Head of Catering Catering Manager jobs

Are you looking for a rewarding Head of Food Operations role that offers career development, creativity, and the opportunity to make a real impact across a growing catering business?

HEAD OF FOOD OPERATIONS - London and the Home Counties

Up to £65,000 plus bonus and car allowance

Mainly Monday to Friday – occasional flexibility required to support business needs

This is a craft-led role and we are specifically looking for a highly experienced chef with strong culinary skills, and a proven track record of leading and developing professional chef teams. This is not a general management or operations role and a strong culinary background is essential.

People are at the heart of everything we do, and we’re looking for an experienced Head of Food Operations with strong culinary expertise, excellent leadership skills, and a passion for developing teams to join the team at Accent Catering.

This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in shaping and delivering our food strategy. We play an important role in students’ learning and wellbeing by providing nutritious, delicious meals that encourage healthier lifestyles and positive food experiences every day.

As Head of Food Operations, you will work closely with the Culinary Director to lead and support our food team, ensuring operational excellence, innovation, and consistently high standards across our sites. You will oversee the day-to-day management of the food team, support site operations, contribute to new business mobilisation, and help drive the development of our culinary offering.

You will be responsible for supporting the allocation of team resources, managing key food projects, delivering food presentations and conference logistics, and ensuring our hospitality, events, and site support requirements are successfully achieved. Working collaboratively with Culinary Leads and the Head of Menu Management, you will help create innovative sector menus, marketing support, training plans, and development opportunities for our teams.

This role requires a confident and supportive leader who can mentor and develop chefs, build strong relationships across the business, and maintain high standards through coaching, audits, and continuous improvement. You will be comfortable managing a diverse team, working to dynamic timelines, and travelling regularly to different schools weekly or daily. The role will involve regular travel to support Accent sites, with locations mainly across London and the Home Counties. There may also be a requirement to travel to other Accent sites as required, so flexibility and access to your own transport are essential.

Our company has a passion for food quality and people development, so this is a great place for you to progress a career in the food industry. If you’re looking for an employer that will invest in your career and support your progression, apply today and take the next step in your catering career with us!

Benefits of working with Accent as Head of Food Operations

• Competitive salaries with yearly reviews
• Free meals on duty
• Career development opportunities
• Multiple Discounts on our Accent Engage platform - shops, restaurants, gifts, leisure and more!
• HIT apprenticeships for all experience levels
• Team events, awards and competitions throughout the year - we like to reward our staff for a job well done!
• Pension scheme, life insurance and company sick pay
• Private medical insurance and car allowance
• Work life balance
• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme for mental health and financial support

As our ideal Head of Food Operations you will:-

• Be a highly experienced chef with excellent culinary knowledge and strong craft skills
• Have proven experience managing, mentoring and developing teams of chefs
• Be a confident leader with a supportive and positive management style
• Have excellent organisational skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities and dynamic timelines
• Be a logical thinker with strong problem-solving skills and the ability to make confident decisions
• Have excellent communication skills with the ability to inspire and mentor teams
• Have good financial awareness and experience managing food costs and budgets
• Have experience delivering food audits, coaching records, and maintaining operational standards
• Have the ability to work collaboratively with senior stakeholders and site teams
• Have experience within the education sector (beneficial but not essential)
• Have a full UK driving licence and a willingness to travel

Who are Accent Catering?

Accent Catering Services Ltd are one of the UK’s leading contract caterers, providing innovative food service solutions to a variety of schools and businesses.

We are a talented team of professionals who create bespoke catering provisions tailored to each contract - no two are the same. As an independently owned company, you’ll never be just another number to us. Our people are at the heart of everything we do, and we take pride in recognising every individual’s contribution.

Accent Catering is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all employees to share this commitment. Please note that an enhanced DBS disclosure is required for this role.

Accent Catering has regularly been recognised in The Caterer’s prestigious awards as one of the best places to work in hospitality. Don’t miss your chance to become part of our award-winning team!

The Company treats personal data collected during the recruitment process in accordance with its data protection policy. Information about how your data is used and the basis for processing your data is provided in the Company's privacy notice which can be found on our website

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