Finding the right person for a catering role is harder than it looks. Skilled chefs are scarce. Good managers are harder still. And the wrong hire in a high-pressure kitchen or front-of-house team costs you more than the recruiter’s fee.
Pineapple Recruitment is a specialist catering recruitment agency with deep sector expertise, focused exclusively on permanent placements. We work with hotels, restaurants, leisure facilities, and contract catering operations across the UK, matching employers with candidates who fit the role, the team, and the culture.
We keep our client list deliberately small. That means every search gets our full attention, and every candidate we put forward has been carefully vetted, briefed, and considered — not just pulled from a database.
If you need a recruiter who knows the catering sector, contact us today.
Why Catering Recruitment Demands a Specialist
Catering and hospitality businesses face a specific set of hiring challenges that general recruitment agencies tend to underestimate.
Staff turnover in the sector runs high. Skilled candidates — particularly at the chef and management level — are in short supply relative to demand. And the stakes of a poor hire are immediate: a kitchen short of a capable Chef Manager feels it on the next service, not next quarter.
Add to that the cultural dimension. A candidate who thrives in a Michelin-starred kitchen may struggle in a contract catering environment. A restaurant general manager with the wrong values can damage a team faster than a period of understaffing.
Effective catering recruitment means understanding these distinctions in detail — and having the network to find people who fit both the role and your business.
How We Work With Employers
We’re an extension of your team, not a one-time supplier you brief and hope for the best.
Before we search, we spend time understanding your business: the culture, the pressures, the kind of person who succeeds in your environment. We look at values and working style alongside skills and experience. This personalised process takes longer but results in hires who stay and thrive.
What employers get when they work with us:
A dedicated consultant with real sector knowledge, not a generalist reading from a job spec
Behavioural interviews and cultural-fit assessment are standard
Complimentary salary benchmarking, so your offer is competitive in the current market
A deliberately limited client list — we take on fewer employers so we can do more for each one
Honest, timely communication throughout the search
We specialise in permanent recruitment only. We don’t offer temporary or emergency cover, and we’re upfront about that. Our focus is on building stable, long-term teams that stay, which is what most operators actually need, even when a temp feels like the faster fix.
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Find Your Next Catering Role
Great chefs and experienced catering managers are in high demand. If you’re looking for a permanent role where you can build something rather than just fill a shift, we’d like to hear from you.
When you register with Pineapple, you get a consultant who takes the time to understand what you’re looking for — the type of operation, the culture, the progression you want. We won’t send your CV anywhere without your explicit permission, and we won’t waste your time with roles that don’t fit.
We recruit across the full range of catering and hospitality positions, from kitchen roles to senior management, and into the business support functions — finance, HR, marketing — that specialist hospitality businesses need.
When an interview is confirmed, your consultant will brief you on the company, prepare you for likely questions, and give you feedback at every stage.
Roles We Recruit in Catering & Hospitality
We place candidates across four main areas of the sector:
Hotels
We recruit management, operations, and front-of-house teams for boutique independents and national chains, capable of handling complex, multi-department environments.
Restaurants
High-pressure, customer-facing, and unforgiving of the wrong hire. We find staff with the technical skill and the temperament for service-led environments.
Leisure
Leisure facilities need people who deliver a consistent customer experience while managing the behind-the-scenes logistics that make it possible. We know what that profile looks like.
Contract Catering
Contract catering requires a specific kind of operator: someone who can manage client relationships, control costs, and run a kitchen that performs day after day without a front-of-house safety net. Good people in this space are rare. We know where to find them.
Key roles we cover:
Chef Manager, Head Chef, Chef de Partie, Sous Chef
Restaurant Manager, Catering Manager, General Manager
Area Manager, Regional Manager, Operations Manager
Front-of-House and Service Teams
Finance, HR, and Marketing professionals within hospitality businesses
Work With Us
For Employers
You don’t need an agency with a roster of hundreds treating you like a number. You need a recruiter who understands your business, knows the sector, and brings you people worth interviewing.
Request a Business Consultation →
For Candidates
You’re good at what you do. You deserve a recruiter who recognises that and finds you a role where you can grow.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you ensure a candidate is the right fit for our business?
We go beyond the CV. Every candidate goes through a structured behavioural interview before we put them forward. We also spend time with you at the briefing stage, building a detailed picture of your culture, your team dynamics, and the kind of person who succeeds in your environment. Because we focus on permanent recruitment, our goal is retention, not a quick fill.
Will you send my CV to companies without my permission?
No. We discuss each specific opportunity with you first. Your CV is only presented to a potential employer after you have given us explicit consent. Your current employment status stays confidential throughout.
Can you help me prepare for an interview?
Yes. Once an interview is confirmed, your consultant will provide a full company briefing, guidance on competency-based questions specific to your sector, and feedback after each stage. We’re invested in your long-term success, not just placing you.
Do you recruit for temporary catering roles?
We focus exclusively on permanent placements. That’s a deliberate choice. Temporary cover can feel like a quick solution, but it rarely solves an underlying staffing problem. Our clients come to us because they want to build stable, high-performing teams — and that requires a different kind of process.
Which areas of the UK do you cover?
We recruit nationally. Our clients include employers across England and the wider UK, and we work with candidates wherever the right opportunity exists. Our office is in Worcester, and we have strong knowledge of the Midlands market, but we’re not limited to it.
Can you help with salary benchmarking?
Yes. We provide complimentary salary benchmarking reports to clients, drawing on real-time data about what comparable employers are offering. If your package isn’t competitive, we’ll tell you before it costs you a good candidate.