The catering and hospitality industry runs on people. The wrong hire in a high-pressure kitchen or front-of-house team costs you more than time — it costs you standards, morale, and guests. That is why the way you recruit matters as much as who you recruit.
Pineapple Recruitment, based in Worcester, is a specialist catering and hospitality recruitment agency covering hotels, restaurants, leisure facilities, and contract catering operations across the UK. We work with a deliberately limited number of clients — because treating every business as a genuine partner is the only way to secure permanent placements.
Specialist Sectors We Recruit For:
Hotels
From independent boutique properties to multi-site national chains, we build hotel teams that handle complex operations without missing a beat. Whether you need a General Manager who understands yield and guest experience equally, or a Food & Beverage Manager who can drive revenue without sacrificing service, we find candidates who have done it before — in settings like yours.
Restaurants
Restaurant recruitment demands speed, resilience, and genuine sector knowledge. We find staff with the skill and composure required for high-pressure service environments, placing Restaurant Managers, Head Chefs, and senior front-of-house professionals who know how to keep a room running when it counts.
Leisure
Behind every smooth guest experience is a team doing challenging behind-the-scenes work. We match candidates to leisure facilities who understand that operational excellence and customer satisfaction are two sides of the same coin.
Chefs & Catering
A reliable, creative chef is hard to find and harder to keep. We treat chef candidates as the gold-dust professionals they are, connecting kitchens — from school contracts to fine dining establishments — with talent that is skilled, stable, and the right fit for your culture.
Roles We Place
We recruit across the full catering and hospitality structure, from the kitchen to the boardroom:
Management
General Managers and Deputy Managers
Area Managers and Regional Operations Managers
Catering Managers and Chef Managers
Kitchen
Head Chefs and Sous Chefs
Chef de Partie and Commis Chefs
Catering Assistants and Kitchen Supervisors
Front of House & Operations
Restaurant Managers and Duty Managers
Front Office and Guest Relations staff
Food & Beverage Managers
Business Support
HR Business Partners with hospitality sector experience
Finance and Payroll professionals
Marketing and Sales Managers
For Employers:
A recruiter who integrates with your team, providing personalised support that Aligns With your unique culture and needs, not just filling roles.
Large agencies measure success in volume. We measure it in retention. Every client on our books gets a dedicated consultant who understands your business, your brand, and what makes your culture tick — not just the job fit, but also building lasting teams.
Because we limit our client list, we don’t rely on a generic pool and hope one candidate sticks. We conduct in-depth behavioural interviews, thorough briefings, and real culture-fit assessments before anyone reaches your shortlist. The result: lower staff turnover, faster onboarding, and permanent placements that last.
We also provide complimentary salary benchmarking reports, giving you real-time data on what competitors are offering so your package attracts the candidates you actually want.
What working with us looks like
An initial consultation to understand your team, your pressures, and the kind of person who thrives in your environment
A shortlist of candidates who match on skills, experience, and values — not just availability
Ongoing support through offer, acceptance, and beyond — we stay involved until your new hire is settled.
For Candidates: Permanent Roles Worth Having
If you are a chef, manager, or hospitality professional looking for your next permanent position, you already know that most agencies will send your CV to anyone with a vacancy. We do not work that way.
Your CV will not be sent anywhere without your explicit consent. Every role we discuss with you will be one we genuinely believe fits your background, ambitions, and workplace preferences, ensuring your application is handled with care and confidentiality.
When an interview is confirmed, your consultant will brief you on the company, the interviewers, and the questions likely to come up. We stay in contact at every stage and give you honest feedback, whatever the outcome.
What we offer candidates
Access to permanent hospitality and catering roles across hotels, restaurants, leisure, and contract catering
Roles spanning management, kitchen, front of house, and business support
Interview preparation and briefing from consultants who know the businesses on our books
A process built on discretion — your current employer will not find out you are looking
Ready to Build a Team Worth Keeping?
For businesses
Get in touch to discuss your current vacancies or upcoming requirements. We will act as your in-house specialist recruitment team — without the overhead.
For candidates
Register with us and let us match you to a permanent hospitality or catering role where you can do your best work.
Frequently Asked Questions
What types of roles do you recruit for in hospitality and catering?
We place candidates across the full sector — from kitchen roles such as Head Chef and Chef de Partie, to operational positions including Restaurant Manager and Catering Manager, through to senior leadership roles such as Regional Operations Manager. We also recruit hospitality-specific HR, Finance, and Marketing professionals.
Do you place temporary or contract hospitality staff?
No. Pineapple Recruitment specialises in permanent placements only. Our entire model is built around long-term relationships and sustainable matches — for employers, that means lower turnover; for candidates, it means career stability.
Will my CV be sent to businesses without my permission?
Never. We will always discuss a specific role and employer with you before making any approach. Your CV is only shared after you have given us explicit consent. Discretion is a non-negotiable part of how we work.
How do you assess whether a candidate is the right cultural fit?
Beyond technical skills and experience, we conduct in-depth behavioural interviews and spend time understanding both the candidate and the client’s business before making any introduction. Because we focus exclusively on permanent recruitment, long-term retention is our measure of success — not how quickly we fill a vacancy.
Can you help with salary benchmarking?
Yes. We provide complimentary salary benchmarking reports to our clients, drawing on current market data to help you understand what competing employers are offering. This helps ensure your package is competitive enough to attract the calibre of candidate you are looking for.