Assistant F&B Manager

Hobbledown Heath Adventure Farm Park & Zoo is now recruiting for Assistant F&B Managers

About the Company

Escapade Group Limited operate the ultimate indoor and outdoor adventure parks. Currently operating three popular brands across six sites, the business has ambitious plans to continue growing and expanding. At present, there is an established Hobbledown Adventure Farm Park & Zoo at Epsom and two Kidspace indoor play and children’s party venues at Croydon and Romford. Hobbledown Heath Adventure Farm Park & Zoo and Gripped London opened in 2022 in Hounslow, West London and Watermouth Castle in North Devon was acquired in 2023. We welcome over 1,000,000 people a year through our doors and host over 7000 birthday parties a year.

About the Role

You will be expected to participate in the day-to-day operational duties of the kitchen and front of house. Providing consistently outstanding food to our guests and leading the development of the F&B and kitchen teams to do the same. You will be responsible for the correct completion of audits and daily tasks. Adhering to recipes, specs and operating procedures to ensure consistent delivery. You will oversee food production in other Food and Beverage outlets maintaining the prepared food levels to the minimum requirements, yet you are able to increase and decrease these in line with demand. You will be experienced in all disciplines in the kitchen and across all equipment, ensuring the team are trained to a high standard and regularly coached and developed. Food cost will be managed with effective ordering to agreed par levels, portion control and wastage focus.

About You

We are looking for a hands on manager who is:

• Can cook and is passionate about all things food and demonstrates an understanding of the cooking processes in a commercial Kitchen

• Excited about delivering good-looking, great quality food in a timely manner

• Passionate about delivering great food and exceptionally presented for our guests to enjoy

• Guest and team focused

• Able to manage a diverse team to deliver

• Well presented, confident and outgoing

• Comfortable working in a very fast paced environment

• Previous experience of working in a visitor attraction/venue or high footfall kitchen and restaurant is highly attractive

Main Responsibilities

1. Customer Service

• Report any issues or problems to the Line Manager to drive continuous improvement.
• Deliver outstanding customer service and demonstrate positive body language to all visitors whilst inside and outside of the kitchen.
• Drive and encourage positive online social media reviews such as Trip Advisor, Facebook, and Google.
• Strive to reduce waiting times for food by increasing production during busy times.
• Escalate any visitor issues to the Line Manager if unable to resolve and conclude.
• Call for First Aid assistance should any accidents or incidents occur.

2. Presentation & Standards/Cleanliness

• Ensure kitchen cleanliness standards are always maintained to a high standard and take pride in the appearance of the kitchen.

• Use and train out the Kitchen equipment as per manufacturer instructions

• Drive food presentation standards

3. Team Leadership

• Create and manage the weekly rota for a team of 30+
• Motivate the team to deliver fantastic customer service
• Develop and train team members
• Lead by example in the company image

4. Standard Operating Procedures

• Ensure the correct completion of audits and daily tasks.
• Ensure that you are completing all department specific tasks in a timely manner and to a high standard
• Ensure that all temperature checks are completed and documented during daily operation.
• Follow all standard operating procedures whilst maintaining excellent levels of cleanliness and hygiene whilst storing, preparing, cooking and providing food for our guests.
• Always maintain the prepared food levels on the pass to the minimum requirements whilst remaining flexible to increase these in line with increased demand during busy times.
• Ensure that all orders received to the kitchen are dispatched in a timely manner and any low stock items are raised in advance to the Line Manager to ensure that guest impact is reduced.

5. Health and Safety

• Responsible for complying with the company policy regarding Health and Safety.
• Ensure team are performing safely in line with the standard operating procedure and any specific safety controls.
• Ensure food hygiene standards are adhered to in your work area.
• Report any Health and Safety issues, potential hazards, accidents or near misses to your Line Manager, Duty Manager, or General Manager immediately.
• Always be prepared for an internal or external food safety inspection.

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