Head Chef

Thirlestaine Park Care Home, Humphris Place, Cheltenham GL53 7GA

Full Time Position - 40 Hours Weekly - 8am to 6pm - Alternative Weekends - NO LATE NIGHTS

Make a difference to people's lives every day with a rewarding career at Porthaven Care Homes. Whether you are new to the care sector or have experience, working within a Porthaven Care Home can be incredibly fulfilling. Join us as a Head Chef and enjoy a role with genuine work–life balance, where you can use your culinary expertise to deliver an exceptional dining and hospitality  experience for our residents. 

What Porthaven Care Homes Offers: 

• Great pay with a competitive salary
• Double pay on specific  Bank Holidays and time-and-a-half on all other Bank Holidays, because your time matters!
• Refer-a-Friend Bonus – earn up to £1,000!
• Blue Light Card Discount
• Colleague Perks & Discounts across high‑street brands
• FlexEarn – access a portion of your wages before payday
• Wellbeing Support through our Employee Assistance Programme
• Online GP services for you and your family
• Fully funded training & development for your career growth
• Company pension scheme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Free on‑site parking
• Free uniform
• Free enhanced DBS provided.

About you:

You're someone who thrives managing a busy commercial kitchen and brings energy, passion, and pride to everything you do. Experience in a care home kitchen is a bonus, but not essential, what matters most is your drive to deliver great food with care. You'll also bring:

• An NVQ Level 2 in Catering & Hospitality or Professional Cookery, or be willing to enrol
• A Level 2 Food Hygiene Certificate, or be willing to enrol
• A natural ability to lead, inspire, and mentor others
• Reliability and confidence across all areas of kitchen operations.

About the role:

As Head Chef, you'll take the lead in creating a dining experience our residents thoroughly enjoy, while guiding and inspiring your kitchen team to deliver excellence every day. Your passion for home cooked,  great seasonal food and thoughtful menu design will help ensure every meal is nutritious, well-balanced, and full of flavour. You will also: 

• Lead and mentor the catering team, ensuring high standards across all aspects of service
• Create seasonal, nutritious menus, making the most of your budget
• Manage stock and kitchen operations efficiently and responsibly
• Deliver high‑quality meals that enhance our residents' wellbeing and support them to live well
• Respond to individual dietary needs with care and attention.

The successful candidate will be subject to the provision of satisfactory references and a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, and they must be authorised to work in the United Kingdom. 

Porthaven are proud to have signed the Armed Forces Covenant pledging our commitment and support to the Armed Forces community, veterans, reservists and their families.