Long Lane is a wellness-focused private members club and hotel at Dunford House, a 55-acre country estate in Midhurst, West Sussex. It is the first property under the Long Lane brand, with further houses planned.
The estate includes 30 bedrooms, a natural swimming pool and spa garden, contrast therapy suite, a longevity clinic, a gym and movement studio, woodland trails, and a small regenerative farm supplying the kitchen.
The guest and member proposition is built on five pillars: movement, recovery, nourishment, community and nature. Our members are wellness-literate individuals and couples, based in London or the South Downs, alongside UK and international hotel guests.
About the kitchen
Long Lane Kitchen is a destination in its own right, open to members, hotel guests and, for selected services, the public.
Food is nutritionally intelligent and led by produce, protein and seasonality. It is not clinical, restrictive or worthy, but must be health-promoting and natural.
Outlets
- The Restaurant, 76 covers, the main dining room, lunch and dinner
- The Glasshouse, 18 covers, a smaller garden-side service (event space)
- The Gym cafe, performance-led counter service through the day
- The Tipi, 50 covers, seasonal outdoor and events dining (event space)
The role
We are recruiting a Head Chef to build and lead the kitchen, deliver the opening and run all food operations across the estate thereafter. You will report to the General Manager and work directly with the founders on the food philosophy and the farm.
Pre-opening responsibilities
- Write the food philosophy and the opening menus across outlets and events
- Recruit and train the brigade
- Build the supply chain: work with the farm manager on planting and growing plans, and source the rest from South Downs and wider UK producers
- Set up systems: recipe and costing sheets, HACCP and food safety, allergen management, ordering, stock and waste controls
- Cost the opening menus to the target gross margin and build the kitchen payroll model with the GM
- Contribute to pre-opening marketing: tastings, previews, press dinners and a monthly editorial letter from the kitchen
Post-opening responsibilities
- Full accountability for food quality and consistency across every outlet, every service
- Food gross profit
- Menu development on a seasonal cycle, working with what the farm and our growers actually produce
- Recruitment, training, rota and development of the brigade
- Food safety, hygiene and compliance across all kitchens
- Collaboration with the beverage lead on a non-alcoholic pairing programme
- Ongoing work with the wellness and clinic teams on retreat and programme menu
Requirements
Essential
- Current Head Chef, Executive Chef or senior Sous Chef ready to step up, in a high-quality restaurant, hotel, members club or estate property
- Multi-outlet or multi-service experience, or clear evidence you can run more than one style of service at once
- Demonstrable ownership of food GP, costing and stock control
- Proven brigade leadership, recruitment and training. We are building a team from nothing
- Strong seasonal, produce-led cooking. You buy and cook to what is good, not to a fixed printed menu
- Full working knowledge of HACCP, allergen management and UK food safety compliance
- Able to work on site in Midhurst, West Sussex.
Desirable
- Pre-opening experience
- Experience working with an on-site farm, kitchen garden or direct grower relationships
- Fermentation, preserving, whole-animal or zero-waste practice
- Understanding of nutrition, performance or longevity-informed cooking
- Experience in a membership or repeat-guest business
- Comfort in front of a camera
Terms
- Full-time, permanent, based on site at Dunford House, Midhurst, West Sussex
- Salary: £60,000 to £70,000 depending on experience, plus performance-related bonus
- Meals, use of the estate and facilities, full health plan and wellbeing support
- Realistic hours and a rota built for longevity. We are a wellness business and we intend the kitchen to reflect that
- Start date: as soon as possible
To apply
- Send your CV and a short covering note to careers@longlane.co.uk. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.