chef London, England
Job description
Pastry Head Chef / Head of Production -
We have a very exciting career opportunity for an experienced and passionate Pastry Head Chef / Head of Production! If you have the experience it takes, combined with a natural eye for fine detail and a love for making beautiful cakes, cupcakes and confectionery to a very high standard this position could be a perfect fit for you:
About Us
At Peggy Porschen we work through the year, weaving captivating seasonal narratives seamlessly throughout our cakes & confectionery, Parlour installations and lifestyle retail range: including books, gift items and baking kits. A trailblazer for creative cake artistry and picture-perfect cafes, our legion of fans knows us for exceptional attention to detail and unique designs that capture hearts. We are a destination for escapism, dreaminess and an unwritten permission for visitors to connect with their inner-child through a love of a fairy-tale colour palette and mouthwatering tastes, all with a twist that is relevant to modern life.
Combining beautiful aesthetics with femininity and romance, every part of the Peggy Porschen experience is packed with prettiness and exquisite detail. Our award-winning pastry chef team ensures that customers can expect the epitome of taste and quality in every bite.
With a focus on quality ingredients, traditional baking methods and creative flavours combined with beautiful design and exquisite craftsmanship, every step of the customer experience is carefully curated. With seasonally changing Parlour installations and edible collections to match, there is a constant buzz surrounding our leafy corner cafes as visitors from all over the world flock to see and experience the latest offerings.
About the role
Peggy Porschen is a family owned business built on a love and passion for our craft, and we believe that a team who loves what they do is able to create magic (Peggy Porschen magic to be precise). This is the most important role in our pastry kitchen for an experienced Pastry Head Chef who identifies with the Peggy Porschen ethos and style, and will translate this through their work ethic, high standards and values. We are a small, close-knit team and we are looking for a confident, approachable/outgoing personality with fantastic leadership and organisational skills, production kitchen management experience and a strong sense of responsibility, professionalism and diligence.
Our pastry production kitchen is the beating heart of the company, it is where all the magic happens and from where we supply our two Parlours in Belgravia and Chelsea, as well as all the cake orders for our online shop.
As Pastry Head Chef you will be responsible for efficiently managing the Peggy Porschen production kitchen and our fantastic team of pastry chefs, bakers and kitchen porters. You will ensure that all our products are produced to the Peggy Porschen standart, in a time efficient manner and within budget. You will be in charge of ordering, health & food safety, product documentation and quality control. As well as managerial duties, you will train and support your team in the daily production and lead by example as you do so. You will be working closely with our creative Director Peggy Porschen on developing new recipes and designing new cakes for our seasonal collections.
You will have a proven track record of leading a kitchen in a similar environment, as well as fantastic time management and multitasking skills and an exceptional eye for detail. Your work is methodical and organised and you will ensure that all our cakes, cupcakes and confectionery leaving our kitchen are being produced in a timely manner to the highest quality in taste and appearance. You have a can-do attitude, never cut corners nor compromise on standards.
You will have excellent pastry knowhow, specifically of cake baking, layering & icing techniques using various types of sponge recipes, cake fillings, icings, chocolate and buttercreams. Furthermore you will have fantastic decorating skills such as the perfect masking cakes, various buttercream techniques and hand piping with royal icing. You will also understand how to work with different sugar and modeling pastes and be able to create delicate sugar work such as blossoms and flowers.
Main tasks & responsibilities:
- Managing the production kitchen and leading the team
- Organising the daily production in a smooth and efficient manner
- Planning the rota and staff holidays to optimise the workload during busy periods
- Working within budgets
- Quality control
- Cost control (through efficient rota planning, purchasing and waste minimisation)
- Supporting the daily production and able to work in all sections (baking, layering, decorating)
- Training, observing and monitoring the production team
- Oversee stock control and rotation of materials and ingredients
- Responsible for all health and safety, and food safety standards and procedures
- Seasonal recipe and design implementation and training in collaboration with the product development team
- Leads by example by promoting a positive work environment and building a well trained, well-bonded, productive and satisfied pastry team
- Able to work flexible shifts
Professional requirements:
- Pastry Degree
- Minimum 1 Year Head Chef or 2 Years Sous Chef level experience at a similar luxury patisserie establishment
- Level 3 Health & Safety
- Level 3 Food Safety
- English fluent, spoken and written
- Good basic computer skills, numeracy and literacy
- A love for making and baking cakes
- Trained in cake decorating and sugarcraft
- Excellent skills in finishing
- Min. 2 year UK work visa
- Already a UK resident
Personal attributes:
- Natural leadership skills
- Business acumen and awareness of costs and budget
- Excellent communicator
- Fantastic time management skills and multi-tasker who thrives under pressure
- Confident & approachable
- Responsible and accountable
- Able to apply criticism constructively in order to get the best outcome from their team
- Team motivator who gets everyone on board
- Flexible and open minded
- A ‘can do’ attitude
- Organised and tidy
- Strong work ethic
- Keen eye for detail
- Takes pride in maintaining a high standard consistently and throughout
- Great ability to train and pass on knowledge
- Keen interest in seasonal recipes and designs
- Loves their craft & profession
- Forward thinking and driven to succeed and exceed expectations
We offer:
- Full-time
- Salary £40K (negotiable, subject to experience) plus overtime pay
- 40 hrs/week
- 28 days holiday
- Paid lunch break
- 50% off layer cakes and cupcakes
- A birthday cake on your birthday
- Opportunity to access up to 50% of your wages through the Wagestream app
- Health Assured
- The opportunity to join and lead a fantastic team within one of the best-loved cake companies and help us grow to the next level
- Location: South West London
If you think you have what it takes and would love to be part of the Peggy Porschen team, then please send us your up to date CV and a few lines about why you would like to work for us. Successful candidates will be contacted by email or telephone. Email to [email protected]
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent
Salary: From £40,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company events
- Company pension
- Employee discount
- Gym membership
- Health & wellbeing programme
Schedule:
- Day shift
Ability to commute/relocate:
- London: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)
Experience:
- Head Chef or Sous chef: 2 years (required)
Work Location: In person
