About Restaurant jobs in Ellesmere Port

We are looking for an experienced, creative and highly organised Café & Catering Chef to strengthen our food offering across our café, office catering and events operation.

This role is ideal for a chef who has strong experience producing premium sandwiches, salads, pastries and catering platters, but who can also support the Head Chef with buffets, corporate events and three-course dining.

We want someone who genuinely cares about flavour, presentation and consistency. The successful chef will bring fresh ideas, understand modern food trends and help us create a food offer that looks premium, tastes excellent and remains efficient and profitable.

This is not simply a preparation role. We need a chef who can help improve the range, develop recipes, maintain strong standards and ensure every product is commercially viable.

Key responsibilities Café food production

• Prepare high-quality sandwiches, baguettes, focaccias, wraps and toasties.
• Produce fresh, attractive and filling salads.
• Develop seasonal and trend-led café products.
• Prepare breakfast items, pastries, cakes and sweet treats.
• Ensure products are consistently portioned, presented and finished.
• Maintain strong availability throughout service while controlling waste.

Pastry and bakery

• Bake and finish pastries and cakes to a high standard.
• Ensure pastry products are visually appealing and suitable for premium café presentation.

Office and corporate catering

• Prepare sandwich platters, breakfast boxes, lunch boxes, salads, grazing selections and meeting refreshments.
• Ensure all catering orders are produced accurately, professionally presented and ready on time.
• Help develop attractive office catering menus that are practical, profitable and easy to deliver.
• Maintain excellent labelling, packaging and allergen controls.

Events and kitchen support

• Support the Head Chef with event preparation and service.
• Assist with buffets, canapés, bowl food and three-course dining.
• Work efficiently during busy functions and large-volume events.
• Help ensure event food is delivered on time and to the required presentation standard.
• Be flexible in supporting different areas of the kitchen when required.

Menu development and profitability

• Bring new ideas based on current café, bakery and catering trends.
• Help develop recipes that are distinctive, full of flavour and commercially realistic.
• Produce accurate recipe specifications, portion sizes and preparation methods.
• Work with management to calculate food costs and selling prices.
• Control portioning, waste, stock rotation and overproduction.
• Use ingredients intelligently across multiple menu items to reduce waste.
• Balance creativity with speed, consistency and profitability.

Standards and organisation

• Maintain exceptional food hygiene, cleanliness and kitchen organisation.
• Follow HACCP, allergen and food safety procedures at all times.
• Keep preparation areas, refrigeration, storage and equipment clean and organised.
• Complete cleaning schedules, temperature checks and food safety records accurately.
• Manage time effectively and prioritise production according to café, catering and event requirements.
• Ensure stock is correctly labelled, dated, rotated and stored.
• Raise concerns about quality, equipment, stock or food safety immediately.

Skills and experience required

• Previous experience as a chef in a café, bakery, restaurant, hotel, contract catering or events environment.
• Strong experience preparing sandwiches, wraps, salads and office catering.
• Experience producing or finishing pastries, cakes and bakery products.
• Excellent attention to detail and presentation.
• Strong understanding of flavour combinations, textures and seasonal ingredients.
• Experience working efficiently in a high-volume kitchen.
• Good understanding of food costing, portion control and waste reduction.
• Excellent organisation and time-management skills.
• Strong food hygiene and cleanliness standards.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a wider kitchen team.
• Reliable, punctual and calm under pressure.

Desirable experience

• Buffet and banqueting experience.
• Three-course dining or restaurant experience.
• Corporate or office catering experience.
• Menu development and recipe-costing experience.
• Vegetarian and plant-based food knowledge.
• Level 2 or Level 3 Food Safety qualification.
• Experience training or supervising junior kitchen staff.

The person we are looking for

You will be:

• Passionate about flavour and quality.
• Proud of how food looks when it reaches the customer.
• Efficient without compromising standards.
• Commercially aware and mindful of food costs.
• Organised, clean and disciplined.
• Creative, but practical.
• Comfortable taking ownership of your section and workload.
• Able to follow direction while also contributing ideas.
• Positive, dependable and willing to support the wider team.

What success looks like

Within the role, you will help us deliver:

• A stronger and more modern café food range.
• Premium sandwiches, wraps, salads and pastries.
• Consistent presentation and portioning.
• Profitable recipes with controlled waste.
• High-quality office catering delivered accurately and on time.
• Reliable support for the Head Chef during events.
• Excellent kitchen organisation and cleanliness.
• Food that customers return for because it looks good and tastes memorable.

Pay: £15.50 per hour

Work Location: In person