Culinary Director – Jockey Club Experiences | Full-Time / Permanent

Competitive salary + excellent benefits including healthcare, wellbeing support, annual leave, life assurance and more.

Role Purpose

The Culinary Director will lead the vision, development, and delivery of exceptional food experiences across The Jockey Club Experiences racecourses and a venue within Levy portfolio. This role is responsible for shaping a forward-thinking culinary strategy, fostering collaboration across multiple sites, and driving innovation that elevates hospitality beyond traditional raceday and event catering.

The successful candidate will champion creativity, consistency, and excellence, ensuring all culinary offerings reflect the evolving expectations of premium hospitality guests while celebrating the individuality of each racecourse.

We are Jockey Club Experiences

Jockey Club Experiences delivers exceptional catering, hospitality and customer service across The Jockey Club’s racecourses nationwide, creating legendary experiences for guests throughout the racing calendar and beyond.

We are culinary champions, passionate about bringing people together through outstanding food, drink and hospitality. We believe that sustainably sourced, great-quality food, combined with exceptional service, is key to creating experiences our guests remember.

Doing the right thing for our people and our planet sits at the heart of everything we do. Sustainability, wellbeing, diversity and inclusion are central to our approach, alongside our commitment to delivering memorable guest experiences and continually raising the bar.

Working alongside Levy, we bring together expertise, creativity and operational excellence to create distinctive hospitality experiences across some of the UK’s most exciting venues.

Culinary Director – The Role

Reporting to the Operations Director, Jockey Club Experiences, you’ll lead the culinary vision, strategy and development of food experiences across Jockey Club Experiences racecourses and a venue within the Levy portfolio.

You’ll work collaboratively with Executive Chefs, Head Chefs and wider commercial and operational teams to deliver exceptional food, develop innovative concepts and ensure our culinary offering reflects the expectations of today’s hospitality guests.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Culinary vision and strategy: Develop and deliver a group-wide culinary strategy aligned with the ambitions of Jockey Club Experiences and Lyvera Experiences, driving innovation and differentiation across our venues.

• Culinary innovation: Create forward-thinking, experience-led dining concepts across premium hospitality, retail, conferences and events, challenging traditional approaches to racecourse catering.

• Exceptional guest experiences: Develop signature food experiences, including fine dining, chef’s tables, pop-ups and themed events, creating memorable food journeys that elevate our hospitality offering.

• Multi-site leadership: Provide clear culinary direction across all venues, building strong relationships with Executive Chefs and Head Chefs and ensuring alignment around standards, priorities and shared objectives.

• Collaboration and best practice: Lead chef forums, workshops and innovation sessions to encourage knowledge sharing, creativity and collaboration across our culinary teams.

• Talent development: Coach, mentor and develop culinary leaders, supporting succession planning and building a strong pipeline of talent across the business.

• Quality and consistency: Establish culinary guidelines, standards and benchmarks to ensure exceptional food quality, presentation and consistency while celebrating the individuality of each venue.

• Commercial performance: Balance culinary creativity with commercial objectives, driving profitability through effective menu planning, food cost management, labour optimisation and waste reduction.

• Menu development and engineering: Lead menu development and engineering processes to maximise profitability, improve consistency and ensure offerings meet guest expectations and business objectives.

• Procurement and supplier partnerships: Work closely with procurement teams and suppliers to develop effective sourcing strategies that balance quality, sustainability, cost control and supply chain efficiency.

• Revenue generation: Identify opportunities to improve financial performance through premium food experiences, innovative concepts, pricing strategies and new revenue-generating initiatives.

• Operational excellence: Develop and implement culinary processes and best practices that improve productivity, efficiency, quality and consistency across all locations.

• Cross-functional collaboration: Partner with events, marketing, sales and commercial teams to ensure food is central to the overall guest experience and supports the wider business strategy.

• Guest insight and continuous improvement: Use customer feedback, guest satisfaction data and performance insights to identify opportunities for improvement and continually raise culinary standards.

• Sustainability and responsible sourcing: Champion seasonal ingredients, sustainable sourcing, ethical supply chains and waste reduction, embedding responsible catering principles into menu development and kitchen operations.

• Industry leadership: Keep ahead of emerging food trends, dining concepts and changing guest expectations, ensuring our venues remain innovative, relevant and competitive.

What we’re looking for

• A proven track record in senior culinary leadership, such as Culinary Director, Group Executive Chef or Head of Food Operations, with responsibility for culinary strategy and business performance.

• Experience delivering exceptional standards within premium hospitality, luxury dining or high-profile food operations.

• A strong culinary vision and the ability to develop distinctive, market-leading food concepts that elevate the guest experience.

• Extensive experience leading multi-site, high-volume or complex culinary operations, balancing consistency with creativity and the individual identity of each venue.

• Strong commercial acumen, with experience managing food costs, labour efficiency, menu profitability, procurement and overall operational performance.

• The ability to translate strategic objectives into practical plans that deliver measurable improvements in quality, efficiency and profitability.

• Exceptional leadership and stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to influence senior stakeholders and build strong cross-functional partnerships.

• A passion for developing culinary talent through coaching, mentoring, succession planning and creating high-performing teams.

• Experience establishing culinary standards, governance and continuous improvement frameworks across multiple locations.

• A strong understanding of sustainability, responsible sourcing, supplier relationships and emerging food trends.

• Creativity, adaptability and the confidence to challenge traditional ways of working.

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to bring people together around a shared culinary vision.

• A commitment to delivering exceptional guest experiences while maintaining high standards of quality, safety and operational excellence.

What you’ll get in return

• Competitive salary and full company benefits.

• Annual leave, with additional birthday leave and a holiday purchase scheme.

• Healthcare benefits through Medicash, including dental, optical and therapy treatments.

• Aviva Digicare, including a free annual healthcare check.

• 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme and mental health support.

• Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave, plus additional family-friendly benefits.

• Exclusive shopping, entertainment and travel discounts through our Benefits & Wellbeing platform.

• Discounts on cinema tickets, Nuffield Health memberships, PureGym memberships and more.

• Pension scheme, Life Assurance and preferred rates on salary finance products.

• Ongoing training, leadership development and structured career pathways.

• Paid professional subscriptions where applicable.

• Financial wellbeing support and additional colleague discounts.

Why Join Us?

This is a unique opportunity to help redefine raceday dining and shape the future of culinary experiences across Jockey Club Experiences and the Levy portfolio.

You’ll have the opportunity to influence food strategy across multiple venues, bring ambitious concepts to life and work alongside talented culinary professionals who share your passion for great food and exceptional hospitality.

We believe in celebrating individuality and building inclusive teams where everyone feels they belong. Our people are at the heart of everything we do, and we’re committed to creating an environment where talented individuals can develop, innovate and make a real difference.

If you’re ready to challenge convention, inspire culinary teams and create experiences that set new standards for the industry, this could be the opportunity for you.

Together, we create legendary experiences – and shape the future of hospitality.

Jockey Club Experiences and Compass Group UK&I are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where everyone can be themselves at work and has equal opportunities to develop their career. We respect and celebrate the unique talents, beliefs, backgrounds and abilities of all our team members, because diversity is our strength!