Mereworth is an award-winning wine producer with a vibrant cellar-door/café. Mereworth is looking to improve on its already successful food offering and increase our retail and trade offering by becoming increasingly bakery-led. We are looking for a Head Chef / Baker to drive this change and future growth. We are searching for an established hands-on chef with bakery experience who will head up the kitchen team and be responsible for production, staffing, catering health & safety, ordering and product development. Mereworth consists of a highly passionate team driven by quality. The vision we are working towards is creating a center of excellence for all things food and drink led. This is an exciting opportunity to join a creative team and put a personal stamp on the Mereworth product portfolio. What Youll Be Doing: Managing catering production for our café, private hire events, retail and trade Lead day-to-day kitchen operations baking, brunch, lunch Oversee for all aspects of food quality control Oversee catering health & safety and food standards Ordering, stock control, wastage and working with management on cash-flow planning and profitability Manage staffing and staff kitchen training Product development Working with other departments such as Events to create bespoke catering packages and prices. Working with operations and bar manager to deliver a successful hospitality service. Covering operations manager / bar manager in their absences to oversee staff and running of the bar/retail Were Looking For Someone Who: Has at least 3 years of experience in a commercial kitchen Experience in artisan baking Experience managing staff Knows fermentation inside out and can work with hydration, temperature, and timing with confidence Is reliable, creative, and able to lead by example Can balance quality and efficiency in a busy kitchen Has experience managing staff and purchasing Wants to be part of a small, passionate team Bonus Points If You: Love experimenting with new recipes and flavours Have experience with deck ovens or steam-injected baking Have knowledge of sourdough Have experience with budgeting and planning Care about local sourcing, seasonality, and sustainability Have knowledge of wine and food pairings Have knowledge of retail What Youll Get: Competitive salary Simply Health Healthcare Free parking Pension Discounts on the Mereworth product portfolio including award-winning English Sparking Wine A beautiful setting in the Kent countryside The chance to make changes and influence the direction of a growing business and to put a personal stamp on our product portfolio AMRT1_UKCT