
Location: Berkeley Street, Mayfair, London
Concept: Modern Mediterranean / European Brasserie
Position: Head Chef – New Opening
Reports to: Head of Operations
11 Berkeley is entering a new chapter.
We are creating a new Mediterranean-European brasserie in the heart of Mayfair and are looking for an exceptional Head Chef to build the kitchen and food proposition from the ground up.
This is not a role where you will inherit an established menu, brigade or way of working.
The successful candidate will join during the development stage and work closely with the Head of Operations to create the restaurant: developing the menu, establishing suppliers, recruiting a new kitchen brigade, implementing kitchen systems and ultimately leading the restaurant through opening and beyond.
We are looking for a chef who wants genuine ownership of a new concept and is excited by the opportunity to put their stamp on it.
The vision is a lively, contemporary Mayfair brasserie centred around Mediterranean and European cooking.
The food should be produce-led, generous and immediately appealing — technically strong without becoming unnecessarily complicated.
We want dishes people want to eat regularly, not food designed solely for special occasions.
The restaurant needs to balance the expectations of a premium Mayfair location with the energy, accessibility and repeatability of a great brasserie.
The final menu will be developed with the Head Chef rather than handed to them.
You will take a leading role in developing the culinary identity of the new brasserie.
This will include:
We expect the Head Chef to bring ideas, challenge assumptions and contribute creatively to the final concept.
A major part of the role will be establishing a new brigade.
You will:
You should approach the kitchen as something you are building and taking ownership of.
Before opening, you will help establish the systems required to operate the restaurant effectively.
This includes:
The objective is to open with a disciplined operation rather than trying to introduce controls after launch.
This is a commercially accountable Head Chef position.
You will be expected to understand the financial performance of your kitchen and actively manage it.
Responsibilities include:
Great food and commercial discipline are equally important.
Once launched, you will have full day-to-day responsibility for the kitchen.
You will:
Private dining and events will be an important part of 11 Berkeley.
The Head Chef will develop menus and operating systems capable of delivering:
The challenge is to deliver these commercially without creating unnecessary complexity or excessive additional labour.
We are looking for an experienced Head Chef or an exceptional Senior Sous Chef ready to take ownership of their first major kitchen.
You will ideally have experience within a successful:
Previous new-opening experience would be highly advantageous.
More important than Michelin credentials is the ability to create excellent food that works in a busy, commercially successful restaurant.
You should have:
Most importantly, you should have the mentality of a builder.
We want someone who looks at an empty kitchen and sees the opportunity to create the team, menu, culture and systems they want to run.
Before opening:
A complete, costed and operationally tested menu.
A recruited and trained brigade.
Supplier relationships established.
Recipes and specifications documented.
Kitchen systems and controls implemented.
Food safety systems fully operational.
Opening stock and purchasing controlled.
Following launch:
Consistently excellent food.
A stable and motivated kitchen team.
Strong guest feedback and repeat business.
Food and labour costs maintained within agreed targets.
Efficient service without unnecessary kitchen headcount.
Regular seasonal menu development.
A strong working relationship between kitchen and front of house.
This is a rare opportunity to join a new restaurant at the point where the important decisions are still being made.
You will not be asked to reproduce somebody else's menu or inherit somebody else's brigade.
You will have the opportunity to build your own team, influence the concept, develop the opening menu and establish the culinary identity of a new Mayfair brasserie from day one.
For the right chef, this is an opportunity to create something they can genuinely call their own.
11 Berkeley Street, W1J 8DS, London

Mayfair Restaurant • 11-50 empleados
En JOB TODAY desde agosto, 2026
WHAT MAKES 11 BERKELEY A GREAT PLACE TO WORK? Build something of your own This isn't a kitchen where you'll inherit somebody else's menu, brigade and systems. You'll join at the beginning and have genuine influence over the food, team, sup
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