Job title - Kitchen Lead

Location - Manchester Airport

Do you want to be at the forefront of one of the most exciting and fastest growing sectors in Pre-flight Hospitality? 

If you have a passion for delivering world class guest experience, leading hospitality teams and enjoy meeting new faces every day, then this is the role for you. 

We are Aspire Lounges. With more than 35 years of award-winning hospitality experience, we are Europe’s largest brand of lounges and serve over 6 million customers worldwide within 100 lounges, that’s over 18,000 guests per day. 

Job Summary:

The Kitchen Lead reports to and supports the Lounge Management by overseeing the daily kitchen operations of Aspire Lounge. This role ensures the consistent delivery of high-quality food, compliance with food safety standards, and efficient kitchen performance.

As a leader of a kitchen team, the Kitchen Lead is a hands-on role, actively involved in food preparation, training, service delivery, and maintaining a clean, safe, and organised kitchen environment.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Safety & Compliance:

• Ensure full compliance with Food Safety, HACCP, COSHH, and hygiene regulations at all times.
• Conduct regular kitchen checks via LOGIT, maintaining accurate records and up-to-date risk assessments.
• Promote a strong food safety culture, addressing hazards, near misses, and maintaining high cleanliness standards.
• Ensure all team members follow allergen procedures and food handling best practices.

2. Kitchen Leadership & Team Support:

• Support recruitment, onboarding, and training of kitchen team members.
• Lead, motivate, and supervise the kitchen team to ensure smooth daily operations.
• Plan and allocate tasks effectively, ensuring productivity and adherence to service standards.
• Provide coaching, feedback, and ongoing support to develop team performance.
• Work closely with lounge management to ensure alignment between kitchen and front-of-house operations.

3. Food Quality & Guest Experience:

• Ensure consistent preparation and presentation of food in line with Aspire brand standards.
• Maintain high standards of food quality, freshness, and availability throughout service.
• Respond proactively to guest feedback related to food, making improvements where necessary.
• Take a hands-on approach during busy periods to support service delivery and maintain standards.

4. Operational Support:

• Work with stock team to manage stock levels, including ordering, rotation, and waste control to ensure efficiency and minimise loss.
• Conduct stocktakes and maintain accurate inventory records.
• Ensure kitchen equipment is maintained, clean, and fully operational.
• Support the implementation of new menus, processes, and operational procedures.

5. Cost & Efficiency Control:

• Monitor food costs, portion control, and wastage to support financial targets.
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency and reduce unnecessary spend.
• Work with management to review performance metrics and drive continuous improvement.

The list is not exhaustive and is not intended to restrict the scope of the job but clearly define a starting point and may vary depending on location and local customer requirements.

Skills:

• A hands-on approach with the ability to lead by example in a busy kitchen environment.
• Level 2 Food Safety qualification (minimum) and strong knowledge of allergens (training provided if required).
• Proven experience in a kitchen supervisory or lead role, ideally within hospitality, lounges, hotels, or restaurants.
• Strong organisational and time-management skills.
• Ability to work under pressure and manage multiple priorities.
• Excellent communication and team leadership skills.
• Flexibility to work across a 7-day operation, including early mornings and evenings.
• Basic IT skills and familiarity with stock or ordering systems.
• Strong understanding of food safety regulations and kitchen best practices.

Benefits:

• Free parking whilst at work.
• Uniform provided
• Industry recognised CPD opportunities with the Aspire Hospitality Academy.
• Free meals and soft drinks during shifts.
• Swissport pension scheme with ability to self-contribute.
• 24-hour employee assistance programme.
• Discounted access to Aspire lounge network for family and friends