Head Chef

Job Description

Archway is an Italian restaurant in Battersea, listed in the Michelin Guide, with a quarterly changing menu built around the seasons and the finest produce we can find. With live-fire cooking, a wood-fired oven and an intimate chef’s counter, the restaurant offers a diverse range of ways to cook, create and engage with our guests. This is an exciting opportunity for a chef to take ownership of the kitchen, develop a distinctive food offering and make the most of a space designed to encourage experimentation, personality and exceptional hospitality.

Job Requirements

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

• Confident running a quarterly changing menu to Michelin Guide standard.
• Deep knowledge of British and Italian produce and provenance, and the curiosity to keep evolving the menu around it.
• Fluent in GP, food cost and labour planning
• Ambitious for where their cooking and career can go, and excited by the chance to build something.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Kitchen Leadership Lead, structure and grow the Archway kitchen team. Recruit, train and manage chefs, oversee rotas and labour planning, and build a culture that holds Michelin standards with warmth, not fear.
• Menu Development Own the quarterly changing menu — seasonal, provenance-led, distinctly Archway. Lead tastings, develop dishes with the Executive Chef, and keep pushing the food forward.
• Financial & Stock Control Manage food and labour costs to hit GP targets. Own ordering, supplier relationships, stock control and kitchen budgets.
• Health & Safety Take full responsibility for kitchen hygiene, food safety and compliance. Maintain HACCP systems and a clean, safe working environment.
• Facilities & Organisation Manage kitchen equipment and systems, ensuring everything is maintained, organised and service-ready.

REQUIREMENTS

• Minimum 3+ years as Head Chef or senior Sous in a Michelin-starred or Michelin Guide-listed restaurant.
• Strong understanding of gross profit, food costs and labour control.
• Deep knowledge of British and Italian seasonal produce and menu development built around it.
• Confident leading tastings and developing menus from a creative brief.
• Experience managing and motivating a kitchen team, including rota and labour planning.
• Open to the occasional event or private dining moment beyond regular service.
• Level 3 Food Safety (or equivalent) and strong HACCP knowledge.
• Right to work in the UK.

WHAT WE OFFER

• A competitive salary.
• A nursery workplace scheme.
• A week over Christmas off
• Sundays off 
• On shift meals provided.
• 50% off at the restaurant, Archway.
• Annual away days, and trips and experiences with our suppliers.
• The chance to shape a prestigious luxury brand as it grows.

📍 Based at Archway, Battersea, London, SW8

Job Location

Arch 65
Queens Circus
London SW8 4NE