Head Chef - Royal Opera House

Job Details

Head Chef - Royal Opera House

Set within the iconic Royal Opera House, Cicoria is an Italian restaurant and terrace bar created in partnership with Angela Hartnett. The food is seasonal, ingredient led and rooted in the clarity and restraint of Italian cooking, delivered with consistency, confidence and care.

We are looking for a Head Chef to take ownership of the Cicoria kitchen, leading restaurant service, terrace dining, pre and post theatre trade, and selected events in one of London’s most unique hospitality settings.

This is a role for a chef who combines strong technical standards with calm leadership and commercial grip. Someone who takes pride in doing simple things exceptionally well, every time.

The Head Chef Role

As Head Chef, you’ll lead the kitchen team and deliver consistently excellent food across restaurant service, terrace dining, pre-theatre menus, post-show trade and events.

You’ll set the tone in the kitchen, driving high standards, leading from the front during busy services, and ensuring every plate leaves the pass with care and confidence.

You will:

• Lead, train and develop the kitchen team, creating a strong and positive culture.
• Deliver beautiful, consistent Italian food with a focus on quality ingredients and seasonality.
• Take full ownership of kitchen operations, leading services with confidence.
• Remain calm, organised and positive under pressure.
• Work closely with front of house to ensure a seamless and memorable guest experience.
• Oversee prep, ordering, stock, wastage and overall kitchen organisation.
• Manage food cost, GP and the commercial performance of the kitchen.
• Maintain excellent standards of food safety, hygiene, allergens and health & safety.
• Drive creativity across menus, terrace moments, seasonal specials and events.
• Create an environment where the team feels supported, challenged and proud of the food they produce.

We are looking for someone with strong experience as a Head Chef or Senior Sous Chef in a quality restaurant, hotel or premium hospitality environment. Experience with Italian cooking would be a real advantage, but more important is passion, personality and a genuine love of good food.

Our Head Chef Company Benefits

• Competitive salary + tronc, targeted earnings £70-75k per annum 33 days paid holiday
• Staff dining provided daily
• Employee dining discounts
• Access to industry events and professional development opportunities
• Central London location with excellent transport links

We also offer:

• Personal Development and Training opportunities
  
• Life assurance scheme
• Pension scheme
• Holiday allowance
• Eye care
• A great wellbeing strategy - including access to our Employee Assistance Programme, salary finance
• Access to Healthcare Support App which includes Annual health check, Digital GP, Mental Health Consultations, Nutritional Consultations, Second Medical Opinion
• Family friendly support
• A holiday purchase scheme
• Regular social events and communication with our leaders
• Volunteering days
• Recognition schemes and people awards
• Long service awards
• Access to some great high street discount vouchers

Beyond experience, we’re looking for someone with warmth, pride and ambition — a chef who leads by example, inspires the team and delivers food that guests remember.