passionate about developing people. You know how to inspire Head Chefs, communicate change clearly and hold teams accountable without losing their engagement.

Above all, you understand that brilliant food takes more than a great recipe. It takes confident people, clear standards, strong teamwork and consistent execution.

About Livelyhood https://www.livelyhood.co.uk/

We're an independent, established, entrepreneurial hospitality group with big ambitions, a signed off investment and growth plan and a genuine passion for neighbourhood hospitality.

You'll have the opportunity to shape our food direction, develop talented people and make a real difference to the performance and personality of our business

Our people lead in the delivery of Livelyhood in a way that has our five Lively Ways (values) of Authentic, Daring, People, Lively and Sustainable at its very heart.

What's in it for You

• Salary: £70,000–£75,000 based on your experience plus quarterly KPI bonus plan.

• 40% food and drink discount for you and 3 guests valid in all sites from day 1

• Financial Flexibility through our partnership with Hastee, you have access to 35% of your earnt pay as you need it

• Access to hospitality and retail discounts via our partnership with Hospitality Rewards

• We offer hospitality apprenticeships to support our people's career development

• Wellbeing focused employer– employee assistance support available

Plus regular incentives, our annual Livelyhood Love Awards & recognition awards to celebrate your key milestones.

If you're ready to create food people love and build a kitchen team that's proud to deliver it, we'd love to hear from you.

Auditions happening now! We're reviewing Exec Chef applications as they arrive, so don't delay in sending us yours. 

 You’ll understand that all applicants will require a UK bank account and proof of their eligibility to work in the UK