Sous Chef

Location: Located in the picturesque village of Amberley in the beautiful West Sussex countryside, Amberley Castle is a unique luxury hotel steeped in over 900 years of history. With 4 AA red stars, 3 AA rosettes, Amberley Castle gives our team the chance to work in a castle with quality and style.

SERVICE CHARGE-We pay our team service charge each month! This service charge all goes into one pot, and 100% of that service charge is then shared amongst all the team at the hotel-every penny received is paid out to the team.
Service charge can be in the region of £300 a month (close to £3,600 per year) over and above base pay, for a full time employee.

The hotel may also be able to offer off-site staff accommodation in our 2 staff houses (within walking distance to the hotel) in order to help the newest members of the team to re-locate, so they can settle into life at the hotel and local area in comfort.

Send us a Whatsapp message with FAMILYFIRST to +44 7782 822774 to find out more, chat to us and apply (or apply the normal way, whichever works best for you!)

Help us create exceptional dining experiences in an extraordinary setting.

Amberley Castle is looking for a talented, motivated and passionate Sous Chef to join our kitchen team.

Set within the beautiful surroundings of this historic castle, this is an exciting opportunity for a chef who takes pride in their craft, thrives in a high-quality food environment and enjoys bringing the best out of the people around them.

Working closely with our Executive Chef, Matt Gillan and Head Chef, Pete Howes, you will play a key role in the day-to-day running of the kitchen, delivering consistently high standards across our dining experiences, private events and banqueting operations.

The Role

• Support the Head Chef in leading, developing and motivating the kitchen team.
• Maintain exceptional standards of food quality, presentation and consistency.
• Help oversee daily kitchen operations, ensuring smooth and efficient service.
• Contribute to menu development, seasonal dishes and the continued evolution of our food offering.
• Support the delivery of fine dining experiences, weddings, events and private dining.
• Maintain excellent standards of food safety, cleanliness and kitchen organisation.
• Lead by example, fostering a positive, professional and collaborative working environment.

What We’re Looking For

• Proven experience managing and leading a kitchen team is an advantage**.**
• A genuine passion for food, quality ingredients and delivering memorable dining experiences.
• Fine dining experience is preferred, with a strong understanding of high-end food preparation and presentation.
• Experience in banqueting and event catering would be a distinct advantage.
• Previous experience in a hotel kitchen would be beneficial.
• A team player with a hands-on approach, a positive attitude and the ability to perform under pressure.
• Someone who communicates well, takes responsibility and leads from the front.

If you’re a passionate chef, a confident leader and someone who believes the best kitchens are built on teamwork, we’d love to hear from you.

Why Join Amberley Castle?

This is an opportunity to be part of a kitchen team where quality, professionalism and collaboration matter. You’ll have the chance to develop your skills, contribute ideas and help deliver memorable experiences for guests in a truly distinctive setting.

Work/life, or as it should be called life/work balance is important to us all, so we will always try to be fair with our rotas. We just ask that you can be flexible with us, so we can be flexible with you in return.

To say thank you, we have many perks:

• Competitive pay – We are proud that everyone who joins our group gets a competitive a rate of pay, irrespective of age, plus you get service charge and tips on top.
• Service charge-We pay our team service charge each month! This service charge all goes into one pot, and 100% of that service charge is then shared amongst all the team at the hotel-every penny received is paid out to the team.
• Service charge can be in the region of £300 a month (close to £3,600 per year) over and above base pay, for a full time employee.
• Treat yourself once in a while, with lots of retail and hospitality perks through our Perkbox platform.
• Excellent discounts across our family of hotels – you will be entitled to 25% off food & beverage in our hotels plus we offer an amazing staff rate of £25 B&B per person across the group & your friends and family get special rates too.
• We understand it’s OK not to be OK, so we offer an externally run confidential helpline for any support you require about anything you might need as part of our Employee Assistance Programme.
• We sustain you physically too, meals when you are on duty are free.
• To be the best version of yourself, we encourage our teams to be curious. Everyone can learn and develop - our development pathways are unique to us and are the best in the business.
• We provide lots of opportunity to progress and move up – we have made hundreds of internal promotions, including to General Manager level.
• We like to say a special thank you for every year you are with us - our milestone awards include Champagne, afternoon tea, or dinner for you and someone special. When you reach the big milestones, you receive extra special gifts on top like longer hotel stays, extra days off and a unique gift especially chosen for you.

About our family of hotels

We bring a family of hotels together under one roof, ready to welcome guests with open arms, warm hearts and experiences that are simply memorable.

Each of our hotels are unique, individual, and quirky in personality. Quality is fundamental to everything we do, and it is the simple things that matter. We believe everyone should feel included, special and welcome, and that applies to our team and our guests.

We have very unique hotels in very special locations, from the award winning Gidleigh Park in Devon, the 900-year-old Amberley Castle to our stylish boutique townhouse in the heart of Chelsea – to see the whole group, take a look here www.brownswordhotels.co.uk