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Kitchen Manager

Mazí Mas Restaurant at Ovalhouse
12 week fixed-term contract, 40 hours per week
Total salary £5,760 (£24,960 p/a pro rata)
Building on our successes in 2014, which saw us named one of Britain’s New Radicals by Nesta and The Observer, we will be opening a restaurant at Ovalhouse Theatre in south London for three months starting in mid-March. The Mazí Mas restaurant at Ovalhouse will be open to the public five nights a week, with a changing menu that reflects the diverse backgrounds of our chefs, who currently hail from the Philippines, Brazil, Ethiopia, Senegal, Peru and Iran.

We are currently recruiting a full-time Kitchen Manager for the Ovalhouse residency. To apply, please send a CV and cover letter telling us about yourself, your reasons for applying, and your relevant skills and experience to Niki Kopcke at [email protected]. The deadline for applications is Friday 20^th February, but first round interviews will take place on a rolling basis as applications are received. If the right candidate is found before 20^th February they will be appointed.

Job description

The Kitchen Manager is responsible for ensuring the smooth running of the kitchen at the Ovalhouse restaurant, and for managing the Mazí Mas chefs and volunteers whilst they are working in the kitchen. This role is challenging and involves some antisocial hours; notably, the KM must commit to working Friday and Saturday nights until 11 pm for the duration of the project. At the same time this is a rewarding role, and presents a unique opportunity for the right person to apply their culinary expertise and experience to help others and make a difference. While the job can be demanding, you will learn as much as you teach and forge lasting friendships. Ideally we are looking for someone who is strongly committed to our mission and values, and is interested in working with us beyond the duration of the project.

Key responsibilities

• Manage the kitchen during prep and service Tuesday through Saturday
• Manage five chefs and act as their first point of contact at Mazí Mas
• Train and manage the part-time kitchen porter (young person, NEET)
• Train and manage prep and service volunteers (1-4 per shift)
• Work with chefs to plan and set menus that minimise waste across the week
and make use of local and seasonal ingredients
• Handle all ordering and liaise with suppliers, where relevant building new
relationships and making changes to the supply chain in line with Mazí Mas’
sourcing policy
• Manage all kitchen-related admin: keep track of chef and volunteer expenses,
maintain stock and sales logs
• Supervise payment system and cash out at the end of the night
• Meet regularly with the Project Manager to ensure that the services Mazí Mas
provides to its customers and chefs at Ovalhouse are managed effectively
and of the highest standard
• Participate in monitoring and evaluation of the Ovalhouse project

Person specification

Values and personal qualities

• Dedicated and meticulous in their work
• Highly organised with excellent time management skills
• Empathetic, patient, kind, and understanding
• Strong team player and all-round ‘people person’
• Passionate about making the world a better place, and excited about the role
that food can play in social change
• Interested in social enterprise and/or women’s empowerment and/or
immigration and safeguarding the rights of migrants and refugees
Skills and experience
• Formal culinary training preferred but not essential
• At least two years’ professional experience as a chef, preferably in a café or
restaurant
• Experience managing people in a professional kitchen; experience also
managing volunteers a plus
• Strong menu planning and recipe writing skills: comfortable costing menus
and adapting recipes for large numbers
• Advanced knowledge of local and seasonal British produce; basic
understanding of global food politics a plus
• Experience managing large catering events preferred
• Some experience teaching and/or delivering workshops and/or mentoring
strongly preferred
• Knowledge of UK immigration system and/or experience working or
volunteering with migrant, refugee, or asylum-seeker populations a plus

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