Kitchen Manager – Award Winning Country Inn, Lake District
Salary: Up to £40,000
Hours: Full Time, Permanent
Location: Near Ambleside
About the Opportunity
This welcoming Lake District hotel, part of the same well-loved hospitality group as our award-winning country inn near Ambleside, is known for its high-quality, carefully crafted dishes and friendly, professional environment. The kitchen delivers exceptional dining experiences to both guests and locals, combining classic standards with creativity in a fast-paced setting. We are now looking for a Kitchen Manager to lead the operational, compliance, and financial performance of the hotel’s main restaurant kitchen. While the Head Chef role focuses on menu direction and culinary leadership, this role is about managing day-to-day kitchen operations, ensuring consistency, and supporting a smooth-running team.
The Role
Operational Leadership
As Kitchen Manager, you will oversee all daily kitchen activities, from food preparation and cooking to plating and service, ensuring every dish meets quality and presentation standards. You will manage stock, suppliers, and ordering, monitor costs and waste, and ensure all kitchen procedures for opening, closing, and service are followed consistently. Your role is central to maintaining efficiency and high standards in a busy, high-volume environment.
Training and Development
You will lead the team in compliance, quality, and operational standards. This includes delivering training on Food Safety Management System requirements, keeping all kitchen documents, policies, and training materials up to date, and coaching your team to follow specification sheets, maintain hygiene standards, and adhere to compliance procedures. Developing a confident, skilled team will be a key part of your contribution.
Team Leadership and Management
You will support recruitment and onboarding, manage rotas to ensure adequate staffing, and conduct team briefings and performance reviews. Logging all accidents, incidents, and serious food complaints in line with company policy will be part of your responsibility, along with managing and reporting on FSMS compliance, HACCP logs, and allergen procedures. Your leadership will foster a professional, motivated, and cohesive team culture.
Stock Control and Financial Management
In partnership with the Executive Chef, you will maintain recipe specification sheets, cost dishes, and work towards achieving Gross Profit targets. You will oversee inventory systems such as Procure Wizard and Access POS to ensure accuracy and accountability, monitor waste, and support the kitchen’s overall financial performance.
Key Performance Indicators
Your success will be measured by food GP percentages and waste reduction, audit and compliance scores, labour cost control, and the overall cleanliness and hygiene standards of the kitchen.
What You’ll Bring
We are looking for someone with proven experience managing a busy kitchen who thrives under pressure, demonstrates excellent organisational and leadership skills, and has strong knowledge of food hygiene, safety, and compliance standards. You will have a passion for high-quality food, a commitment to consistent standards, and enjoy motivating and developing your team through calm, professional leadership. Applications from experienced Sous Chefs or Senior Chefs looking to progress into management are also welcome.
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