Head Chef/Kitchen Manager

We're hiring a full-time, permanent Head Chef to run our kitchen at 78 Cheap Street, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3BJ. The role is around 45 hours a week over five days, mostly daytime, paying £32,000–36,000 depending on experience.

About us

The Three Wishes is a family-run bistro in the middle of Sherborne. The Carrick family took it on in 2025, and we're building it into somewhere that feels a step above a café: good food, cooked properly, with produce from local suppliers.

By day we serve breakfast, brunch, lunch and afternoon tea. Every other Thursday we open in the evening for a themed night — Greek, Thai, Spanish, South African — with a prepaid set menu for a full room of locals. Through December we host Christmas parties and private dinners.

We're a small team and a proper community business, and we're looking for a Head Chef who wants to help shape what comes next.

The role

You'll run the kitchen day to day and lead the food across everything we do. That means consistent, well-cooked daytime service, and real flair for our themed nights and events.

Just as importantly, you'll be the person who plans ahead. Our evening events work because everything is cooked, labelled and ready the day before. We need someone who owns that without being chased, so a night runs smoothly whoever is on shift.

What you'll do

Food and menus

• Lead daytime service across breakfast, brunch, lunch and afternoon tea, keeping standards consistent on every plate.
• Develop and cook menus for our fortnightly themed nights. We cover a different cuisine each time, so you'll need range and a real appetite for cooking beyond the usual.
• Build festive and private-dining menus, working with the owners on dishes and pricing.
• Work with local producers and make the most of Dorset's seasonal produce.

Planning and preparation

• Plan and run prep schedules for every event, with written recipes, dated deadlines and a clear bulk-prep day.
• Make sure that by the evening before an event, the food is ready and documented well enough for any competent cook to deliver it.
• Run a dish trial before each new menu, and agree and weigh portion sizes.

Commercial

• Cost every dish and keep food gross profit at 70% or above.
• Manage ordering, stock and waste, cooking to confirmed numbers wherever possible.
• Work with the owners on menu pricing, and flag early when costs or supply change.

Team

• Lead and develop the kitchen team, including training an apprentice.
• Build a kitchen where people know what's expected and don't need chasing.

Standards and compliance

• Maintain full compliance with Environmental Health requirements, and keep the kitchen ready for an unannounced EHO inspection at any time.
• Own our food safety management system — Safer Food, Better Business or equivalent HACCP-based procedures — keeping it current and making sure the team follows it.
• Keep all due-diligence records complete and accurate, including temperature logs, cooling and reheating records, cleaning schedules, stock rotation and supplier checks.
• Protect and improve our food hygiene rating, and act promptly on any advice or findings from an inspection.
• Manage allergen information accurately across every menu, including set-menu events and bought-in items.
• Train the kitchen team in food safety practice so standards hold whoever is on shift.

What we're looking forEssential

• Experience as a head chef, sous chef, or a strong senior chef de partie ready to step up.
• A proven ability to plan ahead and deliver events without drama.
• Confidence costing dishes and working to gross profit targets.
• A thorough understanding of Environmental Health guidelines and Food Standards Agency requirements, with a track record of maintaining high hygiene ratings.
• Level 3 Food Hygiene certificate, or willingness to obtain it.
• Reliability and a calm head under pressure.

Desirable

• Experience cooking a range of world cuisines.
• Set-menu, event or private-dining experience.
• Experience training junior chefs or apprentices.
• Knowledge of Dorset and West Country suppliers.

What we offer

• Mostly daytime hours. No late finishes every night; evening work is planned and scheduled well in advance.
• Real creative input. You'll help shape the themed nights and the menus that go with them.
• A small, friendly family business where your work is noticed.
• Staff meals and discount.
• The chance to help build something in the heart of Sherborne.

Pay: £32,000.00-£36,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Company pension
• Discounted or free food

Work Location: In person