Department/Team: Backstage F&B

Hours: 45 Hours per week, on a shift basis across Monday-Sunday (Monday to Saturday initially, but we may open on Sundays as the operation develops)

Location: Backstage, The Old Vic, The Cut, London, SE1 8NB

Salary: £38,000 per annum

Responsible to:  Head Chef

Benefits

• 28 days holiday including bank holidays
• Access to interest free travel schemes including Cycle 2 work and Season Ticket loans after your probation period
• Free therapy from our therapy partner SelfSpace
• Mental health support via our in house Mental Health Champions
• Two complimentary tickets to a preview performance per production
• Pension scheme with The People’s Pension
• Enhanced sick pay
• All staff social events
• Staff discount in Penny and The Old Vic bars as well as discounts in local bars and restaurants
• Opportunities to get involved with staff clubs and working groups such as the Inclusion Working Group
• Commitment to learning, education and development

Backstage

Backstage is a project for the future – a six-storey space for creativity, education and community right next door to our historic building.

Together with award-winning architects Haworth Tompkins, we have built a low-carbon building that includes:

• A welcoming public café and workspace during the day, which evolves into a vibrant bar and restaurant at night
• A Clore Learning Centre for our award-winning outreach work
• A Writers’ Room where creatives can work
• A free to use Script Library
• A modern and flexible rehearsal room which can transform into a studio theatre
• An event space and terrace

We believe Backstage creates a stronger Old Vic for the future, providing a welcoming space for our generation and the next.

Within Backstage, the F&B offer is primarily centred around the ground floor and first-floor café and bar space – but also extends to event catering provision and a grab-and-go offer for the theatre.

With an overall capacity of 181 (61 covers) across the two floors, Backstage will be open early until late, six days per week.

The daytime artisanal café will serve the very best coffee, coupled with delicious baked goods. A comfortable place where culture meets great coffee in a vibrant and dynamic space.

This same space then seamlessly transitions into an enticing evening bar – a destination. A socially inspired bar/dining offer; celebrating cultural diversity, vibe and buzz in a stylish and comfortable environment coupled with a strong ‘sense of place’ as an intrinsic part of The Old Vic as a whole.

The food offer will be based on conviviality and sharing – built around the concept of small plates.

The Team

The Backstage F&B team is responsible for all Food & Beverage related activity within Backstage and The Old Vic theatre itself. The team includes the Operations Director, Head of Food & Beverage Operations, Deputy Head of Food and Beverage Operations Manager, Head Chef, Chef de Parties, KPs, F&B Duty Managers, Cocktail Bartenders and Waiting staff.

Role summary

The role of the Sous Chef is to deputise for the Head Chef - taking responsibility for all kitchen and catering operations within Backstage, in their absence. The day-to-day of this role is to support and assist the Head Chef in running the kitchen and catering operations.

Areas of responsibility

Kitchen

• Supporting the Head Chef in the running of the day-to-day kitchen and catering operations.
• Ensuring consistently high levels of food safety, hygiene and cleanliness.
• Working with management on strategy, planning and forecasting.
• Training and inspiring more junior members of the Kitchen team.
• Maintaining a culture of positivity, efficiency, creativity and continuous improvement.

Customer Service

• Acting as an ambassador for Backstage.
• Always delivering the highest possible level of customer service, ensuring a friendly, safe and secure environment in which the public can enjoy their visit to our venue.
• Receiving customer feedback, passing on to the and liaising with the Head Chef and Head of Food and Beverage Operations to investigate where necessary, if they are unable to be resolved in the moment.

Management

• Representing The Old Vic’s values and mission to staff, company, customers and clients.
• Liaising with Backstage and building management in the event of emergency and evacuation.
• Ensuring that the building and patrons are safe and secure, following all internal procedures and protocols.
• Ensuring Health and Safety is always adhered to – for both staff and customers.
• Ensuring the highest quality and consistency with all Food processes, reporting any issues with delivering this immediately to the Head Chef.

Backstage Responsibilities & Logistics

• Creating daily briefing sheets for Kitchen team, in conjunction with the Head Chef.
• Writing of daily kitchen reports for Head of F&B.
• Ensuring efficient and timely ordering, keeping all items always stocked (where available).
• Supporting the weekly stock take and inventory

Events

• Supporting the Head Chef in devising event menu options in conjunction with Events, to cater for corporate and private events packages.
• Supporting catering requirements where required for donor or external events within the theatre or Backstage.
• Liaising with third-party caterers for larger-scale events as required, ensuring that they are able to deliver seamlessly alongside the Backstage food operation.
• Working with the events team to confirm menus and details for event sheets.

General

• Promoting and complying with current legislation and The Old Vic’s policies, including the Culture Statement, Sustainability, and Health & Safety
• Assisting the Backstage F&B team in relation to continuous improvement of the operation.
• Undertaking any other reasonable duties, commensurate with the level of the post to ensure the smooth running of Backstage.

This is not an exhaustive list of duties and the Theatre’s management may, at any time, allocate other tasks which are of a similar nature or level.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

The post holder must be able to demonstrate the following:

Essential

• Proven experience of working as a Sous Chef, or be an experienced chef with the ability to take the next step in their career
• Experience of working in a supervisory or management capacity in a similar sized venue
• Experience training more junior team members
• Proven understanding and application of food safety and hygiene principles
• A proven ability to provide a high level of culinary skill in an often highly pressurised environment.
• Highly motivated with a positive and flexible approach to work and ability to adapt quickly to new information and procedures.
• IT literacy, with good experience of the Microsoft Office suite and Excel in particular.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• Excellent literacy and numeracy.
• A proven ability to work as both part of a team and independently.
• Highly organised and good timekeeping

How to Apply

We understand that everyone is different and we want you to apply in whichever way you feel best shows your skills and experience. There are a range of ways that you can apply with us:

• 1. Sending a short video file of yourself (no longer than two minutes in length), detailing your experience, why you are applying for the role and what about working at The Old Vic interests you (have a look at the person specification in the job description).
• 2. Sending a short audio file of yourself (no longer than two minutes in length), detailing your experience, why you are applying for the role and what about working at The Old Vic interests you.
• 3. Completing our application form.
• 4. Uploading your CV and covering letter, explaining why you are interested in the role and working at the Old Vic.

As a Disability Confident employer, The Old Vic has made a commitment that all applicants with disabilities who meet the essential criteria for this job will be invited to interview. However in the event that we have a high volume of applications all of whom meet the criteria and identify as disabled, meaning it is not practicable to interview everyone, we may apply a weighting to the shortlisting criteria, or add an additional shortlisting stage before any interviews take place. In all cases we will take care to ensure that any criteria or weightings do not disadvantage disabled applicants.

All appointments are made subject to satisfactory references and proof of eligibility to work in the UK. 

The Process

The recruitment process for this role will be two stages;

• 1st stage in person conversation
• 2nd stage in person conversation
• You may be asked to complete a work based skills assessment or challenge 

The closing date for this role is 8 September 2025. First Conversations are likely to take place w/c 8 September 2025.

Equal Opportunities

We actively support and encourage people from a variety of backgrounds, experiences and skill sets to join us and help shape what we do. We are particularly keen to receive applications from people of the global majority, LGBTQ+, neurodiverse and disabled candidates.

We may take positive action, in cases where candidates are equally qualified, to increase the employment of under-represented groups at The Old Vic.

In the event that we ask you to attend the theatre for a conversation and you are struggling financially, we may be able to reimburse you for any reasonable travel costs.

We partner with a range of inclusive organisations, to find out more please read our FAQs. 

FAQs

Read our recruitment and selection and equal opportunities FAQs here.